Which Types Of Credit Can Be Claimed As Unaffordable?
Most regulated consumer credit in the UK can, in principle, be the subject of an unaffordable lending complaint. The exact rules differ slightly between products — overdrafts, for instance, have their own dedicated section in CONC — but the underlying duty to lend affordably runs through them all. This page lists the main credit types that can be claimed and the typical issues that arise with each.
Check your agreements on Recoup, our claim partner’s site
Credit cards
Credit cards are one of the most-complained-about products at FOS for unaffordable lending. Common patterns include opening limits being set too high, automated credit limit increases without proportionate review, and persistent debt left unaddressed for years.
What is persistent debt — credit card claims.
Personal loans
Personal loans — fixed-term, fixed-amount unsecured loans — have to satisfy CONC 5.2A in full at the point of advance. Common issues include reliance on declared income with no verification despite obvious red flags, top-up loans extended where the original loan was already in difficulty, and loans given despite recent defaults or active payday borrowing on file.
Overdrafts
Overdrafts have a dedicated affordability framework in CONC 5D, introduced after the FCA’s 2018 high-cost credit review. The rules require banks to identify customers in repeat overdraft use and to intervene proactively. Common complaint patterns include long-term overdraft reliance the bank should have identified and acted on, limit increases without proportionate review, and continued overdraft availability despite returned direct debits and other distress signals already visible on the bank’s own data.
Catalogue credit and store cards
Catalogue accounts often start small but credit limits are repeatedly increased over years, sometimes automatically and without fresh affordability review. Because catalogue credit is often used by customers with thinner credit files or lower incomes, proportionate checks particularly matter. Many catalogue brands are operated by a small number of underlying lenders (NewDay, N Brown, Shop Direct/Very Group), so complaints about different brands can sometimes share the same root cause.
Payday and short-term loans
Payday and short-term high-cost loans were the original focus of unaffordable lending complaints from 2015 onwards. The FCA’s 2014 price cap on high-cost short-term credit dramatically reduced new lending volumes, but historic claims continue. Common issues include repeat lending without scrutiny, rollovers, and continued lending to customers obviously caught in a cycle of borrowing.
Several major payday lenders have failed and entered administration — Wonga, QuickQuid, Peachy, Safetynet Credit, Provident’s payday brands, and others. Where lenders have collapsed, FOS can no longer help, and any redress is subject to whatever administration scheme exists.
Doorstep (home-collected) loans
Doorstep lending — small unsecured loans collected at the borrower’s home, typically at very high APRs — has faced sustained scrutiny over affordability. Provident’s Scheme of Arrangement (concluded 2022) and Morses Club’s administration (November 2023) closed the two largest historic doorstep lenders to new complaints, and complaints against them now run through the relevant scheme or administrator. A small number of doorstep lenders continue to trade.
Guarantor loans
Guarantor loans — where a third party (typically a friend or family member) guarantees repayment — have been heavily affected by mass redress. Amigo, the largest guarantor lender, completed a Scheme of Arrangement that closed for new claims in November 2022. TFS Loans/TrustTwo entered administration in 2024. A few guarantor lenders continue to operate, and complaints against them follow the standard CONC affordability route.
Logbook loans
Logbook loans (bills of sale on motor vehicles) are still legal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland but are a small and shrinking market. Where a lender remains FCA-authorised, the standard affordability framework applies. Many historic logbook lenders have either exited the market or merged into broader car finance brands.
Buy Now Pay Later (from 15 July 2026)
Most third-party Buy Now Pay Later — what the FCA calls deferred payment credit (DPC) — comes under FCA regulation from 15 July 2026 (Regulation Day) under PS26/1, published February 2026. From that point, the CONC creditworthiness rules apply to new DPC agreements, complaints can be referred to FOS under its compulsory jurisdiction, and the same affordability framework applies as to other regulated credit.
BNPL and the new FCA rules from July 2026 for the full picture.
What is generally outside the scope
Some credit products fall outside the standard unaffordable lending framework or have their own separate routes:
- First-charge mortgages — covered by MCOB rather than CONC. Affordability concerns about a mortgage follow a different path.
- Second-charge mortgages — also covered by MCOB since 2016, but pre-2016 second charges fell under CONC.
- Most car finance hire-purchase agreements — covered by separate CONC sections (and currently subject to ongoing motor finance commission litigation).
- Business lending — generally outside the consumer credit framework altogether.
- Pre-2014 lending — the OFT’s Irresponsible Lending Guidance applied at the time, but FOS still applies a similar substantive test.
Related guides
- What is unaffordable lending?
- The CONC rules on affordability — a plain-English guide
- BNPL and the new FCA rules from July 2026
- What is persistent debt — credit card claims
- Do I have an unaffordable lending claim?
Check If You Could Be Owed Compensation
You may be eligible to complain if a lender gave you credit you couldn’t afford. Start a free check in minutes — no paperwork needed. No win, no fee if you choose to proceed.
