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Citizens Advice response to FCA proposals on motor finance and high cost credit

6 July 2020

Dame Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, says:

“The extension of protections until the end of October for motor finance and high cost credit customers is good news for people struggling financially during the coronavirus outbreak.

“But it once again throws into sharp relief the chasm between the protections for consumer credit and the protections on household bills like rent or council tax which end in August. This means people could still be getting a payment holiday on their car or sofa, while being thrown out of their home or having their possessions seized for council tax arrears.

“The government took bold action at the start of the pandemic to protect people struggling to pay essential household bills. They still have time to help the millions who’ve fallen behind on their council tax or their rent.”

Notes to editors

  1. People can find frequently updated advice on a range of issues related to the Coronavirus outbreak at citizensadvice.org.uk/coronavirus. 

  2. The availability of face-to-face services will be affected during the outbreak. If people need to speak to someone for advice, they should check our website for the status of their nearest Citizens Advice. 

  3. Citizens Advice will continue to offer advice over the telephone on its Adviceline - 03444 111 444 - as well as online chat with advisers. Anyone seeking to make a new claim for Universal Credit should call the Universal Credit Help to Claim line on 0800 1448444

  4. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.

  5. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.

  6. We helped 2.7 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2018-19. And we had 29 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

  7. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 21,000 trained volunteers, working at over 2,600 service outlets across England and Wales.

  8. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or  0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.