loan finder uk ?????

kaciesdaddy

MSE official insert:

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Complaints against Loanfinder UK Limited and their response included the following:

1) Complaint:

Fees are taken out of customers' accounts without authorisation, using debit cards, the details of which are purportedly taken for identification or credit check purposes only.

Loanfinder response:

We do not conduct identity or credit checks when taking details from a customer and no claim is made in any telephone script or within any website content which would suggest otherwise. Unlike with most loan brokers, our customers don’t pay their service fee upfront before they’ve applied for their loan. Instead customers pay their fee between 1 and 6 weeks after they’ve made an application at a time of the customer’s choosing. Whether a customer has applied online or over the telephone the date and method of payment is chosen by the customer and then confirmed after the payment has been set.

2) Complaint:

Payment of fees is taken though loans are offered for an amount, which is below the amount needed and requested by customers.

Loanfinder response:

If a customer is not happy with the offer they’ve received from the lender they’ve been matched with all they need to do is simply contact us and we will find an alternative lender, update any new application information and if the customer is not satisfied with the service they’ve received they can request that the application is closed and that a refund is issued. We operate a completely independent service. We work for our customers, not the lender which we recommend to them. We aim to find our customers the best amount that’s available to them, at the best rate and with the fastest turn around time from application to payout. In conducting our search our primary focus is to match our customers with the best solution available for them, even if we don’t have a relationship with that lender. Where we don’t have a direct relationship with a particular lender, we won’t necessarily receive feedback about the amount that the lender has offered to our customers.

3) Complaint:

Payment is taken though the customer has cancelled the request for a loan.

Loanfinder response:

Again, we won’t always receive feedback from a lender if a customer has requested to cancel their application. If a customer experiences difficulties in applying to their lender, changes their mind about applying for a loan or wishes to cancel their application for any reason, all they need to do is contact us directly and the application will be cancelled.

4) Complaint:

Loanfinder mislead customers by saying that a fee will only be taken if a suitable loan is found for the customer and paid up.

Loanfinder response:

When a customer makes an application they choose the date on which the service fee will be paid. The fee is set up between 1 and 6 weeks after the initial application is made. This means that the customer is in complete control – if they’re not happy with the service by the time it comes to pay the service fee the customer can simply contact us and rearrange the date on which the fee is taken or cancel the service completely. We’re looking to match our customers with the best lender that’s out there for them, even if we don’t have a relationship with that lender. Because of this we won’t necessarily receive feedback from lenders on when a loan is paid out and so there is unfortunately no way that it would be possible for us to charge the service fee on pay out of the loan. If an application is taking longer than anticipated and it looks like a customer will not receive their loan the customer can rearrange the date on which the service fee is paid at any time by simply calling us.

5) Complaint:

Loanfinder process an application fee knowing that they will not be able find customers a suitable lender.

Loanfinder response:

We will only take applications from people that we’re certain we can help. The information customers provide is carefully analysed during the application, whether the application is made over the phone or online. If there are no products on our panel that would suit a customer or the customer is insolvent, the application won’t be accepted and the customer will never get to the stage of the application where they are asked to schedule the payment of the service fee.

6) Complaint:

Companies within the Richmond Group mislead customers by suggesting that they can guarantee a loan for a search fee of £49.

Loanfinder response:

We are the only part of the Richmond Group that offers a loan finding service. We are not able to guarantee a loan as it's not us paying out the money and we never do. We have strict internal procedures which forbid any call centre agent from giving any implication that the service is guaranteed, the implication that “loans are guaranteed” does not appear anywhere on our website or in any of our marketing material. The Loanfinder service is as the name suggests – to find a loan for our customers. Until we have conducted the search to match the customer with the best available lender, we wouldn’t be able to give any indication of the terms, duration, amount or rate at which money will be lent to the customer.

7) Complaint:

The Richmond Group, of which Loanfinder is a member, offer broker, lender and DMP services, each of which charge fees and each of which refer customers to each other.

