Your rights under a loan or credit card: skipped payments, loan insurance, charges and cards you never asked for
Consumer Protection Act, 2012 · sources read 2 Oct 2026
If a lender invites you to skip or delay a payment, it must say whether interest will run and at what rate; if it does not, that interest is waived. You can buy any insurance the loan requires from an insurer of your choice, and a credit card you never asked for costs you nothing until you first use it.
- Deadline
- You can cancel an optional service tied to your loan (such as a paid add-on) by giving 30 days' notice, or less if your agreement allows. You get back what you paid for any part not yet provided.
- Where
- First the lender; for banks, then the Central Bank of Kenya; or the Competition Authority of Kenya
Steps
- Complain to the lender first, in writing, with full details of what happened.
- If it is a bank and you are not happy with its answer, write to the Central Bank of Kenya with the details and the bank's reply.
- You can also complain to the Competition Authority of Kenya by post, email, phone or at its offices, using its consumer complaint form.
Watch out
- A lender that offers you loan insurance must tell you in writing that you can buy it elsewhere. It can reject your chosen insurer only on reasonable grounds.
- If you default, the lender can only add reasonable legal costs of collecting, costs of selling or protecting the security, and costs of a bounced cheque or payment.
- If an invitation to skip a payment did not mention interest, the lender cannot charge interest for that period.
Who this covers
- Borrowers under a consumer credit agreement, such as a loan or credit card.
- Anyone sent a credit card they never applied for: you owe nothing on it until you use it.
Official sources (3)
- Consumer Protection Act, No. 46 of 2012 (Cap. 501) new.kenyalaw.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Customer Complaints Handling Mechanism centralbank.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Consumer Protection cak.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026