There’s a Consumer Standards of Lending Practice which lenders should choose to adhere to, in relation to their fair treatment undertakings within the UK consumer lending sector.
By following the Consumer Standards of Lending Practice, such lenders should highlight to those consumers who need to sort out lending from them as part of an application process, some of the key responsibilities which they’d expect of the customer, in regards to the lending offered/provided and that it works well for both lender and consumer.
Such key lender responsibilities could be
- The lender will lend responsibly and aim to provide a lending product that is affordable to the customer.
- The lender will provide the customer with information about their products and services including they work. This to be done in a clear and understandable way, so the customer is able to make an informed decision as to what not only works best for them but for their needs also.
- Lenders could endeavour to make sure their products and services provide the required flexibility that their customers require when they need to sort out some borrowing from the lender.
- Lenders should treat customers fairly and reasonably at all times, ensuring that they are at all times provided with a high level of customer service.
- Should a customer find that information which the lender holds about them to be incorrect, the lender should act in a quick manner so as to rectify by putting things right.
- For those customers experiencing trouble financially, the lender should seek to understand their customers’ overall circumstances. As a result, then try and identify suitable options which their customer can afford, as well if suitable and where appropriate provide a reference to a free debt service to further assist with additional debts which they also may need to sort.
Such expected key consumer responsibilities could be
- That an existing or potentially new customer of a lender thinks very carefully as to whether they can afford to repay that which they wish to borrow, and that they are frank and open in their dealings with the lender.
- That customers take extreme care of ant cards, PINs, online log-in details and other security information so as to help prevent fraud, thus helping the lender to also protect the customers’ account.
- Customers must as a matter of urgency tell the lender if their card has been lost or stolen, or if it is known or suspected that someone else is misusing their confidential information, such as a PIN or online log-in details.
- Customers should regularly check their account information ensuring that it is accurate, and anything found to be incorrect is to be notified to the lender.