Loanfinder response:

We are a completely independent broker, we will find the best solution out there for our customers whether or not it is a part of our group of companies. If a customer is recommended a company that is a part of our group, it will be because they are the best option for our customer’s personal circumstances. We always disclose if we have a relationship with the company that we’re recommending before a customer decides to make contact with that company.

8) Complaint:

Loanfinder offer customers loans from companies which have already rejected their application or which are unsuitable because no guarantor is able to guarantee the customer’s loan application.

Loanfinder response:

As part of a customer’s application they are asked who they currently have credit with and the details of any creditors who have turned them down before they applied. It is made clear that it is vital that the customer answers this information accurately so that we can find the right loan for the customer first time and as quickly as possible. If a customer indicates that they have outstanding credit with a particular lender or have been refused credit with a provider, these companies are excluded from the search. If any customer receives a recommendation for a lender that they don’t want to use for any reason, they can either decline it on their online account page or just call us and ask one of our telephone agents to do it for them. The customer will then be matched with the next best lender for their criteria. Guarantor products are becoming more and more popular in the UK as they offer lenders an amount of security when lending in an unsecured manner. Several guarantor products are offered to our customers when they are the best product available for them. If the customer does not like the lender that they’ve been matched with for any reason all they need to do is simply contact us and we will find an alternative lender for them.

9) Complaint:

Loanfinder operates a scam.

Loanfinder response:

We absolutely do not operate a scam and it is slanderous and libellous to suggest otherwise. We are part of one of the largest and most consumer friendly finance groups in the UK who have received many nationally recognised awards for the quality of our companies. We hold a consumer credit license that was issued and recently renewed by the Office of Fair Trading, who have complete knowledge of our business model. We have a no quibble refund policy. If a customer is not completely satisfied with the service they’ve received simply write to us and request a refund. Queries of this nature will usually be dealt with within 5 working days.

10) Complaint:

It is extremely difficult to obtain a refund from Loanfinder. Complaints are not dealt with over the phone.

Loanfinder response:

We have a no quibble refund policy. If a customer is not completely satisfied with the service they’ve received simply write to us and request a refund. Queries of this nature will usually be dealt with within 5 working days. Complaints and refund requests will be dealt with by a dedicated compliance team. This team does not work on the phone and complaints or refund requests should be forwarded in writing.

MSE_Investigator

MSE official insert

Loanfinder have asked us to post the following updated responses to complaints received on the MSE forums:

1) Complaint:

Fees are taken out of customers’ accounts without authorisation, using
debit cards, the details of which are purportedly taken for identification
or credit check purposes only.

Loanfinder response:

We never take any money (by Direct Debit or card) unless a customer agrees
to it by completing our online application form, and we only do it on a day
that they have chosen. Loanfinder do not identity check customers and we’ve
never claimed to do that. Customers are always free to check out the
application process on our site and see for themselves that what we say is
true.

2) Complaint:

Payment of fees is taken though loans are offered for an amount, which is
below the amount needed and requested by customers.

Loanfinder response:

We want our customers to be happy…wait, scratch that….*delighted* with our
service, but we can only find loans that lenders are offering. If anyone is
unhappy with a loan amount that they are offered, or anything else about the
loan found for them, they can reject a lender online on their ‘My Lenders’
page. If they don’t want us to find a different lender they can click on
their ‘My Account’ page and cancel the whole service at any time. For our
part we will always find the best loan that is available for a customer,
based on their personal circumstances. We don’t think there’s anyone else in
the UK that will do that.

3) Complaint:

Payment is taken though the customer has cancelled the request for a
loan.

Loanfinder response:

We have checked this and found no evidence that this has ever happened.
Every customer using the site is in control of their own account, sets up a
payment themselves, and can cancel it themselves. The system only takes
payments where a service hasn’t been cancelled. If something ever did go
wrong with this we’ve put in a safety net, our ‘Contact Us’ page has a
simple refund request form. Anyone who has paid a fee but isn’t satisfied
for any reason can complete this for an automatic refund.

