# Outside the consumer-credit regime: a longer-form explainer for directors Most UK consumer-credit rules exist to protect individuals borrowing in their own name. When a UK limited company or LLP borrows from Creditcorp, the rules being protected against simply don't apply — not because Creditcorp has slipped through a loophole, but because Parliament drew the perimeter in a specific place. This piece walks through where the perimeter sits, why it sits there, and what it means in practice for a company director evaluating a short-term loan offer. It is the companion piece to [/lending-and-regulation/](/lending-and-regulation/) — same statute, more depth. ## 1. The starting point: Article 60B The article that does the work is [Article 60B](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60B) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 — SI 2001/544, an order made under FSMA. It says, in 60B(1): "Specified" means "regulated by the FCA". So if you make a regulated credit agreement, you need FCA authorisation. Lend without it and you commit an offence under FSMA s.23. ## 2. The "regulated credit agreement" gate Article 60B(3) gives the definition. A "credit agreement" means: Two limbs in the borrower side: **individual** or **relevant recipient of credit**. If your borrower is neither, you are not making a "credit agreement" within Article 60B — and therefore not carrying on a regulated activity. ## 3. The exclusions: Article 60L [Article 60L](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60L) is the definitions article. It says: "Individual" isn't redefined; it carries its ordinary natural-person meaning. Two things follow. First, a UK private limited company is a [body corporate](/glossary/#letter-b) under section 16 of the Companies Act 2006, which means it has its own separate legal personality. It is not an "individual". Second, the "relevant recipient of credit" carve-in is for small mixed partnerships and unincorporated groups; it *explicitly excludes* bodies corporate. A limited company falls in neither limb. Same for an LLP — an LLP is also a body corporate under section 1 of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000. ## 4. Result: outside, not exempt Articles 60C through 60H of the same Order define *exempt* credit agreements — agreements that meet the Article 60B definition but are exempted by something specific (a high-net-worth carve-out, a low-cost short-term carve-out, etc.). Body-corporate lending is not one of those. It is not exempted; it is never a credit agreement within Article 60B in the first place. The borrower's status — body corporate, not individual — means it falls outside the perimeter entirely. That sounds like a small distinction, but it matters for how the lending should be described. "Exempt under Article 60B" implies the regime applies and we are carved out. The honest description is *outside* the regime — Parliament wrote the gate, the borrower's status fails to open it, the whole regime is silent. ## 5. What that means for the borrower, in practice Four practical consequences: - **No FCA authorisation is required for the lender.** Credicorp Limited is not on the [FCA register](https://register.fca.org.uk/) for consumer-credit lending, and does not need to be. - **The Financial Ombudsman Service does not cover the loan.** FOS jurisdiction follows the regulated-activities perimeter. No regulated activity, no FOS jurisdiction. The complaints route for a Creditcorp business loan is the operator's internal process at [credicorp.co.uk/feedback-and-complaints](https://credicorp.co.uk/feedback-and-complaints/), and ultimately the courts. - **The Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not cover the loan.** FSCS coverage is for failures of authorised firms. - **The Consumer Credit Act 1974 does not apply.** CCA covers borrowers who are individuals (and small non-corporate partnerships). A limited company falls outside it. ## 6. So what protections remain? Plenty — just none of them statutory: - The **loan agreement itself.** A signed contract under English law is enforceable in the ordinary courts. - The lender's **internal complaints process**, which the operator publishes at credicorp.co.uk/feedback-and-complaints/. - The lender's **responsible-lending policy**, at credicorp.co.uk/legal/responsible-lending/. - The lender's **vulnerability framework**, at credicorp.co.uk/vulnerability/. - The lender's **14-day right to withdraw**, voluntarily offered on every loan agreement. - The **civil courts of England and Wales** for any unresolved dispute. And the operator's transparency commitments — modern- slavery statement and quarterly figures, both [voluntary](https://credicorp.co.uk/transparency/) — are themselves a kind of self-imposed accountability. ## 7. Questions to ask before borrowing from any body-corporate-only lender None of these are specific to Creditcorp: - **Is the lender a real UK company?** Check Companies House; verify the company number; look for charges, insolvency, restoration notices, and the registered office. - **Is there a personal guarantee?** If yes, you are personally on the hook even though the borrower is "the company". See our [explainer on personal guarantees](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees). - **What is the total cost of credit on the maximum scenario?** Daily-interest products in particular need a worked example of the largest loan and the longest term. - **What is the complaints route, given the FOS does not apply?** A real internal process plus a clear court route is the right answer; "trust us" is not. - **What happens if my company struggles to repay?** The lender's vulnerability/hardship policy should be publishable, not improvisational. - **Are the credit-reference reports business-only?** Reporting an unincorporated person's behaviour on a business loan to consumer credit files is a category error that you don't want. ## Verifiable sources - [Article 60B FSMA RAO 2001](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60B) - [Article 60L FSMA RAO 2001](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60L) - [Section 21 FSMA 2000](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/8/section/21) — financial promotions - [Section 23 FSMA 2000](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/8/section/23) — offence of carrying on regulated activity unauthorised - [Companies Act 2006 s.16](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/16) - [LLP Act 2000 s.1](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/12/section/1) - [Consumer Credit Act 1974](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39) - [FCA register](https://register.fca.org.uk/) - [Brand-site /lending-and-regulation/](/lending-and-regulation/)