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Complaint that a loan or credit card was unaffordable when you got it (UK)
England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales · in English · for consumers
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12 questions · about 5 min
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For a borrower who was given a loan, credit card, overdraft limit, car finance or catalogue credit they could not repay without hardship. FCA rules require a lender to check creditworthiness and affordability before lending or raising a limit (CONC 5). The letter complains that the checks were not proportionate, sets out your finances at the time, and asks for interest and charges to be refunded and your credit file corrected. The lender has eight weeks; then the Financial Ombudsman Service is free.
- Made for use in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
- Last updated October 28, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- A lender in the UK gave you a loan you could never afford to repay.
- Your credit card limit kept going up although you were already struggling.
- You took payday loans one after another and nobody checked your income.
- You want to complain that credit was unaffordable when it was given.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- Bank or financial firm
- Firm's postal address (complaints team)
- Account number
- Type of credit (e.g. credit card, personal loan, car finance)
- Date of the contract
- Amount
- Your finances when the credit was given (income, debts, signs of difficulty)
Common questions
- What counts as unaffordable or irresponsible lending in the UK?
- Lending where the firm's checks were not proportionate to the amount and your circumstances, or where it ignored signs such as other short-term loans, gambling, missed payments or a low income, and the repayments could only be met by borrowing more or missing bills. Repeated limit increases or a run of loans can be part of the picture.
- What do I get back if an unaffordable lending complaint succeeds?
- Usually a refund of the interest and charges you paid, with simple interest added on those refunds, and removal of negative entries about the credit from your credit file. You normally still repay the amount you actually borrowed, and a refund may first reduce any balance outstanding.
- Is there a time limit for an irresponsible lending complaint?
- You must normally complain within six years of the lending, or within three years of when you realised, or should have realised, you had cause to complain, if that is later. The Financial Ombudsman Service decides whether a complaint is in time and can look at older ones in exceptional circumstances.
How you can sign this document
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