Morses Club Scheme Failure and Administration
Morses Club was, before its collapse, the UK’s second-largest home credit lender, serving around 60,000 customers with home-collected loans. Following a flood of affordability complaints, Morses attempted a Scheme of Arrangement which closed to claims on 30 November 2023. The scheme failed shortly afterwards and Morses Club entered administration on 17 November 2023. The Early Termination Fund pays less than 0.5p in the pound. This page explains the position now.
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About Morses Club
Morses Club was a UK home credit lender — small unsecured loans collected weekly at the customer’s door by self-employed agents, typically priced at very high APRs. At its peak Morses had around 60,000 customers and was the largest competitor to Provident’s home credit operation. Sister brands included Shelby Finance Limited, which operated Dot Dot Loans (an online short-term lender).
In 2022, Morses Club proposed a Scheme of Arrangement to deal with around £144m of estimated affordability redress claims. Without the scheme, Morses would have been forced into administration with very limited customer recovery.
The scheme — and its failure
The Morses Club Scheme of Arrangement was court-approved in 2023, with key features:
- Claim window for affordability redress closed on 30 November 2023.
- The scheme was designed to compromise £144m of estimated claims into a much smaller fund.
- Customers could submit claims online, with redress paid as a percentage of calculated entitlement.
- The scheme depended on Morses continuing to trade and generate cashflow during the run-off period.
Within weeks of the claim window closing, the scheme failed. Morses Club plc entered administration on 17 November 2023 with Interpath Advisory appointed administrators. The Early Termination Fund — the small pot of money set aside for the scheme failure scenario — pays less than 0.5p in the pound on calculated affordability claims.
Connected entities
The Morses collapse extended to its sister entities:
- Shelby Finance Limited (Dot Dot Loans) — entered liquidation alongside Morses. The online short-term lending operation closed.
- CURO Group Holdings — Morses’ US-based parent, which had its own difficulties leading to its US operations entering Chapter 11 in 2024.
Where Morses complaints stand now
For most Morses customers, the practical position is constrained:
- Customers who claimed before 30 November 2023 — became scheme creditors, but the scheme failed. Recovery via the Early Termination Fund is less than 0.5p in the pound.
- Customers who did not claim before the deadline — generally cannot now bring affordability complaints. The scheme cut off new claims at the deadline, and the administration that followed cannot accept fresh complaints outside the standard administration creditor process.
- Active loans at the time of administration — repayments continued under the administration. Where loans have been sold to debt purchasers, the purchasers now service them.
- Shelby Finance / Dot Dot Loans claims — handled through the Shelby liquidation, with similarly limited recovery.
Why FOS uphold rates didn’t translate into recovery
The Financial Ombudsman Service had historically upheld around 67% of Morses Club complaints — a high rate reflecting genuine affordability problems with home credit lending. But the high uphold rate was precisely what drove the scheme attempt and the eventual administration. The volume of valid complaints was so large that:
- Morses could not pay all valid claims at full value.
- The scheme attempted to compromise the claims into a fraction of their value.
- When the scheme failed, even that smaller fraction wasn’t available — only the Early Termination Fund’s minimal payout.
What if the lender has gone into administration?.
Common patterns in Morses complaints
For customers who did claim under the scheme, FOS data showed common issues:
- Loans given to customers on benefits or low incomes with no realistic ability to absorb the very high effective interest cost sustainably.
- Repeat lending — multiple loans rolling over with the same agent.
- Affordability assessments based on agent observation rather than verified income and expenditure.
- Vulnerability indicators visible from the home visits but not factored into lending decisions.
- Refinancing of existing loans without proper reassessment.
For active customers
- Repayments continue under the original loan terms.
- For loans sold to debt purchasers, the purchaser is now the creditor — contact them about hardship support if needed.
- Credit-file entries can be checked and corrections requested where appropriate.
- Free debt advice is available from StepChange, Citizens Advice, or National Debtline.
Frequently asked questions
I missed the scheme deadline. Is anything still possible?
For most missed-deadline situations, the affordability complaint route is closed. The scheme was designed to be a final compromise of redress claims, and the subsequent administration cannot accept fresh affordability claims outside the standard creditor process.
Are Morses Club and Provident the same?
No — they were separate competitors. Both operated home credit. Both have collapsed. Provident closed its consumer credit division on 31 December 2021 and ran a separate Scheme of Arrangement. Morses entered administration on 17 November 2023 after its own scheme failed. The administration estates are entirely separate.
Related guides
- What if the lender has gone into administration?
- Doorstep loans claims hub
- How far back can I claim?
- Section 140A and the unfair relationship test
- Do I have an unaffordable lending claim?
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