Provident Personal Credit
Encyclopedia
Provident Personal Credit Ltd is a financial services company selling loans in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, a subsidiary of Provident Financial
. Its headquarters are in Bradford
, West Yorkshire, and there are local Provident Personal Credit offices situated in most towns and cities throughout the United Kingdom
and Republic of Ireland
.
, West Yorkshire in 1880 by Joshua Kelley Waddilove in order to help working class families buy the essentials that they needed. His form of credit quickly became popular and by the time Joshua died in 1920 his company, then called Provident Clothing and Supply Co, had grown into a nationwide business with 5000 Agents.
Provident Personal Credit is part of Provident Financial
. Provident Financial
are the sub prime loans market leaders and, as a whole, they have 11,500 self employed Agents serving over 1.8 million customers. The company has a good reputation with 95% of their customers saying that they are satisfied with their service. ‘Indeed Provident has remained the market leader because they provide high degrees of customer satisfaction, a personal and flexible service and no penalties for missing the occasional payment’
71% of Provident Agents are women, these Agents are at the heart of the home credit service as they are the ones who collect the weekly repayments from customers.
Provident Personal Credit offers loans of small amounts, typically from £50 - £500 and are over terms from 14 weeks up to 106 weeks. The loans are unsecured and all of the costs are included up front.
The company has had to deal with bad press regarding the rate of their Representative APR; however it has been suggested that APR’s for short term loans can be misleading ‘In some ways though the APR on Provident loans are meaningless. The fact is that if you pay your loan back on time or 5 years too late, you still pay the same amount’ In addition, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
noted that ‘APRs are a very poor way of comparing the cost of different loan products at this end of the market, largely because lenders differ markedly in the way that they structure their charges. ’
Provident Personal Credit is licensed by the Office of Fair Trading
(OFT) and in Ireland it is regulated by The Central Bank of Ireland
. Provident Financial
also has another home credit subsidiary - Greenwood Personal Credit
and a credit card subsidiary - Vanquis Bank. The home credit operations are based in the head office building on Godwin Street in Bradford
and Vanquis Bank is based in London
.
Provident Financial
Provident Financial plc is a financial services group based in Bradford, UK. It specialises in Home Collected Credit and also owns Vanquis which offers credit cards...
. Its headquarters are in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, West Yorkshire, and there are local Provident Personal Credit offices situated in most towns and cities throughout the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
.
History
Provident was founded in BradfordBradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, West Yorkshire in 1880 by Joshua Kelley Waddilove in order to help working class families buy the essentials that they needed. His form of credit quickly became popular and by the time Joshua died in 1920 his company, then called Provident Clothing and Supply Co, had grown into a nationwide business with 5000 Agents.
Provident Personal Credit is part of Provident Financial
Provident Financial
Provident Financial plc is a financial services group based in Bradford, UK. It specialises in Home Collected Credit and also owns Vanquis which offers credit cards...
. Provident Financial
Provident Financial
Provident Financial plc is a financial services group based in Bradford, UK. It specialises in Home Collected Credit and also owns Vanquis which offers credit cards...
are the sub prime loans market leaders and, as a whole, they have 11,500 self employed Agents serving over 1.8 million customers. The company has a good reputation with 95% of their customers saying that they are satisfied with their service. ‘Indeed Provident has remained the market leader because they provide high degrees of customer satisfaction, a personal and flexible service and no penalties for missing the occasional payment’
71% of Provident Agents are women, these Agents are at the heart of the home credit service as they are the ones who collect the weekly repayments from customers.
Provident Personal Credit offers loans of small amounts, typically from £50 - £500 and are over terms from 14 weeks up to 106 weeks. The loans are unsecured and all of the costs are included up front.
The company has had to deal with bad press regarding the rate of their Representative APR; however it has been suggested that APR’s for short term loans can be misleading ‘In some ways though the APR on Provident loans are meaningless. The fact is that if you pay your loan back on time or 5 years too late, you still pay the same amount’ In addition, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is a British social policy research and development charity, that funds a UK-wide research and development programme. It seeks to understand the root causes of social problems, to identify ways of overcoming them, and to show how social needs can be met in practice...
noted that ‘APRs are a very poor way of comparing the cost of different loan products at this end of the market, largely because lenders differ markedly in the way that they structure their charges. ’
Provident Personal Credit is licensed by the Office of Fair Trading
Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator...
(OFT) and in Ireland it is regulated by The Central Bank of Ireland
Operations
Provident Personal Credit is a subsidiary of Provident FinancialProvident Financial
Provident Financial plc is a financial services group based in Bradford, UK. It specialises in Home Collected Credit and also owns Vanquis which offers credit cards...
. Provident Financial
Provident Financial
Provident Financial plc is a financial services group based in Bradford, UK. It specialises in Home Collected Credit and also owns Vanquis which offers credit cards...
also has another home credit subsidiary - Greenwood Personal Credit
Greenwood Personal Credit
Greenwood Personal Credit Ltd is a finance company supplying home collected credit in the United Kingdom, a subsidiary of Provident Financial. Their headquarters are in Bradford, West Yorkshire, and there are local Greenwood Personal Credit offices situated in towns and cities throughout the United...
and a credit card subsidiary - Vanquis Bank. The home credit operations are based in the head office building on Godwin Street in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
and Vanquis Bank is based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.