02/09/2014

Increase In People Struggling With Payday Loans

The number of people struggling with payday loans is increasing, according to debt charity StepChange.

In the first six months of 2014 the charity helped almost 13,000 more people with payday loan debts than in the same period last year.

Between January and June the charity handled over £72m worth of payday loan debt that people were having difficulty repaying, up from £51m in the first six months of 2013.

The charity believes that the figures further highlight the large scale consumer detriment caused by the payday loan industry and the need for further and sustained action by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure better protections for financially vulnerable consumers.

StepChange Debt Charity chief executive Mike O'Connor said: "Today's figures show that the payday market all too often fails to treat customers fairly, especially those in financial difficulty.

"High-cost short-term credit is rarely the answer to financial difficulties. While, the FCA's proposed price cap is a crucial step forward, there is still much work to be done to ensure that payday loans can no longer plunge people into a cycle of unsustainable borrowing and entrenched financial hardship."

(CD/IT)

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