Klarna & Clearpay complaints: your new rights from 15 July 2026

On 15 July 2026, the ground shifts under buy now, pay later. Klarna, Clearpay, PayPal's pay-later products and the rest come under FCA regulation for the first time - and the practical upshot is that BNPL complaints finally have teeth. Here's what changes, what doesn't, and how to use your new rights.

What changes on 15 July

Three things, all of them overdue:

1. Affordability checks. Providers must check you can actually afford the instalments before lending - no more four-clicks-to-debt at checkout.
2. Proper support in financial difficulty. If you're struggling, providers must offer real forbearance rather than stacking late fees and passing you to debt collectors.
3. The Financial Ombudsman. The big one. If a BNPL provider mishandles your complaint, you can now escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service - free, independent, and binding on the provider.

Most BNPL users have never had this backstop: research suggests almost 9 in 10 younger users didn't know BNPL complaints couldn't previously go to the ombudsman. Now they can.

The catch: it only covers new agreements

The new protections apply to BNPL agreements taken out from 15 July 2026 onwards. A dispute about an agreement from June 2026 stays outside the regime - for older purchases your routes are the provider's own complaints process, a chargeback via your bank, and the Consumer Rights Act against the retailer.

What about Section 75?

A common misconception worth killing: Section 75 does not cover BNPL. It applies to credit cards only. If a retailer fails you on a BNPL purchase, your protection routes are the retailer's Consumer Rights Act obligations, chargeback on the card you funded the instalments from, and - for post-July agreements - the provider's regulated complaints process. Check what applies with our Section 75 checker.

How to complain about a BNPL provider (from 15 July)

1. Complain to the provider in writing. Use the word "complaint", include the purchase details, and say what outcome you want. FCA rules give them 8 weeks to send a final response.
2. Keep the paper trail. Screenshots of the app, payment schedules, late-fee notices, chat transcripts.
3. Escalate to the Financial Ombudsman. After a final response or 8 weeks - free, no claims company needed, and awards are binding.

We have complaint guides for Klarna and Clearpay with the escalation details, and NoReply drafts the formal complaint that starts the clock.

The bigger picture

BNPL joining the regulated fold is part of the same 2026 wave as the car finance redress scheme and the DMCC Act's pricing rules: the era of "technically not credit, so no rules apply" is closing. If a provider messed you around before the rules landed, you don't get the ombudsman - but you were never without rights against the retailer. The difference now is that the lender itself is on the hook too.