Welcome action on payday loan spam texts
17 December, 2013
In response to today’s announcement by the Information Commissioner’s Office that a payday lender has been fined for sending millions of unlawful spam texts, StepChange Debt Charity’s head of policy, Peter Tutton said:
“Nuisance calls and text messages are more than an everyday irritation, they can lead to serious harm for consumers. For those in financial difficulty, the offer of a no questions asked payday loan can result in harmful economic choices.
“The problem of nuisance calls and texts offering payday loans is widespread. Our Got their number report found that 26.3m British adults had been offered high-cost credit such as payday loans via unsolicited calls and text messages, while 1.2m adults said they had been tempted to take out a loan as a result.
“Today’s announcement is welcome, but tackling the epidemic of nuisance calls will require a broad range of measures including stronger powers for regulators, greater co-operation between regulators and measures that give consumers control back over their personal data.”
Notes to editors:
- StepChange Debt Charity launched its Got their number: Ending the harm caused by nuisance calls and texts report and campaign on October 29, 2013.
- Figures from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,017 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 20th - 23rd September 2013. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). StepChange Debt Charity calculations based on population figures from the ONS.