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Ridding high street of payday lenders will not solve problem

7 April 2013

Citizens Advice says the answer to solving the problem with payday lenders lies beyond the high street – lenders need to treat people fairly and the OFT needs to ban those who don’t. Labour Leader Ed Miliband has today revealed plans to give councils the powers to stop a payday lender having a store on the high street.

Citizens Advice Chief Executive Gillian Guy said:

“The plague of payday lenders on our high street is an everyday reminder of the desperate situation of many households. We’d like to see them gone but the problem is much bigger online.  The internet is awash with websites promising to deliver a loan within minutes – prompting some councils and universities to ban access to payday loan websites from their computers.

“It is very easy to take out a payday loan but often extremely difficult to pay it back as debts spiral out of control. Predatory lenders are sending people into debt as they hand out loans to those who can’t afford them and drain bank accounts to recoup loans leaving no money left to buy food or pay to get to work. Payday lenders need to stop breaking the rules and stick to their pledge to treat people fairly.”

Notes to editors:

  1. The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local bureaux, all of which are independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website.
  2. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
  3. To find your local bureau in England and Wales, visit citizensadvice.org.uk. You can also get advice online at adviceguide.org.uk
  4. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers
  5. Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2.3 million clients on 5.4 million problems from October 2013 to September 2014. For full 2013/2014  service statistics see our quarterly publication Advice trends
  6. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 21,000 trained volunteers, working at over 3,000 service outlets across England and Wales.