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Unfortunately, a lot of harm has already been caused to vulnerable individuals...
Unfortunately, a lot of harm has already been caused to vulnerable individuals...
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
Payday lenders expected to face stricter rules
The government wants to impose strict rules on payday loan companies
Continue reading the main storyRelated Stories
Stricter rules for high-cost, short-term lenders are expected to be announced by the government.
After a year-long investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), it is thought lenders will face advertising curbs and be under closer supervision.
The government wants to limit the number of adverts shown per hour on TV and ensure the terms and conditions are displayed more prominently.
Many payday lenders' adverts feature heavily on television and the internet.
The loans are supposed to be of hundreds of pounds for a few weeks, but interest rates can amount to thousands of per cent on a yearly basis.
The new rules are intended to make sure that firms do not take advantage of people who are already struggling with debt.
BBC personal finance correspondent Simon Gompertz says that next year the current regulator, the Office of Fair Trading, will be replaced by the Financial Conduct Authority, with new powers to close firms, force them to pay compensation, ban individuals and cap interest rates.
Treasury-commissioned research from Bristol University has concluded that consumers are being harmed because of serious problems in the market, our correspondent adds.
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
How far will the curbs go?will it have any real effect?a cap on interest rates should come in ?
The companies will no doubt find a way to charge be it fees or charges the whole finance industry needs an overhaul debt must be the NO 1 cuase of concern for most people we read to many times on here how debt and the pursuit of debtors brings nothing but misery,its to easy to get into debt and not pay other bills like CT but very hard to get out Next the overhaul of the Bailiff industry a clear set of laws and charges need to come in ?Comment
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
all i can say is
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!Comment
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
Personally , not worth the paper it's written on.
They will find a way round everything
What they really need is some serious legislation , capping interest rates, outlawing some of the incredible penalty charges such as minicredits £100 debt collection fee for sending a 2nd class auto generated letter prohibiting some of their debt collection practices
I know there is stuff in place but they need someone with teeth who has the power to fine and/or revoke licences and it should be done for every breach.
Come the glorious day all DCA owners will join all PDL owners against the wall and i will personally fire the gun with a smile on my faceComment
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
Just heard in the news on telly this morning that they are to be shut down(?) I consider myself lucky that I have never had to use these 'loan sharks' however I do get extremely fed up when I am driving in the car and every second advert on the radio is for one of these 'lenders' ......
They have been preying on the extremely vulnerable and desperate members of our society, who need protection and the OFT are letting these people down.Comment
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
THey have got 12 weeks to sort themselves out
Sparkie
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/12-weeks-to-change-or-payday-lenders-will-be-closed-down-123202904.htmlComment
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
Maybe, but...Originally posted by Sparkie1723 View Post
I know of individuals who have been able to obtain payday loans, even though they are on benefits and suffering from mental health difficulties.
For many it will all come far too late!
I for one, have sat with dropped jaw and mouth open about how easy it it for vulnerable individuals to be granted these so called pay day loans!
My little Pug Dog could apply for one and probably obtain same as it is that simple with no checks.Comment
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
Wonga has more TV ads than anyone else, and shamelessly targeting pensioners is a disgrace! :rant: :rant: :rant:
I've heard that, in some European countries, interest rates are capped at something like 50%. Somehow I can't see Wonga charging just 100/th of what they charge today!Comment
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
Stinks doesn't it? Another truly horrible aspect is that they employ other vulnerable people as debt collectors (not bailiffs, I don't think - that's different) but I do know of some very vulnerable people, otherwise unemployable, on a minimum wage (or commission!) who are employed by such ........(can't think of a word) to go from door to door collecting crumbs of debt from people who can't afford it - who have nothing - sorry need to take a cold shower nowComment
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
Today the Office of Fair Trading reveals legal loan sharks are out of control in Britain- despite this the Government has again spoken out against capping the costs of credit. This is the measure that has been shown in other countries to prevent the problems with debt that too many users of these loans experience. This email tells you how you can help us challenge the Government's failure to act and call on the Financial Conduct Authority to introduce a cap on the cost of credit as a matter of urgency.
