resolving credit disputes

The consumer minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, announced a new system providing borrowers and lenders with an cheaper and easier alternative to court, to resolve consumer credit disputes.

The Financial Ombudsman Service, will offer Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) from April 2006, for disputes arising under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

At present if a borrower is unable to resolve a dispute with their lender, and the lender is not a bank or building society, the only way to resolve the dispute is to take court action.

From April 2006, if a borrower cannot resolve a dispute with their lender, they can take it to the Ombudsman Service for help to resolve the problem.

The Department of Trade and Industry white paper detailing how the Government is working toward making the consumer credit market more transparent, fairer and trusted is titled Fair, Clear and Competitive: the Consumer Credit Market in the 21st Century

Resolving Credit Disputes