LEGAL LOAN SHARKS
Thousands of readers back The Sun’s Stop The Rip-Off campaign
THOUSANDS of Sun readers have supported our campaign to Stop The Credit Rip-Off.
Every year millions of the UK's poorest people turn to high cost credit, such as doorstep loans and rent-to-own agreements.
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Yesterday, we launched our campaign to ensure that nobody ever pays double the amount that they borrow.
Today, we reveal:
- MPs and Peers back our campaign to stop vulnerable Brits being preyed on by lenders
- Actor Micheal Sheen is set to call for "fairer credit alternatives" for the UK's poorest families
After we laid out our demands to lenders who charge sky high interest rates of up to 1,557 per cent hundreds of readers showed their support in the comments of articles, on our and
One reader said: "These types of companies should be banned".
Another added: "These barely legal sharks are formed purely to take advantage of the poverty struck and should be outlawed asap".
Have you ever had a problem with a rent-to-own firm or doorstep lender? Tell us your story! Email: [email protected]
Why we want to Stop The Credit Rip-Off
WE never want you to pay more than double the amount you've borrowed - whether it's for a new sofa or a loan to help pay your bills.
That's why The Sun has launched a campaign calling for a cap on the total cost of rent-to-own loans and doorstep lending at double the original price or loan amount.
A similar cap was introduced for payday loans in 2015 and since then the number of people struggling with unmanageable debts to those lenders has more than halved, according to Citizens Advice.
People on the lowest incomes, living in the poorest places, are paying a poverty premium - up to 7 million people have resorted to high-cost credit, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
People whose wages or benefits don't stretch far enough need to borrow from rent-to-own or doorstep lenders to help pay for things such as an unexpected bill or to furnish their homes.
These come with exorbitant rates of interest - more than 1,500 per cent in some cases of doorstep lending.
It is scandalous that one mum who borrowed cash to help keep a roof over her family's head and ended up paying back over THREE times the original amount.
Its time to stop the credit rip-off.
Here's what we demand:
Rent-to-own
- Cap on all repayable costs at double the item list prices (including fees, add-ons and interest)
- Ban on incentives for all sales staff
- Ban on discounts for existing customers to tempt them into more credit
- Companies to publish example interest rates and costs on all payment options
Doorstep lending
- Cap at double the original amount borrowed
- Stricter affordability checks
- Ban on discounts for existing customers to tempt them into more credit
It's time to Stop the Credit Rip-off.
While a third added: "The government should step in and stop the low paid families from being ripped off."
A reader on our story about the campaign, said: ";Some loan companies that advertise on TV have interest rates of just under 1300 per cent.
"The government should act to save people from themselves."
On our Facebook page, a reader commented: "These rip off merchants should be banned from trading".
Another added: "...Exorbitant charges ... disgusting, only the desperately low paid shop in these offensive disgusting overcharging pits of despair."
It's time to Stop the Credit Rip-off.
It follows support from debt charities like StepChange, Citizens Advice and National Debtline.
Yesterday, the city regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, admitted that parts of the high cost credit market were high risk.
Chris Woolard, a boss at the FCA, said: “We have taken action already...but there is more work to do.
“The cap on payday loans has significantly brought down the cost of borrowing for many people.
“There are certain parts of the market that are high risk and offering high cost credit to people on the lowest incomes.”
The FCA took over regulating high-cost credit firms in 2014.
MORE ON STOP THE CREDIT RIP-OFF
In 2015, it introduced a cap on the total cost of credit for payday loans to ensure that customers did not pay double the amount that they had borrowed.
Since then the number of people with unmanageable debts to payday lenders has more than halved.
The FCA is set to reveal a report into doorstep loans and rent-to-own firms in May.
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