A disability rights campaigner who sued the payday loan company Wonga after accusing them of not accommodating his visual impairment has settled his case.

Tim Wilson, from Penrith, said he ran into problems with the firm as he tried to recover £1.75 which the firm owed him after he had paid off a loan.

Because he has a visual impairment, which affects his ability to read normal sized printed text, as well as other disabilities, he had repeatedly asked Wonga when the firm wrote to him to make sure its letters were printed out in large print.

“But they refused to respond,” said Mr Wilson, of Tynedale Drive, Penrith, who was speaking before he faced the company in a hearing at Carlisle County Court.

Mr Wilson said a judge had earlier awarded him £4,000 but Wonga yesterday took the case back to court to ask a district judge to set that judgement aside.

Before the hearing got underway, Wonga’s lawyer John Inman, asked District Judge Dodd to exclude the press from the court, saying the case should remain “confidential”.

But the judge told him that it was a public court and the News & Star’s reporter had the right to be there.

In the meantime, Mr Wilson withdrew his opposition to the application to set aside the earlier judgement after agreeing a settlement with Wonga which was agreed the basis of confidentiality.

In court, Mr Inman told the judge: “Wonga is concerned about the confidentiality of the settlement agreement.”

The lawyer added: “I’d be more comfortable if Mr Coleman [the News & Star’s reporter in court] wasn’t here.”

Speaking before the latest hearing, Mr Wilson said: “Wonga first offered to settle the case for £600, and then for £1,000. The reason I pursue cases like this is that I have a permanent disability.

“Companies should make allowances for that.

“If they don’t make allowances then I am being denied access to important documentation; and that puts me at a disadvantage. I had a blood clot in 2008 and lost part of my vision.”

Mr Wilson was unable to comment after yesterday’s settlement. The campaigner has a long history of taking on public bodies and companies which he feels are not making reasonable adjustments to their services for people who suffer from disability.

His best known campaign was in 2011, when he successfully campaigned to have people who are partially sighted or hard of hearing no longer charged for borrowing music CDs from public libraries.

I am particularly interested in the unseen aspect of disabled people’s experience, particularly for those with sensory difficulties.

As a disabled campaigner, I have valuable experience which I have gained through various difficulties I have faced, and their resolution.

In 2013, Mr Wilson accused telecommunications giant BT of failing to cater for his disability and won a £1,000 out-of-court settlement.

He was recently appointed to be a public government for the Cumbria Partnership NHS Trust, which provides community and mental health services in the county.

He wrote of this: “I am particularly interested in the unseen aspect of disabled people’s experience, particularly for those with sensory difficulties.”

In 2014, Wonga – the UK’s biggest payday lender – was named and shamed by Financial Conduct Authority after it sent letters from non-existent law firms to 45,000 customers who were in arrears.

A spokesman for Wonga said: “We take our responsibilities very seriously when it comes to the Equality Act and treat our customers with respect.”