Consumer credit refers in practice to credit provided to an individual acting for personal (non-business) purposes, including loans, credit cards, hire-purchase, store cards and other forms of deferred payment for goods or services. It is central to retail banking, motor finance, e‑commerce and high‑street lending.In England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, “consumer credit” is principally governed by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (as amended), related secondary legislation and FCA rules under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The legislation defines “consumer credit agreement” and “regulated agreement”, setting out licensing/authorisation requirements, form and content rules, pre‑contract disclosure, advertising standards, early settlement rights, unfair relationship provisions and enforcement consequences for non‑compliance.In Ireland, consumer credit is regulated mainly under the Consumer Credit Act 1995 (as amended), the Central Bank Acts and associated codes, including the Consumer Protection Code. The terminology and scope are broadly similar, focussing on credit provided to natural persons acting outside their trade, business or profession, but with distinct statutory definitions, monetary thresholds and regulatory requirements.Across all jurisdictions, consumer credit is a heavily regulated area given concerns about over‑indebtedness, responsible lending, arrears management and consumer protection.

It is an agreement between an individual (the 'debtor') and any other person (the 'creditor') by which the creditor provides the debtor with credit of any amount. It must provide certain pre-contractual information to the consumer in a standardised form as defined by EC Directive 2008/48/EC.

This Practice Note explores the post-contract obligations that apply to firms carrying on consumer credit-related activities. In particular, Chapter 6 of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Credit sourcebook (CONC 6), together with certain provisions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974), sets out rules and guidance on post-contract requirements, including the information to be provided to consumers, the rules on appropriating payments received from a customer, the assignment of rights under a consumer credit agreement, conduct of business in relation to pawnbroking and post-contract business practices. CONC 5 also includes rules and guidance on responsible lending requirements, including the requirement to conduct a creditworthiness assessment before increasing the amount of credit under a credit agreement. For more information on CONC 5, see Practice Note: Responsible lending requirements—CONC 5. For information on the right to withdraw or cancel a consumer credit agreement, see Practice Note: Cancellation and withdrawal provisions for consumer credit and hire agreements. What are post-contract requirements? 'Post-contract requirements' is an umbrella term covering the rules about the information to be given by lenders to borrowers during

This Practice Note examines pre-contract disclosure requirements for consumer credit agreements under the disclosure regulations made under section 55 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974), together with regulatory requirements set out in Chapter 4 of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Credit sourcebook (CONC 4). For information about post-contract requirements, see Practice Note: Consumer credit agreements—post-contract requirements. What is the relevant consumer credit pre-contract disclosure law? Since 1 April 2014, the FCA has been responsible for the regulation of consumer credit. CCA 1974, and many of the regulations that supplement the CCA 1974 remain in force, however, certain sections have been repealed, amended or supplemented to fall within the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000) and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001, SI 2001/544 (RAO) regime. This means that the rules governing pre-contract requirements are set out in regulations made under the CCA 1974 as well as CONC 4. The starting point is CCA 1974, s 55 which requires the disclosure of pre-contractual information in accordance with regulations made under the same section.

Law firms might be caught by the consumer credit regime: • by entering into a consumer credit agreement as lender, eg in respect of their fees • by engaging in ancillary consumer credit activities such as debt adjusting Following the Court of Appeal judgment in CFL Finance Ltd v Laser Trust, a creditor that has entered into a settlement agreement attached as a schedule to a Tomlin Order could be caught by the consumer credit regime if the settlement agreement itself constitutes a consumer credit agreement—see further News Analysis: Does a Tomlin order provide ‘credit’ under the Consumer Credit Act 1974? (Gertner v CFL Finance). This could apply equally to a law firm’s settlement agreement, eg in settlement of a debt claim against a client, as to other claimants. This Practice Note deals with your fee arrangements with clients. You may also wish to refer to Precedent: Fee arrangement and consumer credit—decision tree, Practice Note: Instalment payment of an outstanding bill and Q&A: Can I accept payment of an outstanding bill by

Law firms might be caught by the consumer credit regime: • by entering into a consumer credit agreement as lender, eg in respect of their fees • by engaging in ancillary consumer credit activities, such as debt adjusting This Practice Note explains how the SRA’s consumer credit regime operates for law firms. It takes into account the SRA's Consumer credit toolkit and the SRA’s requirements in the SRA Financial Services (Scope) Rules and the SRA Financial Services (Conduct of Business) Rules (COB Rules). Who regulates consumer credit? Before 1 April 2014: • consumer credit activities (including entering into consumer credit agreements) were regulated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) • law firms had the benefit of a group licence for consumer credit work which was issued by the OFT to the SRA and therefore didn't need an individual licence to enter into consumer credit agreements with clients or engage in ancillary consumer credit activities On 1 April 2014, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) took over regulation of consumer credit work and the

