The doorstep loan sector is a small niche with just several lenders competing. Provident is commanding most of the market share whilst Morses Club is also taking up lots of business now that Shopacheck has joined forces. The less well known firms are essentially left fighting for scraps. It was a shame to learn that KDS Finance had closed down. This was one of the noted smaller companies active through www.kdsfinance.co.uk with this domain now pointing to a blank page. It is not clear when they closed. Not too long back they had given their website a fresh new look and so things were looking good at that point in time.

This family-run business had been operating since the year 1981. The KDS Finance loans ranged between £100 and £500. Customers could borrow cash over repayment terms of either 15, 21 or 28 weeks. Aside from this home collection service there was a separate section for holidays and vouchers. There was heavy restrictions when it came to nationwide coverage. They essentially covered Yorkshire and a few regions surrounding this area. When applying at www.kdsfinance.co.uk you had to enter your postcode to see if they could cater you. There was no encryption used on the site, but they did as noted update the overall design and had added a calculator.

When the site was live we jotted down a £300 loan over 28 weeks costing £204. This fee works out more expensive than what the various top firms charge today. All applicants had to be aged above 21 to qualify. Otherwise they were flexible, offering credit to those with a poor history such as past arrears and CCJs. Their opening hours were 9am to 5pm between Monday and Friday. They did take on a CCA member place. It was a shame to see this closure go ahead, but with limited coverage across Britain and higher service costs it would have always been difficult for them to compete with the major doorstep lenders.