Everyone struggles from time to time. When money is tight, a loan can seemingly take away the stress of making ends meet. However most loans come with big interest charges attached and sometimes the monthly repayments can exceed the money coming in, so in no time at all, you are in even more debt!

Irresponsible lending has been the focus of much media attention recently and for very good reasons. The scale of this problem has meant that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) undertook a full-scale enquiry into 'bad lending'. The results of which were released in March, where the OFT have clearly laid the blame of irresponsible lending with the Lenders.

What is Irresponsible Lending?

Irresponsible lending is essentially when you have been lent money which you cannot afford to repay or when the credit was unsuitably arranged, for example the term was too long, it went beyond your retirement age or that the consolidation of your debt has not worked.

Irresponsible lending can also be a result of bad advice, such as when you receive advice from a lender to take out credit when it may not be in your best interest to do so. You may have been advised to take out more than you had originally planned for, and the repayments may have been over budget.  We all trust the advice we receive from a person whose profession is lending, but it is the representative’s responsibility to ensure that the credit product being sold is suitable for your needs and repayment ability.

Bad arrears handling is another issue related to irresponsible lending. This is when the credit provider must have noticed your struggle to repay the debt but have failed to offer you any help or that the help you received could have been provided sooner.

Help is available

Lenders have a responsibility to give you proper advice when you're looking for a loan. If a lender has not acted responsibly in your case, our mission is to recoup your losses and put you back in the financial position you would have be in, had the correct advice been given.

We tackle all sorts of irresponsible lending issues, including:

• High pressure selling that encourages you to borrow more than you need
• Lenders who don’t consider your ability to repay
• Lenders who insist you take out a loan to repay your overdraft, credit card, bank charges, or to consolidate an existing loan
• Mortgages in excess of 100% of your house value or self-certification mortgages
• Lenders who increase your overdraft or credit card limit without your permission

How it works

The good news is that it's simple to get your claim going. Every case is different and as we offer a bespoke claims service, we are interested in your story.

These are the kinds of results from which our clients benefit:

• All or part of the outstanding balance cleared
• Overdraft and current account charges refunded
• Interest refunded
• Outstanding debts reduced to help regain financial stability

Our commitment

EMCAS is committed to winning your case. Irresponsible lending can be damaging for individuals and it's damaging for the national economy too.

If you think you may have been affected by irresponsible lending then get in touch and we can establish whether or not you too may be eligible for compensation.

If you have any questions regarding Irresponsible Lending please visit our 'Frequently Asked Questions' section.