Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Not-for-profit lenders have dominated the winner’s list at Smart Money People’s Consumer Credit Awards 2020.
Half of the awards in the 2020 winners announcement were awarded to not-for-profit firms, with five credit unions named among the winners.
Now in their fifth year, this is the first time that not-for-profit firms have dominated the Consumer Credit Awards winners list, with customer feedback alone determining the winners. Over 19,000 consumers took part in the voting process which took place during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
Jacqueline Dewey, new CEO of Smart Money People, said “Timely access to affordable credit is a key challenge for millions of consumers. And while some firms simply pay lip service to the notion of responsible credit, all our winners and finalists have demonstrated very high levels of satisfaction during what has been an incredibly difficult time for many customers.”
Fair For You, a fast growing and not-for-profit company that provides an alternative to high cost weekly payment stores, was awarded both ‘Firm of the Year’ and ‘Best Loan Provider (lending <£2.5k).’ Fair For You received over 600 votes and achieved an exceptional average customer satisfaction rating of 99.4%. Customers described Fair For You as ‘actually caring about their customers’ and ‘saving them from high interest payday loans.’
With Credit Unions performing particularly strongly during the voting process, five Credit Unions have been recognised as winners.
Sheffield Credit Union, Central Liverpool Credit Union and NHS Credit Union all fought off intense competition to take home the ‘Customer Service Champion’, ‘Treating Customers Fairly Champion’ and ‘Healthy Culture Champion’ categories respectively. These ‘top level’ categories are open to all firms with over 200 votes, and all three winners received exceptional levels of customer feedback. For example, Central Liverpool Credit Union received 272 votes, with 100% of its members telling Smart Money People that they felt fairly treated.
The Consumer Credit Awards 2020 Winners list: