StepChange Debt Charity welcomes OFT decision on payday loans

27 June, 2013

In response to the Office of Fair Trading’s decision to refer the payday lending industry to the Competition Commission, StepChange Debt Charity external affairs director Delroy Corinaldi said:

“Today’s decision is a welcome one; our evidence points to widespread structural problems in the payday lending market and this investigation is crucial to establishing whether the payday loan market itself is causing unnecessary harm to consumers.

“There are a number of questions that this investigation needs to establish answers to, including whether the payday loan industry is making excessive profits at the expense of responsible lending.

“However, today’s decision cannot be used as an excuse by regulators to postpone dealing important areas where the payday loan industry is failing consumers. This investigation needs to work in parallel with actions to address problems we are seeing now, including widespread irresponsible lending and aggressive debt collection measures”.