The Fair Credit Charity owns and oversees the ethical lender Fair for You.

For people on low incomes, finding the money for essentials is often a route to high-interest debt, and loan sharks. Fair Credit Charity’s vision is to combat the poverty premium and financial exclusion by helping these families access better, responsible lenders like Fair for You.

An FCA regulated and UK registered community interest company (CIC), Fair for You began providing personal loans for household items in 2015.

Fair for You has a mission to help financially-excluded families buy essential household items, avoid hardship, and build their financial resilience. It aims to be a fair and affordable alternative to high cost credit and unregulated lenders.

Fair for You does not make cash loans. It allows customers to choose from a range of items such as washing machines, fridges, beds and other household essentials, through its retail partners. Customers who demonstrate an ability to pay back those loans may then be able to apply for other products to use with those retail partners which include Iceland, Argos, Dunelm, Whirlpool and Chemist Direct.  The average loan value stands at £350.

Since 2015, it has lent to more than 100,000 customers, and independent impact reports demonstrate far-reaching social benefits including better physical and mental health; improved education and wellbeing of children; and making it easier for adults to seek work or remain in employment. It runs affordability checks on all customers and uses open banking technology to help it lend to people who may get rejected for loans elsewhere, due to poor credit ratings or thin credit files.

Fair for You is backed by social investors including Social Investment Scotland, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The Tudor Trust, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Carnegie Trust, The Robertson Trust, Centrica and Fair4All Finance.

Find out more at fairforyou.co.uk

We’re running a Giving4Living Urgent Need Campaign: helping families with the bigger food shopping costs during school holidays. A collaboration with the ethical lender Fair for You, the Fair Credit Charity, Crowdfunder and Iceland’s Food Club. 

We have a simple ask – can you help support vulnerable families by donating toward the cost of a £30 food shop?