Last updated 14/05/2020

 

Following the announcement from the Prime Minister on Monday 23rd March, all home visits have stopped until further notice.

 

Your Rep is still working and there if you need them. They can’t visit you but they are still on the phone. We’re here for you. Watch this video to find out how:

If you need to speak to your Rep please be patient, it could take longer than normal to get hold of them at the moment. As always, you should always try to get in touch with them first to discuss something on your account.

 

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.

 

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 - a period where you don’t have to make any repayments.

 

During this arrangement, we’re normally required to report your arrears to the Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs). However, because of the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic, we have agreed with the CRAs that we do not need to report any arrears for the period of the temporary arrangement. Instead, we will freeze the status of your account at the CRAs immediately before this arrangement was put into place. We cannot guarantee that this will not impact your ability to get credit 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
• You’ll be able to start to repay your loan once the payment deferral ends

 

Please note that if you delay your next three months’ payments, you’ll still have to make these payments at a later date.

 

Once the payment deferral ends, you’ll need to continue to make your regular payments. If the payment deferral ends and you’re unable to make your payments, please get in touch with us.

 

If the arrangement ends and there’s no new arrangement in place, or if you break this arrangement, we may record any arrears accrued on your account during the period of the payment deferral at 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 the arrangement.

 

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

 

How to pay without a home visit

 

We have a few payment options available. You can:

 

• Continue to make payments online
• Use our automated payment line by calling 0800 916 6440
• We’ve introduced a temporary new way to pay, which allows you to pay by calling your Rep. Your Rep will talk you through how this works

 

We’re also working on a number of other solutions. Please contact your Rep or check back over the coming days for more information.

 

How to get a loan without a home visit

 

If you’re an existing customer or have had a loan in the last 6 months, please contact your Rep who’ll be able to help.

 

If you're a new customer you can apply for a loan online. If you're accepted in principle a Rep will call you to finish the application.

 

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 walk 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 in 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 will 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.

 

Our Contact Centre

 

The Contact Centre is open Monday – Friday 8am – 6pm . 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.