If you took out a Start Up Loan held in your personal name, there are important limitations to your consumer rights that you may never have been told about — and practical steps you can take.
Part of the British Business Bank. Issues the loans and sets the programme terms. The government-backed organisation behind the Start Up Loans scheme.
startuploans.co.uk ↗A private delivery partner that administers and manages loan accounts on behalf of Start Up Loans. The company most borrowers deal with day-to-day.
businessfinance.growthco.uk ↗Understanding which organisation is responsible for what is important when making complaints or escalating concerns.
A gap between what borrowers are told when they sign for a Start Up Loan, and what they discover when something goes wrong.
Start Up Loans are government-backed, delivered through third-party lenders, and designed to help small businesses grow. But when problems arise — missed payments, defaults, communication failures — many borrowers find that the consumer protections they assumed they had simply don't apply.
This site was built to change that. To give borrowers the information they should have had from the beginning. And to connect those who have been through similar experiences so that no one has to navigate this alone.
Start here if you are new to this site.
Why the Financial Ombudsman Service may not be able to investigate your complaint — and what that means.
Understand the gap →Vulnerable customer rights, default notice rules, Subject Access Requests, and what protections you do have.
Learn more →Did contact stop for years and then a default appear without warning? You are not alone.
Read more →Practical tools to gather evidence, write letters, and build your case.
Track what documents you have and identify gaps before making a formal complaint.
Start checklist →Copy-ready SAR, complaint, FOI, MP briefing, and pre-action warning letters.
Get templates →Build a dated chronology of your case to include in complaints and MP letters. Saves in your browser.
Build timeline →Routes, remediation, and the wider borrower community.
Small claims, FCA oversight, MP escalation, and Senedd routes for Welsh borrowers.
See your options →Some borrowers have received remediation letters from GC Business Finance. Find out what this means.
Find out more →Share your experience anonymously. Every response helps build a clearer picture of how widespread these issues are.
Share anonymously →No. Start Up Loans held in personal names are classified as business loans, which means they fall outside FOS jurisdiction. This is one of the most significant and least communicated facts about Start Up Loans. Most personal finance products — credit cards, personal loans, mortgages — are covered by FOS. Start Up Loans are not. See Know Your Rights for more detail.
Before a lender can register a default, they are legally required to have sent you a formal default notice and made reasonable attempts to contact you. If proper process was not followed, you may be able to challenge the default. Start by submitting a Subject Access Request to obtain your full account history. See Your Routes If Things Go Wrong for escalation options.
A remediation project is an internal process undertaken by a financial firm when it identifies that a group of customers may have been affected by an error, process failure, or potential mis-selling. Some Start Up Loan borrowers have received letters from GC Business Finance referring to such a project. See The Remediation Issue for full details.
Under the FCA's Consumer Duty rules, which came fully into force in 2023, firms are required to deliver good outcomes for all customers — with particular attention to vulnerable customers. This includes proactively identifying vulnerability, recording it, and adapting their communications accordingly. If a firm has failed to meet these obligations, this is a basis for complaint. See Your Rights as a Vulnerable Customer.
Yes. Before a lender registers a default, they must send a formal default notice giving you at least 14 days to remedy the situation, and must have made reasonable attempts to contact you beforehand. A default applied without following correct process can be challenged — and a successfully challenged default can be removed from your credit file entirely. See Were You Suddenly Defaulted? for more.
A Subject Access Request (SAR) is your legal right under UK GDPR to request all personal data a company holds about you. It is free to submit and the company must respond within 30 days. Submitting a SAR to your lender can reveal vulnerability flags on your account, communication logs, internal notes, and whether processes were followed correctly. It is one of the most powerful tools available to borrowers. See Know Your Rights for how to submit one.
Your Member of Parliament can write formally to the firm on your behalf — which carries significant weight — raise your concerns with the British Business Bank, and in appropriate cases table a parliamentary question. Contact your MP via writetothem.com.
Yes. If you are based in Wales, your Member of the Senedd (MS) can raise concerns about the delivery of the Start Up Loans programme through the Senedd. Several Welsh MS members have active remits in small business and economic development. Find your MS at senedd.wales. See Your Routes If Things Go Wrong for full details.
Share your experience anonymously. Every response helps build a clearer picture of how widespread these issues are — and supports others in the same situation.
Share Your Experience Anonymously →
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