The right complaint path depends on the provider. A federally regulated bank follows the federal complaint-handling framework; a provincially regulated payday lender or other non-bank lender may fall under a provincial consumer-protection or financial-services regulator.
Start by preserving evidence
- Loan agreement and disclosure statement
- App screenshots and advertisements
- Emails, texts and chat transcripts
- Bank statements and debit records
- Dates, employee names and reference numbers
- A short description of the outcome you want
If the lender is a federally regulated bank
FCAC says banks must have complaint-handling procedures. Current federal guidance says a bank must provide a detailed written response within 56 calendar days after the complaint is first made. Unresolved eligible complaints can be escalated to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI). FCAC supervises compliance but does not resolve individual disputes or award compensation.
If the lender is provincially regulated
Use the regulator or consumer-protection body for the province and product. Payday-lender complaints commonly belong in the provincial system. Your province guide on AppLoans links to the relevant official sources.
If you suspect fraud
Do not continue sending money to recover a supposed loan or refund. Contact your financial institution promptly if account information or unauthorized transactions are involved, preserve the evidence and use appropriate Canadian fraud-reporting and law-enforcement channels.
How this connects to your province
Use the Canada Digital Lending Knowledge Center to open your province guide. Provincial pages identify local payday-lending, licensing and consumer-protection sources. Do not assume that a rule described for one province applies unchanged in another.
Related Canadian regulatory topics
- High-Cost Credit in Canada
- Payday Loan Licensing in Canada
- Online Lenders & Loan Apps in Canada
- Pre-Authorized Debits for Loans in Canada
- Canada’s Criminal Rate of Interest
- Cooling-Off Periods for Payday Loans in Canada
- Payday Loan Rollovers & Replacement Loans in Canada
- Alternatives to Payday Loans & High-Cost Credit in Canada
Primary sources
AppLoans prioritizes government and regulatory sources. This page is educational information, not legal or financial advice. Rules can change; verify current requirements with the applicable regulator.