Most of the time, a loan is taken out, payments are made and the term finishes without any issues. However sometimes things do go wrong and it is important to know what you need to do if the fault lies with the lender or you are unhappy with something they have done. So here are some tip about how to complain about a payday loan lender.
Basic facts
Any company, whether a payday loan or not, has to deal with any complaint made to them within eight weeks of receiving it.
If you follow the company’s procedure for complaints and you aren’t satisfied with the outcome, you can then refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. If you are having a problem with a Continuous Payment Authority, for example, a company refusing to cancel it, this can also be taken to the Ombudsman.
How to Complain
The start of any complains procedure is always to go to the company involved. Whether this is verbally, by email or in writing, they have eight weeks to respond to you. When you send in this complaint, make sure it is clearly marked as a complaint so that it is directed to the relevant department straight away.
In your complaint, as well as detailing what you are unhappy with, provide as much information as possible. Things like time and dates of calls and whom you spoke to or copies of letters or emails received to show the issues. You also need to tell the company what resolution you are looking for: a response from them, a refund of a charge you feel is incorrect or reimbursement of a charge you have received by their wrong-doing for example.
Next step
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have a rule that states every company has to have internal procedures for how to deal with a complaint and any staff member should be well versed in these to advise you. Everything should be clearly stated and easy to understand for someone not working in financial services.
If the payday loan lender cannot resolve the complaint by the end of the day when it is received, they should send out written acknowledgement that the complaint is being investigated. They should also let you know what is happening along the process until a final decision is reached or if for some reason one isn’t reached, why this is.
The Ombudsman
Another obligation for the lender is to inform you of your right to forward the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). This is where the complaint goes when the company has responded to it but you aren’t satisfied with this response.
The lender should tell you where to complain to the FOS and what method to use.
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