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Complaints about credit, loans or debt

Date published: 14 March 2025 Consumer Credit : Category Credit and borrowing money : Category Debt : Category

Find out more about the types of complaint we’ve seen about credit and debt and how we can help if you have a complaint about your lender.

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Problem with a credit card, loan or debt?

Every year, we see complaints from people facing issues with things like payday loans, debt collection or problems with goods and services bought with debit card or credit. 

If you've been in touch with your lender about what's happened and you don't think they've treated you fairly, we're here to help. 

Complaints we see

  • Problems with goods or services

    If you used your card to buy something that was faulty and your card provider didn't do enough to help with a refund, repair or replacement, we may be able to help. 

    More about problems with credit

  • Financial difficulties

    Being unable to pay money you owe can be really worrying. Money worries might arise because of something entirely outside your control, such as unemployment or illness.

    More about financial difficulties

  • Debt collecting

    We can look at complaints about the collection of debts in relation to most types of credit. We hear from people who tell us they’re not the person who owes the debt or the amount they’re being asked to pay is incorrect. 

    More about debt collecting

  • Unaffordable lending

    Consumers sometimes complain to us that their credit was unaffordable so they believe the lender acted irresponsibly in providing the funds. 

    More about unaffordable lending

How we can help

If you feel you’ve been treated unfairly by your lender, you should complain to the them first. But if you’re still unhappy and want to take your complaint further, we may be able to help.

What happened next?

These examples are based on cases we've seen. They'll give you an idea of how we look at complaints and – when we have – what happened next.

  • Matteo had saved up for a new suit but when it arrived the rousers didn’t fit. Annoyed, because he’d saved up and paid out to have the suit tailor-made, he called the supplier straight away. A friend of Matteo’s told him about something called ‘Section 75’ something that means your bank or lender may be able to help with a refund, repair or replacement if you paid for the goods or services using a credit card or certain other types of credit. But when Matteo spoke to his credit card provider, they wouldn’t help with a refund.

    What happened next?

    Matteo didn’t think he’d had a fair answer from his credit card company. So asked if we would look at his complaint.

    We looked into what had happened, and the evidence provided about the suit. Overall, we felt that the credit card provider should refund the cost of the suit.

  • Jon found out that his dad was repeatedly being called by a debt collector. It was causing him distress as he couldn’t afford the payments they were asking for. Jon helped his Dad make a complaint but even though his Dad told him about his situation and that he couldn’t afford the payments, they kept calling. 

    What happened next? 

    Jon got in touch with us to make a complaint on his Dad’s behalf. We looked at all of the evidence and spoke to the debt collector to find out more about the complaint and talk through the circumstances.

    Overall, we didn’t think the debt collector had treated Jon’s Dad fairly and asked them to work with Jon’s Dad to reach an affordable repayment figure. 

    Read the full case study

How to complain if you’re unhappy with your lender

1

Complain to the business

If something goes wrong with a financial product or service, you should complain to the business and give them a chance to sort things out. 

2

Bring your complaint to us

If the problem is still unresolved or you’re not happy with how you’ve been treated, you can bring your complaint to us. Our service is free and easy to use.

3

Get it settled

We’ll look at both sides and make a fair decision on what’s happened. If we think the business did something wrong, we’ll tell them what to do to put things right.