4) Complaint:

Loanfinder mislead customers by saying that a fee will only be taken if a
suitable loan is found for the customer and paid up.

Loanfinder response:

Anyone can check what we say by visiting our website at any time. We think
we are really clear but to make sure everyone understands, we haven’t just
put it on our site, we’re going onto other sites, like this one, to explain
clearly how we work.

5) Complaint:

When you apply for a loan with us you agree to pay a fee in the future, if
you are happy. If you aren’t happy you can log on and cancel - if you don’t
cancel we will take the fee. We are truly independent and most of the 400+
lenders we search don’t tell us what the outcome of the application is, and
that’s the only way we can know if a customer has got the loan they wanted.

Loanfinder response:

In short, if our customers let us know that the loan didn’t go through, we
can provide another recommendation, cancel it without hassle, or sort out a
refund – easy!

6) Complaint:

Loanfinder process an application fee knowing that they will not be able
to find customers a suitable lender.

Loanfinder response:

Although we’ve gained lots of experience from processing over 1 million loan
applications in the last 2 years, we never know for sure what a lender will
offer, or what a customer will be happy with. Everyone is different, and we
believe in giving people a choice and control. When someone applies they
choose the date that they want to pay, up to 6 weeks later. We leave it up
to our customers to tell us if the best lender is good enough for them. If
it’s not, they can cancel or have a refund.

7) Complaint:

Companies within the Richmond Group mislead customers by suggesting that
they can guarantee a loan for a search of £49.

Loanfinder response:

Loanfinder is the only part of the Richmond Group that currently offers a
loan search and we never ask for a fee in advance. We have never guaranteed
acceptance for a loan; as an independent broker that would be impossible.

8) Complaint:

The Richmond Group, of which Loanfinder is a member, offer broker,
lender, and DMP services, each of which charge fees and each of which refer
customers to each other.

Loanfinder response:

The Richmond Group own a number of financial services companies - however
each is run independently. When our websites offer other Richmond Group
products to a customer, we make it clear that the company is part of our
group. We also clearly label it as a ‘sponsored result’ and the search that
we perform is completely independent. To ensure we are never accused of
favouritism, we have deliberately removed Richmond group lenders from our
search.

9) Complaint:

Loanfinder offer customers loans from companies which have already rejected their application or which are unsuitable because no guarantor is able to guarantee the customer’s loan application.

Loanfinder response:

We rely on our customers to provide accurate answers to questions so that we can make the right recommendation first time. One of the questions all applicants have to answer is ‘who have you been rejected by in the past’. If we are not given this information there is a small chance that a customer may be recommended a lender who has already rejected them.

As well as standard unsecured loans, we also search niche and unusual sources of finance for our customers. These include Guarantor Loans, Credit Unions, Payday Loans, Home Credit, online and local asset finance, Log Book finance and Benefits-Agency loans. These niche lenders are always presented separately as alternatives but are NEVER the only option which we recommend. We want to give our customers the maximum amount of choice and control. We believe that finance in the UK needs to be made more transparent
and we are on a mission to be the website that makes this happen.

10) Complaint:

Loanfinder operates a scam.

Loanfinder response:

Not even close. In the last 24 months we have dealt with over 1 million loan applications. We are the only independent loan broker in the UK that works on behalf of customers, not lenders. We are massively proud of what we’ve achieved in the last 2 years but we are still looking for ways to make what we do even more transparent. If anyone has used our site and can think of a way that it can be improved we’d love to hear from you in person. Contact us by email and arrange a visit to our offices, have a cup of tea and share
your experiences with us.

11) Complaint:

It is extremely difficult to obtain a refund from Loanfinder. Complaints are not dealt with over the phone.

Loanfinder response:

We have a dedicated page on our site for making a refund request; it’s one of the 5 options on our ‘Contact Us’ page. We guarantee a response to all complaints within 48 hours, but most often, it is within 2 hours. Like many web-based businesses, we don’t have a call centre - this helps us to keep our costs down and offer our customers a better, cheaper service.