When can I appeal a lending decision?
We're here to support you and your business, so we'll always consider an appeal for an unsuccessful application as long as you meet these conditions.
You can appeal:
- If your annual turnover is less than £25m.
- If we declined an application for business lending facilities such as loans, overdrafts, business credit cards, invoice finance or asset finance.
- If your appeal relates to an application which has been formally declined in writing within the previous 30 calendar days.
You cannot appeal:
- If lending may result in a breach of UK laws and international regulations or where a product may be used to evade tax.
- If your existing lending is already subject to formal demand or enforcement or legal proceedings.
- If your lending request has been declined due to insolvency or is currently with the bank's support recovery units.
- Against the proposed costs of lending, such as interest rates, fees and costs or the standard terms and conditions.
- When you have already made an appeal against a lending decision.
How to make an appeal
To appeal a lending decision, please fill in our appeal form and send it to us by email or post. You can also speak directly to your relationship manager.
Post
The team at Virgin Money
Sunderland
SR43 4JB
You'll receive written confirmation of the appeal.
A lender, who was not involved in the original lending decision, will review your application to make sure that the appeal is handled objectively and fairly.
You will receive written notification of the outcome of the appeal within 30 calendar days of receipt of your appeal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Requesting an appeal does not guarantee that the original lending decision will be overturned, but we guarantee that it will be reviewed by a lender who was not involved in the original decision to ensure a fair and objective review of the application.
If your appeal is unsuccessful, you can't appeal that decision again but your relationship manager can provide you with information about other sources of finance that may be available to help your business. A good starting point is Better Business Finance.
The business lending appeal process is an industry initiative, supported by the government, to give businesses confidence when they apply for lending. The appeals process provides businesses with the option of requesting an objective and fair review of their application by another lender at the bank if it is declined.
An independent auditor has been appointed by the British Bankers Association (BBA) to ensure that each participating bank is correctly following the process and that applications for business credit are always fair and objective. The auditor's findings are publicly available from the BBA.
The independent auditor is not in a position to accept appeals directly from customers. Their role is to review our appeals processes to ensure it is objective and fair.
Other ways to borrow
If your application has been unsuccessful, there may be other ways you can access finance for your business
Better Business Finance
Information on other finance options including grants, equity and supplier finance.
View website Link opens in a new windowCommunity Development Finance Institutions
Information about local Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFI) who support businesses find credit.
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