The document discusses making complaints about payday loans. It outlines several reasons for complaints, such as if the lender did not clearly explain fees and repayment terms, did not properly assess the borrower's ability to repay, or pressured the borrower to extend the loan. It advises borrowers affected by predatory lending practices to file complaints with the lender or Financial Ombudsman, and provides tips for documenting interactions and gathering evidence to support a complaint.

1. Payday Loan
Complaint
Ideas for today and tomorrow

2. • A payday loan is intended to help you out when you need a small
amount of money to tide to over. Most payday lending companies have
to follow good practice guides and rules set out by the FCA (Financial
Conduct Authority). These rules and regulations include making sure
they receive certain information from you and check certain things
before allowing you to take out a loan. This is to make sure that you
don’t end up taking out a loan that you can’t afford to repay.

3. • However, many payday lenders haven’t followed these rules and ended
up giving loans to people who shouldn’t have been given them, and
those people ended up having to borrow more to pay off their loans. If a
payday lender that you have used hasn’t followed these rules properly
then you may be entitled to make a formal complaint.

4. • There are different reasons that you can complain and these include –
• If the lender didn’t make it clear how much it would cost you to repay
the loan. Before borrowing any money, the lender should have given you
an example of the charges and fees that it would cost you to borrow a
certain amount.
• If you weren’t given a detailed description of how and when to pay back
your loan – including dates to repay, what instalments it should be paid
back in etc.

5. • If the lender that you went to didn’t check your personal circumstances
or your financial history. They should do this so that they can get a clear
picture of whether you can pay back the loan or not.
• If the lender didn’t tell you what to do if you would like to make a
complaint or if they didn’t tell you that you shouldn’t use a payday loan
if you are in real financial difficulty.

6. • If you had difficulty repaying the loan and then the company should
have dealt with your situation sympathetically and positively. If they
didn’t then you can make a complaint.
• If they didn’t offer to freeze interest charges if this will help you make
your repayment with more ease.

7. • If they pressurised you into extending the loan, especially if they
charged you more for each time that you had to extend it. Or if they
didn’t make it clear how much it would cost to extend the loan.

8. • You should also make a note of what things in your life have suffered as
a result of taking out this loan. For example, these could be things like
what you can’t afford as a result of your loan, whether the loan has
affected your family life or personal life in any way. You should also
make note of how your mental health has been affected and how you feel
that your debts have spiralled out of control.

9. • It is important to also make a note of any contact with the lending
company, including any letters of correspondence, make notes of any
phone calls that you make to the company.
• Most companies record a lot of their calls for training purposes, so if
you’ve dealt with poor customer service then you may be able to find out
if they’ve recorded any of your conversations. This might not always be
the case but it’s worth checking because anything like that will only go
towards helping your case.

10. • You may feel that taking on a big loan company is scary and not worth
the hassle, but if you have been negatively affected by one then you
deserve to make a complaint.
• If you think you have gone through any of the things on the list above
then you are well within your right to make a complaint. You can make a
complaint directly to the payday lender, although another option is to go
to your Financial Ombudsman. This is a long process so it is always
worth going to the lender first, before getting the Ombudsman involved.

11. • Example: Compensation awarded £500, our fee of 30% (25% + VAT)
equates to £150 (£125 + VAT), you get £350
• Redbridge Finance Limited is Registered in England & Wales with
Company Number 10625599. Registered Office: 1 Forbes Business
Centre, Kempson Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 7AR. Regulated by the
Claims Management Regulator in respect of regulated claims
management activities – CRM43144. VAT Number 270 5830 08. ICO
Registration Number ZA244805

12. Redbridge Finance
• https://www.redbridgefinance.co.uk