The Office of Fair Trading is damning - it shows the problems with legal loan sharks come not from 'a few rogue' companies as the Government claims but an entire industry which is exploiting British consumers. Their evidence shows how the cost of credit itself pushes people into debt, with 50% of profits coming from people rolling over loans month after month. The OFT is so fed up with the damage these companies do that they have decided to refer the entire industry to the Competition Commission.
Thanks to your efforts last year to change the law, the new Financial Conduct Authority will have the power to cap the charges these firms can levy, to stop people getting into debt with them in the first place. Yet today the Government has argued against using this power. Please help us send a message on behalf of all those struggling to pay the costs of these loans that this is wrong and that any delay in tackling the cost of credit in the UK is likely to lead to further financial difficulties for hard pressed Britons.
Today, the Financial Services Authority have launched a consultation paper on the functions and powers of the FCA. Below is a suggested email to send to the Acting Chief Operating Officer Lesley Titcomb to ask her to urgently act - the consultation email address for these messages is cp13_07@fsa.gov.uk so please send her an email today!
As energy bills and travel costs continue to rise, it is vital we do not let this Government stand in the way of giving British consumers the same protection from these debts that others around the world expeirence. To make sure your MP is aware of your concerns, please also copy them into this correspondence- You can find contact details for your MP here.
Its clear from today that this Government cannot be trusted to protect British consumers against this well funded industry- it's therefore up to us to speak up for the protection British consumers deserve!
Stella Creasy
Labour and Co-operative MP for Walthamstow on behalf of #sharkstoppers
p.s.please share this email to a friend to encourage them to help our campaign and do follow @sharkstoppers on twitter for further updates!
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Text to use to write to Lesley Titcombe
I’m writing to you as a resident of the UK to ask you to listen to the case for providing British consumers with the protection from toxic credit other consumers around the world enjoy by capping the costs of credit.
I was delighted that last year Parliament approved, in principle, powers for the new Financial Conduct Authority to cap the costs of credit- and deeply disappointed to hear the Government speak out against this measure this year. Millions are already struggling financially due to the rising cost of living, unemployment or wage freezes. Without action to ensure the cost of credit is affordable, we could see millions more Britons getting into financial difficulies as a result of borrowing from these legal loan sharks.
The Office of Fair Trading report shows just how out of control these firms are and the need for the Competition Commission to investigate this whole industry. Actions on credit checking and advertising rules will help to limit this damage, but the best way to prevent these problems is to introduce caps on the total costs of credit so that families are not pushed into debt when borrowing in this way in the first place. To help understand how best to tackle these problems I urge you to commit to undertaking your own urgent research into total cost caps and how they work in other nations such as Japan, America and Australia and pledge to take action as soon as your role supervising consumer credit comes into force in April 2014.
I would welcome confirmation from you that you will support these measures and I have copied my MP into this email so that they are aware of my concerns.
Yours Sincerely,”
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
Yes GT - and I thanked for the wonderful logo and out of my deep respect for you and your opinions - but party politics are not the answer and they all (all political parties) have let our society down. This woman, attractive though she may be, does not provide any answer IMVHOComment
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
I have followed Stella#s campaign for the last four or five years, to be honest I take no interest in the politics, I am quite happy to support anyone who takes the trouble to take these people on. The problem does involve government unfortunately, as must the solution, these firms spend a fortune on lobbyists many of the major investors have strong links with members of both houses, and all parties.
She is a bit of a fox though you are right.Comment
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Re: Better late than never, I suppose!?
IMHO all politicians are to blame so I do not feel that blaming one party over another achieves anything. I also think that very few politicians know what it is like to live on or below the poverty line. Society is polarising into not necessarily the haves and have nots but into the decent and the underclass. The politicians have no idea what the country is like , food banks in 2013 in the western world, for crying out loud
It is hard to remember that there are good people out there, but there are.
I am far from perfect (hard as that is to believe :rofl
but every week I have to listen to people who think it is acceptable, nay essential to deal drugs or otherwise break the law just have the standard of living that they want.
I am helping to clear a garden in a reasonably affluent part of leicester where the owner had died. He had two children yet the house was not just like the houses you saw in a life of grime but there is a 100ft+ garden that needs clearing from brambles, ruins of old greenhouses etc. He may well have been a solitary old person but we have become so PC that no one will do what is needed to help these people. Social services will not help unless the person asks for help, the world has gone madComment
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