Listening to your reviews: a Trustpilot update

Reviews tell us things our own reports never will. As we pass our first six months of lending, we wanted to share an honest update on our Trustpilot reviews, what people have been telling us, and, more importantly, what we have actually changed as a result. Feedback is only worth asking for if you do something with it, and we take that seriously.

We are a young company, so our review history is still short. But the picture is encouraging and, just as usefully, instructive about where we can do better. A short history also means every single review carries real weight, and we read them that way.

Where we stand

At the time of writing we hold a Trustpilot rating of around 4.6 out of 5, across just over 300 reviews. For a lender only a few months into trading, we are genuinely pleased with that, and grateful to everyone who took the time to leave their thoughts, good or critical.

We want to be straight about how we treat reviews, though. We do not pressure anyone to leave one, we do not offer anything in return, and we do not try to talk people out of posting honest criticism. A review is only useful if it is freely given, so we simply make it easy for customers to share their experience if they want to, and we read all of them.

What customers told us

A few themes came through clearly. People appreciated reaching a real person quickly, getting a decision without a long wait, and the fact that we explained costs upfront rather than hiding them. That is good to hear, because being clear about cost is something we work hard at; a short-term loan is expensive compared with other options, and we would rather you saw that before applying.

The criticism was just as valuable. Some customers found parts of the application repetitive. A few wanted clearer updates while their application was being assessed. And some told us that certain documents used language that was heavier than it needed to be.

What we changed because of it

Here is what that feedback turned into:

• A smoother application. We removed steps that asked for the same information twice and tightened the flow, guided by the same comments that pointed out the problem. Our guide on how to apply step by step reflects the simpler process.
• Clearer updates. We improved the messages you receive while a decision is being made, so you are not left wondering. You can read what we assess in what we look at when we decide.
• Plainer documents. We carried on rewriting customer-facing wording in plain English, including making the Key Information Sheet (KIS) easier to read; our guide on how to read a Key Information Sheet explains what each part means.

The things we will not change

Some feedback asks for things we cannot or should not do, and honesty matters here too. We will not stop running a business credit check on the company, because responsible lending depends on it. We will not pretend the product is cheaper than it is. And we will keep being clear that, because we lend to companies for business purposes, this lending is not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or the FSCS; you can read more in our transparency pages.

Keep telling us

We would much rather hear a complaint than have you quietly walk away unhappy. If something has not gone right, our feedback and complaints page tells you how to raise it, and we will look into it properly. Every review, every message and every complaint helps us build a better lender. Thank you for taking the time.