StepChange Debt Charity response to payday loan announcement

25 November, 2013

In response today’s announcement regarding government plans to introduce a duty on the regulator to cap the cost of payday loans, StepChange Debt Charity’s head of policy Peter Tutton said:

“We welcome today’s announcement which sends a clear message to the regulator that it needs to deliver better protections for financially vulnerable consumers. The problems with the payday lending industry have been well established: irresponsible lending, multiple loans and misuse of continuous payment authority continue to cause harm to thousands of consumers.

“What we need now is a broad package of measures to ensure that those people who fall into difficulty don’t see their debts spiral out of control through punitive charges and interest. If the regulators establish that the payday lending industry is making excessive profits at the expense of vulnerable consumers, then there is a clear case for regulatory action.

“Irresponsible lending by the payday loan industry continues to plunge people into financial hardship, and until this central problem is addressed then we will continue to see widespread problems”.