Auto Advance Unaffordable Lending Complaints
Auto Advance is one of the active UK logbook loan lenders, operated by Go AAG Ltd and based in Manchester. The company has been operating for around 20 years and is FCA-authorised. Where Auto Advance lending was unaffordable for the customer, the standard CONC and FOS complaint route applies. This page explains how it works.
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About Auto Advance
Auto Advance is owned and operated by Go AAG Ltd, headquartered in Manchester. Key features:
- FCA-authorised and regulated.
- Member of the Consumer Credit Association (the trade association for credit lenders in the UK).
- Loan amounts £300-£5,000 typically, with larger amounts available subject to vehicle value (advertised “from £300, up to £5,000 cash plus larger amounts via bank transfer”).
- Loans secured by Bill of Sale on the customer’s vehicle (cars, vans, motorbikes).
- Stores in London and the South East, plus over 600 agents nationwide.
- Same-day payouts.
- Approximately 20 years of trading history.
Affordability under CONC
Auto Advance, like all UK regulated consumer credit lenders, has to apply CONC 5.2A creditworthiness rules. For logbook loans:
- Reasonable and proportionate assessment scaled to the size and term of the loan.
- Sustainability — the borrower must be able to repay out of normal income, while meeting normal outgoings, without further borrowing.
- Very high effective interest rates demand thorough scrutiny.
- Vehicle security doesn’t replace the affordability obligation — the duty is to assess whether the borrower can sustainably repay, not whether the security covers the loan.
Auto Advance’s own marketing acknowledges affordability assessment: “To ensure a logbook loan, and repayments, are suitable for you, our team carry out fair and accurate affordability assessments prior to approving your loan.” Where, in fact, the assessment was inadequate or didn’t identify obvious distress, the complaint route applies.
Common patterns
Issues that have come up in logbook lending complaints generally:
- Affordability based on declared figures rather than verified evidence — particularly where bank statements would have shown a different picture.
- Borrowers refinancing existing distressed debt — using the logbook loan to consolidate, with the underlying inability to service the wider debt not being addressed.
- Top-up loans without proper reassessment — adding to an existing loan where the borrower was already struggling to repay.
- Customer reviews mentioning “I kept on topping up” — a pattern of repeat lending that may indicate inadequate fresh assessment for each new loan.
- HPI database / vehicle clearance issues — Bill of Sale entries on HPI not being cleared promptly after final settlement, which is a separate complaint issue but often relevant.
- Vulnerability indicators missed — health, mental health, recent life events not factored in.
How a claim works
- Eligibility check on the loan and your circumstances at the time.
- Subject Access Request to Auto Advance covering the lending decision, vehicle valuation, affordability assessment and account history.
- Bank statements and statutory credit report from the period.
- Complaint to Auto Advance — eight-week response window applies under DISP 1.6.2R.
- Escalation to the Financial Ombudsman if the response is unsatisfactory.
- Redress if successful — refund of interest and charges, 8% statutory interest, removal of adverse credit-file entries, balance offset, release of the Bill of Sale.
After-the-loan issues
Some customer complaints relate to post-settlement issues rather than the original lending — particularly:
- Vehicle still appearing on HPI as tied to Auto Advance after settlement.
- Documentation not received as promised.
- Settlement figure disputes.
These are separate from affordability complaints but follow the same DISP/FOS route — complaint to Auto Advance, eight-week window, escalation if needed.
Frequently asked questions
I kept topping up my Auto Advance loan — does that affect my complaint?
It’s often a pattern that strengthens the affordability case. Each top-up is a fresh lending decision with its own affordability obligation. Where the pattern shows the borrower returning repeatedly because they couldn’t sustainably manage the original debt, the proportionality threshold for fresh assessment was particularly high.
My vehicle still shows on HPI as having an Auto Advance loan — what should I do?
If the loan has been settled in full, the Bill of Sale should be released and the HPI marker cleared. If this hasn’t happened, raise it with Auto Advance directly with evidence of the settlement. If it isn’t resolved, the standard DISP route to FOS applies.
Related guides
- Logbook loans claims hub
- The CONC rules on affordability
- How the Financial Ombudsman handles unaffordable lending complaints
- How a claim works step by step
- Do I have an unaffordable lending claim?
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