When a licensed lender isn’t playing by the rules, Florida gives you somewhere real to turn. You can file a complaint with OFR, the agency that licenses and examines lenders statewide.
Quick answer: To file a complaint against a Florida lender, contact the Office of Financial Regulation at 200 E. Gaines Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399, call (850) 487-9687, or use their online complaint form, with your loan documents ready.
What OFR handles
- Unlicensed lending activity
- Fees above the statutory 10%-plus-$5 cap
- Rollovers that shouldn’t be permitted
- Refusal to grant the required 60-day grace period after proper counseling steps
- Improper collection practices, including criminal-action threats over a bad check
What to gather before you file
- The loan agreement and any written fee disclosures
- Dates and notes on any calls, texts, or letters from the lender
- The lender’s exact legal business name as shown on your paperwork
How to actually submit it
Contact OFR at 200 E. Gaines Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399, call (850) 487-9687, or use their online complaint form. Miami-Dade County’s Consumer Protection Division can also mediate certain local business disputes, though the state-level OFR complaint is the right path for licensing and rate violations specifically. Before you ever borrow, you can also run a lender’s name through OFR’s online licensee search — a quick step that takes less time than the loan application itself.
Frequently asked questions
OFR reviews the lender’s records and can pursue disciplinary action, including license revocation, against violators.
Yes, OFR’s online licensee lookup lets you verify a lender before sharing any information.
No, filing with OFR is free.
This article is educational and is not financial or legal advice. Before you borrow, confirm the lender is licensed with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR).