Your rights
Where to complain about a lender in South Africa
Complain to the lender first and give it a chance to fix the problem. If that fails, you can escalate to a free body, and which one depends on what went wrong. A dispute about how a credit provider or bank treated you goes to the National Financial Ombud Scheme. Reckless lending or an unregistered lender goes to the National Credit Regulator. Outright fraud goes to the police. This guide maps who handles what, what it costs, and how to complain well.
Start with the lender before you escalate
Raise the complaint with your lender first and give it a fair chance to resolve it, because the National Financial Ombud expects you to have tried this before it takes your case.
Most disputes are quicker to fix at the source. Contact the lender or bank, explain the problem clearly, and ask them to put things right. Keep a written record of what you asked for and when.
The National Financial Ombud (NFO) expects you to have tried the lender's own complaints route first. Its guidance is that a complaint against a financial company should first be taken up with that company, and that you approach the ombud only once that route has failed. So this step is not just polite, it is usually required before an ombud will step in.
Give the lender a reasonable chance to respond. There is no fixed public waiting period you must count down before you can escalate, so keep a note of the dates and follow up if you hear nothing. If the lender refuses to help, gives you a final response you disagree with, or simply goes quiet, you are ready to escalate to the right free body.
Ombud or regulator: two different jobs
An ombud resolves your individual dispute with a specific lender for free, while a regulator licenses firms and enforces the rules but does not settle your personal claim or order you a refund.
This distinction is the heart of the whole topic, so it is worth getting straight before you pick a body.
An ombud, which in South Africa now means the National Financial Ombud (NFO), looks at your individual complaint against a named lender, bank or insurer. It is free to you, it investigates, and it can make a ruling or recommendation. Think of it as the body that resolves *your* dispute.
A regulator, meaning the FSCA or the NCR, licenses and supervises firms and enforces the rules across the whole market. You go to a regulator to report a firm's misconduct or to check that a firm is licensed. A regulator does not resolve your personal claim or order a lender to refund you.
The FSCA states this itself. Its consumer guidance explains that it does not handle claim disputes and contractual disagreements, and that for those you need to consult the relevant ombud. So if your issue is a personal dispute about how you were treated, the ombud is your route, not the conduct regulator.
Which body handles which problem
Match the body to the problem: a dispute about unfair treatment or your account goes to the NFO, reckless or unregistered lending goes to the NCR, and outright fraud goes to the police plus the NCR.
Use this table to point yourself at the right free body. Try the lender first, then escalate to whichever line matches your situation.
| Your problem | Where to go | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A credit provider or bank treated you unfairly, or won't fix your account | National Financial Ombud (Credit or Banking division) | It resolves individual disputes with a named firm, for free |
| A debit-order dispute you have already raised with the lender | National Financial Ombud (Credit or Banking division) | An individual dispute; if the debit is outright fraud, also open a police case |
| Reckless lending, where no proper affordability check was done | National Credit Regulator | This breaches the National Credit Act, the credit regulator's core remit |
| An unregistered or illegal lender | National Credit Regulator, plus the police if it is criminal | The NCR handles registration and Credit Act breaches |
| An outright scam or fraud, such as being asked to pay a fee to "release" a loan | The police, by opening a case, and report the lender to the NCR | It is a criminal matter |
A note on where *not* to send a general illegal-lender report. The South African Reserve Bank does not investigate individual financial disputes, and its fraud line is scoped to cross-border and advance-fee scams. So for an ordinary unregistered lender, the NCR is the right regulator, with the police for any criminal fraud. Only involve the Reserve Bank for the specific cross-border or advance-fee scam scenario.
If you are already under debt review, raise a complaint about your debt counsellor or the debt-review process with your debt counsellor first, and then with the NCR, which regulates debt counsellors.
The National Financial Ombud, your route for a dispute
The National Financial Ombud resolves individual complaints against credit providers, banks and insurers for free, and has done so through its credit and banking divisions since it began operating on 1 March 2024.
The National Financial Ombud (NFO) began operating on 1 March 2024, when four separate ombud offices merged into one: the Ombudsman for Banking Services, the Credit Ombud, the Ombudsman for Long-term Insurance, and the Ombudsman for Short-term Insurance. It runs four divisions matching those areas: banking, credit, life insurance and non-life insurance. For a loan complaint, the relevant one is the credit division, or the banking division if your lender is a bank.
It is worth noting that two other schemes, the FAIS Ombud and the Pension Funds Adjudicator, did not merge in and remain separate. So the NFO is your route for a dispute about a loan or a bank account, but not the same body as the FAIS Ombud.
The NFO service is free to complainants. It considers your complaint against the firm, asks the firm for a written response, lets you comment, and then issues a ruling or a recommendation. It can consider your case and rule on it, but no ombud guarantees you a particular result, so treat it as a fair hearing rather than a promised refund.
You can lodge a complaint online through the National Financial Ombud website, or by email at [email protected], or by phone on 0860 800 900.
The FSCA and the NCR, your routes to report a firm
Report a financial firm's misconduct or check that it is licensed with the FSCA, and report reckless lending, an unregistered lender or a Credit Act breach to the NCR.
These two are regulators, so you go to them to report a firm or a breach, not to settle your personal claim.
The FSCA, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, is the market-conduct regulator for financial firms, set up under the Financial Sector Regulation Act of 2017. You report how a regulated firm behaves, and you can check on its site whether a firm or adviser is licensed. As above, the FSCA does not settle claim disputes or contractual disagreements, it refers those to the relevant ombud. You report to it through the complaints form on its website.
The NCR, the National Credit Regulator, was established by the National Credit Act of 2005 and regulates credit providers, credit bureaux and debt counsellors. You complain to the NCR about reckless lending, an unregistered or illegal lender, or other breaches of the National Credit Act. The NCR can investigate and enforce against a firm, though like any regulator it acts on the breach rather than issuing you a personal refund. You can reach it using Form 29, by email at [email protected], or by phone on 0860 627 627.
If your problem is really that a lender treated you unfairly and won't fix it, that is an individual dispute for the NFO's credit division. If it is that a lender broke the rules or should not be lending at all, that is the NCR.
How to complain so it gets taken seriously
Gather your loan agreement, statements, dates and all correspondence, complain to the lender first, then lodge with the right body using clear facts and copies of your evidence.
A well-prepared complaint is easier for any body to act on. Before you escalate, pull your paperwork together.
For an NFO complaint, its own guidance asks for the name of the firm, your account or policy number, your full contact details, a factual summary of what happened, and copies of all relevant correspondence and supporting documents. That same set of documents will serve you well for the NCR too.
A few things that help:
- Stick to the facts and dates. A clear timeline of what happened and when is more persuasive than strong language.
- Include copies, not originals, of your agreement, statements and any messages.
- Say plainly what outcome you are asking for.
- Keep a record of your own complaint and any reference number you are given.
On timing, be realistic. Once you lodge, the body will contact the firm, and the business is generally given a window to respond before the matter moves on. It takes time, and no body can promise how it will end. What you can rely on is that the NFO is free, and that a regulator can investigate a firm you report. If you were targeted by an outright scam rather than a service dispute, our guide on spotting a loan scam and unlawful fees covers reporting fraud, and you can confirm any lender for yourself first using our guide on verifying a lender before you borrow.
If your issue is behind you and you are looking at your options again, you can see what you may qualify for with our NCR-registered lending partners, with no obligation. And you can always check any lender we introduce you to on the NCR register first, so you know who you are dealing with.