Logbook Money Unaffordable Lending Complaints
If you took out a Logbook Money loan and the borrowing was unaffordable for you to repay sustainably — leaving you in difficulty, missing payments, or facing the prospect of losing your vehicle — you may be entitled to a refund of interest and charges. Logbook loans are very high-cost secured credit products, with representative APRs that can run into hundreds of percent. The same FCA affordability rules that apply to other consumer credit apply here. Logbook Money Limited (FRN 680947) is FCA-authorised and remains active, so the standard CONC and FOS complaint route is available.
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About Logbook Money
Logbook Money Limited (FRN 680947) is a UK logbook loan lender that operates in partnership with Cash Converters (UK) Limited as credit broker. Loans are secured against the customer’s vehicle by a Bill of Sale, with the lender becoming the legal owner of the vehicle until the loan is repaid in full. The customer continues driving the vehicle during the loan term but the lender can repossess if repayments fall behind.
Typical Logbook Money product features:
- Loan amounts £1,000-£10,000 (and sometimes higher).
- Weekly repayments collected by direct debit or continuous payment authority.
- Representative APR around 442.66% — interest rate around 120% per annum.
- Loans secured by Bill of Sale on a vehicle owned outright (or near-outright) by the customer.
- Customers with bad credit or poor credit scores accepted, subject to the vehicle and affordability assessment.
Logbook loans and Bills of Sale
Logbook loans use the Bills of Sale Acts 1878 and 1882 — Victorian legislation that allows ownership of a chattel (here, a vehicle) to be transferred to a lender as security while the borrower retains possession. Important features for complaint purposes:
- Bills of Sale apply only in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — not Scotland.
- The lender can repossess the vehicle without a court order in many circumstances.
- Once the customer has paid more than one third of the total amount owed, a court order is generally required for repossession (Consumer Credit Act 1974).
- A 2017 Law Commission proposal to repeal the Bills of Sale Acts was not implemented; the framework remains in force.
Affordability under CONC
Under CONC 5.2A, Logbook Money has to carry out a reasonable and proportionate creditworthiness assessment before lending. The assessment must consider:
- Whether the borrower can repay the loan sustainably — out of normal income, while meeting normal outgoings, without further borrowing.
- The very high effective cost of the credit and the consequences of inability to repay (vehicle loss).
- The borrower’s wider financial situation, including existing commitments and credit history.
- Vulnerability factors — physical or mental health issues, recent life events, financial inexperience.
- The proportionality of checks to the size and term of the loan.
Common patterns in logbook loan complaints
- Affordability assessment too light for the cost of the credit — at 442% APR a £1,300 loan over 18 months totals £3,640. Proportionate scrutiny is much higher than for a low-cost loan of the same nominal amount.
- Borrower already in financial difficulty — recent defaults, payday loan use, or short-term credit on file at the time of the loan, with the logbook loan effectively used to refinance unsustainable debt.
- Income verification not proportionate — single payslips or declared income relied on without further verification.
- Vulnerability indicators missed — health, mental health, recent life events not factored in.
- Top-up loans without proper reassessment — adding to existing logbook borrowing where the original loan is already in difficulty.
How a claim works
- Eligibility check on the loan and your circumstances at the time.
- Subject Access Request to Logbook Money covering the lending decision data, vehicle valuation, affordability assessment and account history.
- Bank statements and statutory credit report from the period.
- Complaint to Logbook Money — eight-week response window applies.
- 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 where applicable, and where appropriate release of the Bill of Sale on the vehicle.
If your vehicle has been repossessed
Where the vehicle has been repossessed and sold by the lender to recover the debt, but the original lending was unaffordable, the redress picture changes:
- The repossession sale produces a credit to the loan account.
- A successful affordability complaint refunds the interest and charges paid into the account.
- Combined, this can produce a credit balance owed back to the customer — sometimes substantial.
- Credit-file entries linked to the unaffordable lending can be corrected.
Vehicle repossession is not a bar to a complaint — in many ways the impact of a successful complaint is greater where the vehicle was lost, because the financial harm was also greater.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim if I live in Scotland?
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the wider position on regional differences in consumer credit law.
My loan is still active and I’m worried about losing the car. Can I complain?
Yes — you can complain about the original lending decision while the loan is still active. If the complaint succeeds, the redress is normally applied against the outstanding balance first, which can resolve any current arrears.
Related guides
- Logbook loans claims hub
- The CONC rules on affordability
- How the Financial Ombudsman handles unaffordable lending complaints
- Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Do I have an unaffordable lending claim?
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