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 around £52 billion to consumers in 2011, representing almost 30% of all unsecured lending in the UK. Within that total, FLA members provided £13.6 billion of motor finance to consumers and financed over 60% of all new private car registrations.  

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.

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.                      

FLA Complaints Scheme

The FLA can only consider complaints against FLA members.

In order to use the FLA complaints scheme your complaint must have been through your lender’s own complaints process.

If you have previously complained to the FLA about Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), please contact your lender first.  They will let you know what action you should take.   

If this is your first complaint about PPI, and you have already received a response that you are unhappy with from your lender, please download our complaint form by clicking the "Consumer" button to the left, and following the instructions there.

Please note that the FLA cannot award compensation or make a decision about your complaint. 

The FLA does not provide legal advice under any circumstances. If you require legal advice you should contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau, Trading Standards Office or a Solicitor.