Consumer Duty

Simple Finance UK is a trading name of William Ellis Sinclair, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, FRN 618190. It’s FCA permissions relate only to consumer credit brokering.

The New Consumer Duty is, a new FCA Principle, which aims to get the financial services industry to 'do the right thing' by its customers. The New Consumer Duty presents firms with a fundamental issue. Every aspect of business activity must be examined and adjusted if necessary.

We take our responsibilities to our customers very seriously and want to ensure that the experience they have with us is positive.

To that end, we aim to ensure that all the lenders that we work with are responsible and have the same values as us. We undertake due diligence on all of our partners.

The Consumer Duty means that firms have a responsibility to ensure right outcomes for customers throughout the product cycle and their entire journey with the firm. From development and testing of a product (manufacture), suitability of the product for that consumer, sale and post-sale information (distribution) and ensuring the consumer can make an informed decision based on the information provided.

Simple Finance UK do not manufacture or design any products. We provide a service which puts a customer in contact with a lender which may best suit their current circumstances.

The lender should provide the customer with all the requisite documentation to ensure that the loan they take out meets their needs and their particular circumstances. Customers should not be pressured to take out more than they can afford and rigid affordability checks should be undertaken to reflect this.

Customers should not be offended if they are turned down for a loan as this means that the lenders are acting responsibly and it may be that you need to take alternative steps to address your current financial situation. If you are in any doubt as to whether a loan is suitable for you, you should contact the Citizens Advice Bureau or Money helper – free, impartial advice services which can help and support you.

Information you should consider:

We believe we are acting in good faith towards you, by providing you with information to make an informed decision and enabling you to ask any questions before you decide you want to make an application.

This is characterised by our honesty, fair and open dealings and acting consistently with the reasonable expectations of our customers.

We believe we are acting to avoid foreseeable harm to customers by helping consumers enable them to take decisions based on appreciation of the risks involved in taking out a loan.

We also want to enable and support customers to pursue their financial objectives and we do this by trying to match you with a lender that may offer you a loan that suits your current circumstances.

Before you take out or apply for any loan, you should consider whether you really need it. Can you save up for the thing that you want? If you can, you will save on interest payments. Taking out a loan to pay off other debt, will only lead to a debt spiral and financial hardship. Short term loans should also not be taken out to cover long tern financial commitments.

If you are in any doubt or require any further information, speak to a not for profit organisation such as the Citizen’s Advice Bureau or Money Helper.