Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A […]
The government has agreed to give the incoming Financial Conduct Authority the power to take action against unscrupulous lenders. In the face of defeat on a proposed amendment to the Financial Services Bill it has also agreed to allow the interest rates charged for payday loans to be capped. The cross-party amendment was backed by […]
A new code of practice for payday loan companies came fully into effect today. The code, devised by the Consumer Finance Association (CFA), is designed to curtail practices that could cause people to fall further into debt. People applying for a loan must be given clear information about the way a payday loan works and […]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is formally investigating several payday loan companies due to concern over reckless lending and aggressive debt collection. The OFT has published its interim report into the payday loan industry, as part of an investigation which started in February. It found that most of the 50 firms investigated are failing […]
Research by insolvency trade body R3 has revealed that the numbers of people turning to expensive payday loans to fund essentials is soaring. Five million Britons are planning to take out a payday loan within the next six months, R3 found, 50 per cent more than a year ago. A quarter of people aged between […]
A documentary by the BBC, to be screened tonight, claims that payday loan company Provident Financial has made multiple loans to a vulnerable woman diagnosed with mental health problems. The Panorama documentary, Debt on the Doorstep, claims that Provident Financial loaned thousands of pounds to the woman, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. During the […]
The BBC has reported that some banks are refusing to cancel payments to payday loan companies when asked to do so by their customers. Bank customers have a legal right to cancel payments from their accounts under the 2009 Payment Services Directive. However some banks believe that they do not have to cancel certain types […]
One million people are turning to payday loans to pay their monthly bills and there are fears that the situation could worsen when Universal Credit is introduced next year. According to a new study by Santander more than one million people in the UK use payday loans to pay their household bills, despite the high […]
Payday Loan company MCO Capital has been closed down by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and fined £544,000 after failing to check the identity of its borrowers. The firm, which traded as Help Loan, was targeted by criminals and cheated of more than £1.5m by the fraudsters due to its negligence. The criminals stole […]
A new code of practice for payday lenders has been launched but consumer groups say it amounts to mere rebranding and doesn’t go far enough to protect borrowers. The code was agreed following lengthy negotiations between the payday loan industry and government. Four trade bodies - the Consumer Finance Association, the British Cheque and Credit […]
Prior to the Payday loan industry’s launch of a new code of conduct this week, the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) is calling for more protection for the unemployed. The charity warns that the number of jobless people struggling to repay short-term, high-interest payday loans is increasing. It wants the payday loan industry to ensure […]
Welcome Financial Services has been fined £150,000 for losing tapes containing details of loans made to 510,000 customers of its Shopacheck service. Shopacheck offers loans to people with a low credit rating, often at an APR as high as 399.7 per cent. The lost tapes also held bank account details and CV information for 20,000 […]
The majority of people would only lend a friend a maximum of £5 without expecting the money to be repaid. Around two thirds of the 1,811 people surveyed by website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk said they regularly lend money to friends, but only on the understanding that the cash will be returned. Forty-three per cent of those surveyed […]
Payday Bank’s blog article suggesting that a payday loan would be good way of funding Jubilee parties, has been called ‘irresponsible’ by debt charities. The article, which was written by a contracted third party, said: “If you want to boost your Jubilee spending pot, a same day loan could provide the cash you need.” It […]
The government has gone some way to stop payday loan customers racking up unmanageable levels of debt, but MP Stella Creasy said the new rules are of ‘limited value’. Trade associations representing around 90 per cent of payday lenders have agreed to introduce new codes of practice by 25 July. Under the new regulations, payday […]
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company […]
Payday loans have soared in popularity over the past few years, but consumer group Which? warns they are trapping people in a ‘downward spiral of debt’. Problems start to escalate if people are unable to pay back their loan on time, with some companies charging excessively high penalties for late repayments. Which? discovered that Quid24.com […]
Supermarket retailer Sainsbury’s is leading the market at the moment with a 5.9 per cent loan rate, and it has also launched a Price Promise Guarantee. The 5.9 per cent rate is available on a £7,500 loan with a three-year term, while the same loan over five years would be available at 6.1 per cent. […]
Credit broker Yes Loans has decided to appeal against the withdrawal of a consumer credit licence from its affiliate company Money Worries Ltd. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) stripped Yes Loans, and its affiliate companies, Money Worries Ltd and Blue Sky Personal Finance Ltd, of their licences in March, after customer complaints prompted an […]
Credit broker Yes Loans has had its licence revoked by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) over concern that its business practices ‘deceitful and oppressive’. Two associated businesses, Blue Sky Personal Finance and Money Worries Limited, have also been found to be unfit to hold a consumer credit licence. Following a long-term investigation, the OFT […]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than […]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. […]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees […]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on […]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages […]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit […]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE […]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings […]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though […]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A […]
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