Consumer Finance

Welcome to the consumer finance pages.

The FLA is the leading trade association for the consumer credit sector in the UK.

Member companies provided more than £60 billion to consumers in 2008, representing almost 30% of all unsecured lending in the UK.  That included over £18 billion of finance to the motor sector. In fact, more than 50% of all new car registrations in the UK were financed by FLA members. 

Guidance

On this site you will find lots of guidance for consumers on the types of finance products,  money advice, explanations of how credit decisions are taken and what happens when you want to repay your loan early.  You will also find tips on credit repair, fraud prevention and our guide to financing a car.                      

Who are our members and what sort of credit do they provide?

Our members include banks, subsidiaries of banks and building societies, the finance sections of leading retailers and manufacturing companies, and a range of independent firms. They provide a wide range of facilities, including finance leasing, operating leasing, hire purchase, conditional sale, personal contract purchase plans, personal lease plans, secured and unsecured personal loans, credit cards and store cards. 

Best practice

The FLA promotes best practice in lending and leasing.  Our Lending Code sets out standards of good practice for the finance and leasing industry. It is your reassurance, when you apply for finance from a full member of the FLA, that you are doing business with a reputable organisation. The code was recently described by the Financial Ombudsman Service as the industry’s good practice benchmark.