As the COVID-19 situation continues to change and evolve, we know it’s creating lots of uncertainty for both our customers and colleagues. We’re truly sorry that this is affecting you, your family and friends and we will do what we can to help get you through these troubling times.

 

Your Rep is still working and there if you need them. Don't hesitate to call or text them if you need support with your account. 

 

Home visits

 

Our Reps will only visit you if it's safe to do so. They won't visit you if:

 

• There's a lockdown in place, local or national
• They can't talk to you on the phone first
• They can't do a risk assessment over the phone with you first

 

There are other ways to get a loan and pay if your Rep can't visit. Find out more below.

 

How to get a loan without a home visit

 

If you're a new or existing customer you can apply for a loan online. If you're accepted in principle a Rep will call you to finish the application. During lockdown periods we’ll send the money straight to your bank account. Your bank account can’t be a savings account and must be able to take FASTER payments/ Direct Debits for us to do this. If there isn’t a lockdown in place we can drop off the money to you in cash. We’ll follow social distancing rules if we do this.

 

You can also contact your Rep if you’re an existing customer, or have had a loan in the last 6 months. They’ll be happy to help.

 

How to pay without a home visit

 

You can pay your Rep over the phone if they can't visit you. You can also pay:

 

• Straight from your bank account, if this was set up when you got your loan
• Using our automated payment line by calling 0800 916 6440
• On our website

 

Speak to your Rep for more information. 

 

Help with your loan 

 

If you’ve found yourself in a situation where you’re not able to make your next payment, please don’t worry. We won’t ever charge you for missed or late payments, but you’ll need to let us know as soon as you are or will be affected so we can help you.

 

We’ve got a range of support options available to either reduce your payments, or allow you to take a payment deferral for between 3 and 6 months - a period where you don’t have to make any repayments. There are some deadline dates to ask for a payment deferral. Get in touch with us quickly if you think you're going to struggle to make your full payment. 

 

Because of the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic, we will not report any arrears for the period of the deferral to the Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs), up to a maximum of 6 months. Instead, we will freeze the status of your account with the CRAs immediately before this arrangement is put into place. We cannot guarantee that this will not impact your ability to get credit, as creditors may use other sources of information to assess your financial status, but believe this is a fair outcome.

 

By requesting a payment deferral, you’re confirming:

 

• You’ve been financially impacted by the coronavirus
• You want to proceed with the payment deferral

 

Please note that if you delay your next three months’ payments (and further payments up to a maximum of 6 months), you’ll still have to make these payments at a later date and your loan may take longer to repay.

 

Once the payment deferral ends, we'll be in touch about starting to make your regular payments again. If the payment deferral ends and you’re unable to make your payments, please get in touch with us to discuss further support we may be able to provide.

 

If the payment deferral ends and there’s no new payment deferral in place, or if you break/end the payment deferral, we will start to record any arrears accrued on your account after this point with the Credit Reference Agencies. This may negatively impact your credit file.

 

It’s very important that you discuss with us any change to your financial circumstances during the payment deferral and in particular before the end date so that we may review this for you.

 

You can request a payment deferral by speaking to your Rep in the first instance.

 

If your income is affected

 

We know that this situation is having, or will have, an impact on some people’s incomes. If you think you might be affected, you might be worried about getting behind with your payments.

 

If this does happen, we’ll understand.

 

• In the first instance, talk to your Rep on the phone or by text and they can talk you through the options available to you
• We also have a range of FAQs online which may help answer your question – you can find them here
• If you’re finding it difficult to manage your money, but you’re not comfortable speaking with us, you might find some of the helpful information here useful
• Alternatively, you can fill in our online contact form
• You can call our contact centre on 0800 096 6064 to talk about your options. Please note, wait times may be longer than usual

 

The best thing to do is talk to your Rep. There are lots of ways we can help if you find yourself struggling to pay. The following organisations may also be able to offer you free and independent advice. 

Our Contact Centre

 

The Contact Centre is open Monday – Friday 8am – 6pm, except bank holidays. We want to be able to help all our customers. Please always speak to your Rep first, they should be able to help with any questions you have.

 

Where can I find out more about the coronavirus?

 

The UK Government website, NHS and World Health Organisation (WHO) are the best sources of information.

 

You can also find helpful information on the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) website.