Steps to regulate the payday loan industry, including a restriction on advertising time, are welcome, but there is still more to be done, UNISON said today.
UNISON said it was high time regulatory steps were taken to prevent companies taking advantage of desperate people, by giving them loans they cannot hope to repay.
Dave Prentis, UNISON general secretary, said: “This is a welcome step in the right direction, but a restriction on advertising time does not go far enough. These loans are targeted at financially vulnerable, often desperate people, and companies must be restricted – by regulation – from giving loans to those who simply cannot afford to repay them.
“Cuts to trading standards have restricted the ability of officers to crack down on illegal loan sharks – UNISON hopes the same mistakes will not be made with the new Financial Conduct Authority.”
UNISON said it was high time regulatory steps were taken to prevent companies taking advantage of desperate people, by giving them loans they cannot hope to repay.
Dave Prentis, UNISON general secretary, said: “This is a welcome step in the right direction, but a restriction on advertising time does not go far enough. These loans are targeted at financially vulnerable, often desperate people, and companies must be restricted – by regulation – from giving loans to those who simply cannot afford to repay them.
“Cuts to trading standards have restricted the ability of officers to crack down on illegal loan sharks – UNISON hopes the same mistakes will not be made with the new Financial Conduct Authority.”
