What is a letter before action?

A letter before action (LBA) is a formal notice sent before starting court proceedings. It sets out your claim, the legal basis (e.g. Consumer Rights Act 2015, Housing Act 1988), the remedy you seek, and a deadline to respond — typically 14 days. Civil Procedure Rules require this step before most court claims, and courts take a dim view of parties who skip it.

Can I write my own legal letter?

Yes. You do not need a solicitor to write a legal letter. What matters is citing the correct legislation, stating your claim with precise dates and amounts, and giving a clear deadline. A well-drafted letter citing the right Act and section often resolves disputes without court proceedings — and costs nothing extra to send.

Does a legal letter actually work?

In many cases, yes. Most businesses, landlords, and employers respond when they receive a formally worded letter that cites specific legislation and mentions court or tribunal proceedings as the next step. It signals you know your rights and are prepared to escalate — which is often enough to get a resolution.

What UK legislation covers consumer complaints and refunds?

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is the primary law. Section 9 requires goods to be of satisfactory quality; section 20 gives you the right to a full refund within 30 days if goods are faulty. For services, section 49 requires reasonable care and skill. For distance/online purchases, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you a 14-day cooling-off period.

30 August 2026

Trapped by a Payday or Doorstep Loan? How to Reclaim the Interest for Irresponsible Lending (UK)

Millions of people in the UK have taken out a high-cost loan — a payday loan, a doorstep or home-collected loan, a guarantor loan, a catalogue account — that they could never realistically afford, often rolling one into the next just to keep up. What far fewer people know is that a lender is not simply allowed to lend to anyone who asks. Under the rules that govern consumer credit, a lender must check that a loan is affordable before handing it over. If it did not, or if a proper check would have shown you could not sustainably repay, that is irresponsible (or “unaffordable”) lending — and you may be able to reclaim the interest and charges you paid, free of charge.

General information for the UK. Not legal or financial advice. Current as at August 2026 — always check the current position before you act.

The core rule: the Financial Conduct Authority’s lending rules (the CONC sourcebook, in particular the creditworthiness rules at CONC 5.2A) require a lender to carry out a reasonable, proportionate check that the borrowing is affordable — that you could repay it sustainably, without having to borrow again or go without essentials — before lending. Skipping that check, or lending anyway when the check would have shown you could not cope, is what makes lending “irresponsible”.

What counts as irresponsible lending

You do not have to prove the lender acted dishonestly. The question is whether it lent responsibly. Common signs that it did not include:

You were given loan after loan, or the same loan was rolled over or refinanced repeatedly — a classic sign the lending was unaffordable and getting worse;
The repayments took such a large share of your income that you had to borrow again to cover essentials or other debts;
The lender did little or no checking of your income and outgoings, or ignored obvious warning signs (existing debts, missed payments, a gambling pattern on your statements);
You were lent ever-larger amounts despite a worsening financial picture.

This is judged case by case on your actual circumstances at the time, so no outcome is guaranteed — but a pattern of repeat, rolling or escalating borrowing is exactly what these rules were designed to catch.

What you can get back

If a complaint succeeds, the redress is designed to put you back in the position you would have been in without the unaffordable lending. Typically that means:

A refund of the interest and charges you paid on the unaffordable loan(s). You do not get the amount you borrowed refunded — you had the use of that money — only the cost of the borrowing on top;
8% statutory interest added to that refund to reflect the time you were out of pocket;
The loan and any related negative markers removed from your credit file.

One important mechanic: if you still owe money on the loan, the refund is usually set off against the outstanding balance first, and only any surplus is paid to you in cash. So on a loan you never fully repaid, a “win” may mean the balance is cleared or reduced rather than a cheque landing on your doormat.

How to complain — and why you never need a claims company

The process is deliberately free and open to you directly:

Complain to the lender first. Set out that the lending was unaffordable, why (the repeat borrowing, the missed checks, the impact on you), and what you want — a refund of interest and charges and removal from your credit file. Give the loan dates and amounts if you have them.
The lender has 8 weeks to send a final response.
If it rejects your complaint or misses the deadline, escalate free to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The Ombudsman looks at the case afresh and can order the lender to pay redress. It decides case by case, so it will not always find in your favour — but the process costs you nothing.

Do not pay a claims company a slice of a free process

Claims-management firms advertise heavily to run these complaints for you — and take a cut, often 25% or more, of anything you recover. You do not need one. The complaint goes to the lender and then, for free, to the Financial Ombudsman. A clear written complaint from you carries exactly the same weight.

The time limits

There are two clocks, and you generally need to fall within whichever is more generous:

Six years from when the lending happened; or, if later,
Three years from when you were reasonably aware you had cause to complain (for example when you realised the pattern of unaffordable lending had harmed you).

This “three years from awareness” limb is why complaints about quite old payday loans can still succeed — but it is assessed case by case and is not automatic, so do not assume an old loan always qualifies. Separately, once the lender sends its final response you normally have six months to take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, so do not sit on a rejection.

It is not just payday loans

The same affordability principle applies across high-cost and consumer credit: doorstep / home-collected loans, guarantor loans, catalogue and mail-order accounts, high-cost instalment loans, rent-to-own and logbook loans. Credit cards and overdrafts can also be challenged on affordability grounds — for instance a card limit repeatedly raised while you were only making minimum payments — though the detailed rules there differ. If a guarantor paid on your behalf, the guarantor may also be entitled to a refund of what they paid.

The trap that stops many claims dead: a lender that has gone bust

Many of the biggest payday and guarantor lenders have collapsed into administration. If your lender is insolvent, you cannot get a normal refund — the Financial Ombudsman route no longer applies, and you can usually only claim into the administrator’s scheme, which typically pays a small fraction of what you would otherwise be owed, sometimes only pennies in the pound, and often on a strict deadline. In some cases only the credit-file correction survives. Check whether your lender is still trading before you pin your hopes on a cash refund — and if it is in administration, get your claim into the scheme before its deadline.

Getting the letter right

A clear written complaint is what turns “you agreed to the loan” into a proper affordability complaint the lender has to investigate and answer within 8 weeks. A good letter identifies the loan(s) and dates, explains why the lending was unaffordable (the repeat borrowing, the missed checks, the impact on you), states that it breached the lender’s affordability obligations under the FCA’s consumer-credit rules, and asks for a refund of interest and charges plus removal from your credit file — and makes clear you will take it to the Financial Ombudsman if it is not resolved. It also gives you the paper trail you need if it goes further.

Generate Your Irresponsible-Lending Complaint Letter in Seconds

WriteMyLegalLetter drafts a clear, firm complaint to your lender setting out why the lending was unaffordable, the redress you are owed — a refund of interest and charges, 8% interest, and removal from your credit file — and the deadline to respond before you escalate to the Financial Ombudsman. Answer a few questions and your letter is ready to send.

Write My Letter Now →

Consumer-credit regulation and the Financial Ombudsman Service apply UK-wide (financial services are regulated at UK level), so this route is the same in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sources: FCA Handbook (CONC, including the creditworthiness rules at CONC 5.2A); Financial Ombudsman Service guidance on unaffordable-lending complaints; FCA DISP complaint-handling rules. Current as at August 2026. General information, not legal or financial advice — check the current position before you act.