This Practice Note provides a summary of consumer credit law as it applies to insolvency practitioners (IPs) following significant regulatory developments over the past decade. It examines key changes that have impacted IPs and provides practical guidance on common issues encountered when dealing with regulated consumer credit firms in insolvency. For reading on consumer credit agreements, see Practice Notes: • Regulated activities relating to consumer credit • The FCA consumer credit regime: an overview of rules relating to arrears, default and recovery The regulatory framework The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been responsible for consumer credit oversight since April 2014 under Part IV(A) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000). This replaced the previous licensing scheme under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974) with the FCA's authorisation regime. The regulatory framework comprises FSMA 2000, CCA 1974 (which continues to govern the content and enforceability of credit agreements), the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (RAO 2001),SI 2001/544 (which defines regulated activities) and the FCA Handbook, particularly

This Practice Note provides an overview of the reform of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974), including the rationale for reform, the current status of the reform programme, HM Treasury’s Policy Statement (PS) on reform of the CCA 1974, the proposed future regulatory model, the main areas targeted for repeal, retention or recasting into Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules, transitional arrangements, and practical next steps for firms. Key points on consumer credit reform are as follows: • the central aim of the reform is to move consumer credit regulation away from a largely prescriptive statutory model and towards a more flexible regime led by FCA rules and focused on consumer outcomes • HM Treasury considers the current regime to be prescriptive, inflexible, complex and, in some cases, disproportionate, particularly in relation to sanctions • HM Treasury published its Phase one consultation in May 2025 which outlined the government’s overall vision for a reformed regime and its approach to information requirements, sanctions, and criminal offences • HM Treasury published its PS in May 2026, responding to the Phase

This Practice Note summarises the relevant rules and guidance on arrears, default and recovery in the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s Consumer Credit sourcebook (CONC). It also outlines separate requirements under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974) that must be satisfied before a lender can enforce an agreement, including service of notice of sums in arrears (NOSIA) and a default notice. Background Firms carrying on a consumer credit-related activity must comply with Chapter 7 of CONC that contains the relevant rules and guidance on arrears, default and recovery. Broadly, these rules set out the requirements with which firms must comply when collecting debts and managing borrowers in arrears and forbearance, including how they communicate and how they propose to assist borrowers in difficulty. During the coronavirus pandemic the FCA introduced its Tailored Support Guidance (TSG) for Consumer Credit, Mortgages and Overdrafts, clarifying how firms could support customers in financial difficulty, taking account of their individual circumstances. Although developed during a time of crisis, the FCA sought to retain elements of the

On 1 April 2014, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumed responsibility for consumer credit regulation from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which then ceased to exist. The FCA became the conduct supervisor for all regulated firms across the consumer credit sector, including (among others) consumer lenders, credit card issuers, debt management firms and intermediaries. This Practice Note provides an overview of the essential elements of the FCA regulatory regime for the consumer credit industry, with links to further detailed Practice Notes and key legislative materials. Scope, perimeter and exemptions What is ‘consumer credit’ and when is it regulated? To be captured by the UK’s consumer credit regime, a lender must be entering into a ‘regulated credit agreement’. A ‘regulated credit agreement’ is defined by reference to a ‘credit agreement’. A ‘credit agreement’ is an agreement between an individual or relevant recipient of credit (A) and any other person (B) under which B provides A with credit of any amount. Section 9(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974) and Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated

This Practice Note sets out a number of activities firms may engage in that stray into the realms of consumer credit drawn from case studies issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). For each activity, the Practice Note summarises and explains SRA guidance on whether Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorisation is required. For an overview of the consumer credit regime as it applies to law firms, see Practice Note: Consumer credit and law firms: from 1 April 2016. Work type Scenario SRA guidance Debt recovery Debt recovery is: —marketed as one of the firm's primary services—conducted by non-qualified staff and managed by a solicitorThe firm is instructed by a financial institution to recover outstanding payments due under a credit card. The instructions are to:—take steps to recover the debt—consider whether it is commercially viable to continue should the debtor fail to respond—not to issue proceedings or commence litigation The firm will need to be authorised by the FCA in relation to its debt recovery activities because:—the advocacy or litigation exclusion does

This Practice Note examines the circumstances in which loans to employees or directors and employee share schemes may fall under the scope of the UK consumer credit regime, as well as the implications for a firm if its arrangements are not excluded. Regulated activities–general The Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974), the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000) and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001, SI 2001/544 (RAO) will need to be considered by firms which make loans to their directors or their employees. This is because, in certain circumstances which are outlined in further detail below, a firm may be carrying on a 'regulated activity' as set out in RAO, SI 2001/544. These include activities such as entering into a regulated credit agreement as lender, credit broking, debt adjusting, debt counselling, debt collecting, debt administration, providing credit information services and providing credit references. For further guidance, see Practice Note: Regulated activities relating to consumer credit. Under FSMA 2000, s 19 a firm which carries on