Our research highlighted circumstances in which access to credit did not produce a positive outcome. Participants described borrowing that became unaffordable or proved unsuitable for their circumstances. We also heard examples of coerced debt and economic abuse, where financial harm arose through circumstances outside the individual’s knowledge or control.
Throughout our research, participants described borrowing that they later found unaffordable or poorly suited to their circumstances. While they acknowledged their own role in the decisions they made, some also questioned whether lenders had assessed affordability adequately or responded appropriately when repeated borrowing indicated growing financial difficulty.
“Everyone in my situation [gambling] should be responsible for what we’re doing, so in a way I haven’t got any sympathy. But there are companies who will give you loans without doing proper checks, and as an ex-gambling addict, it’s quite easy to get a loan, waste it all, and then have nothing left.”
— Adam, Impact Report Contributor (Internal Case Study, 2026)
This sense of being let down was particularly acute when the borrowing came from a participant’s main bank. Katy believed that, as her existing provider, the bank should have recognised from the information available to it that she could not afford further borrowing.
“[A high street bank], who were my bank, loaned me like £40 grand when I didn’t have the funds to pay the monthly bill on that... that just doesn’t feel responsible. I need to take responsibility for my own stupidity, but that was definitely the start of getting in this position.”
— Katy, Impact Report Contributor (Internal Case Study, 2026)
Adam and Katy both acknowledged their responsibility for their borrowing decisions. However, they also felt that the products and practices they encountered made it harder to regain control. More broadly, some participants perceived the financial system as profiting from people’s difficulties rather than helping them resolve those difficulties.
“They’re [the UK financial system] built to make as much money for them as possible.”
— Lee, Impact Report Contributor (Internal Case Study, 2026)
Loqbox’s position is that greater access to credit is not automatically a better outcome. The right outcome is access to appropriate, affordable credit at a point when the individual is equipped to manage it sustainably.
Loqbox gives members a way to establish a payment history and build savings discipline without providing a revolving credit facility with high APR, through which balances can accumulate. We report payment performance accurately, including missed payments, creating a record of whether members have maintained their commitments.
Accurate reporting will not necessarily improve every member’s credit score or accelerate their access to further borrowing. Where a credit record shows missed payments, a future lender may decide that additional credit is not currently appropriate. That is a more responsible outcome than expanding access regardless of the individual’s ability to manage credit. Meaningful financial inclusion is not access at any cost; it is access that is appropriate for the individual.
Katy’s story shows how access to a product that is poorly suited to someone’s circumstances can contribute to long-term and escalating financial difficulty.
Katy’s story
When access to credit as a young adult contributes to decades of debt
Katy is in her forties and lives with her husband and child. She described her financial situation as “torturous”, reflecting the lasting effect debt has had on her life.
Katy recalled being offered a £10,000 loan by a high street bank when she was 18. With little experience of borrowing and, in her words, having “never been financially literate”, she accepted it. Over time, she took out progressively larger loans, sometimes using new borrowing to repay existing debts. She described the experience as being “stuck in this life”, continually working to service what she owed.
Katy accepted responsibility for her decisions, but questioned why her main bank had continued to offer increasingly large loans, including borrowing that eventually reached £40,000, when she did not believe she could afford the repayments.
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