Free Unaffordable Lending Complaint Letter Generator

Complaining to your lender directly is free, and you never need a claims company to do it. This tool writes the letter for you — pick the type of credit, pick your lender, add your details, and you'll have a ready-to-send irresponsible lending complaint built on the FCA's affordability rules (CONC 5.2A) and the unfair relationship provisions of the Consumer Credit Act.

It covers credit cards, overdrafts, catalogue credit, personal loans, guarantor loans (whether you were the borrower or the guarantor), payday and short-term loans, logbook loans, doorstep lending and buy now, pay later — each with the complaint grounds specific to that product.

Generate your letter

How this works

Lenders were required to carry out reasonable and proportionate affordability checks before lending to you — and before increasing credit limits or re-lending. Where they didn't, and the borrowing was unaffordable, you can ask for the interest, fees and charges back with 8% interest, plus removal of the negative marks from your credit file. Your letter asks the lender to find all your accounts from your name and address — you don't need old paperwork or account numbers.

Your lender must acknowledge the complaint and give you a final response within eight weeks. If they reject it or run out of time, the Financial Ombudsman Service takes it from there, free of charge.

DIY or use our claim partners?

Both routes are legitimate, and this letter gives you everything you need to do it yourself at no cost. Some people prefer to have it handled — checking multiple lenders at once, building the affordability picture, chasing responses and escalating to the Ombudsman. Our partners do that on a no-win no-fee basis, with fees taken from compensation only if the claim succeeds (fees explained).

Check your agreements on Recoup, our claim partner’s site

Common questions

Do I need my old statements or account numbers?

No. The letter asks the lender to locate all accounts in your name from your name and address history. If the lending is older, your approximate years help, but they aren't required.

What can I get back?

If the complaint is upheld: a refund of the interest, fees and charges paid on the unaffordable lending, 8% simple interest per year on top, and removal of adverse entries from your credit file. If you still owe a balance, the refund is usually set against it first.

The lender has gone bust — can I still complain?

For lenders in administration (several payday and guarantor lenders), complaints go to the administrators as a creditor claim instead, and payouts are usually a fraction of the full value. Check our lender guide for the current position for your lender.

I was a guarantor, not the borrower — can I complain?

Yes. The tool has a guarantor option: if the lender didn't properly check the loan was affordable, you can ask to be released from the guarantee and have the payments you made refunded with interest.

Is there a time limit?

Usually six years from the lending — or three years from when you realised you could complain, which for many people is later. If the lender rejects your complaint as too old, the Ombudsman can still consider whether the time rules genuinely apply. Don't let an old date stop you sending the letter.

Will complaining hurt my credit score?

No. Making a complaint does not appear on your credit file. If the complaint succeeds, adverse markers from the unaffordable lending are removed — it helps your file, not hurts it.