StepChange Debt Charity welcomes FCA consultation

03 October, 2013

In response to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consumer credit consultation StepChange Debt Charity head of policy Peter Tutton said:

“The current regulatory regime has left consumers inadequately protected against poor practice from the payday lending industry, the FCA’s proposals represent a crucial move towards a new era for consumer credit”.

“Today’s consultation is welcome step in the right direction. The failings of the payday lending industry have been well established and the FCA’s focus on the issues affordability, rollover and the misuse of Continuous Payment Authorities (CPA) reflects an understanding of where consumers need far greater protection.

StepChange Debt Charity figures

• StepChange Debt Charity helped 30,762 people with payday loan debts in the first six months of 2013, for the whole of 2012 that figure was 36,413
• The charity helped 6,663 people with five or more payday loans, this figure for the whole of 2012 this figure was 7,221
• In the January-June 2013 period, the average income of a StepChange Debt Charity client with payday loans was £1,298, whereas the average payday loan debt of one of the charity’s clients stood at £1,665.