‘Better late than never for struggling borrowers’ – Which? response to Wonga’s announcement

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said:

“Wonga’s announcement is better late than never for struggling borrowers but it’s clearly a result of the regulator taking a tougher approach. The FCA must keep payday lenders on a tight leash.

“We have long called for more responsible affordability checks and better advice. The next step must be a clamp down on excessive fees and charges across the board to show lenders that the FCA will continue to clean up the credit market.”

Background:

In our most recent report on the credit market, we identified further action for the Financial Conduct Authority:

  • Ensure lenders provide clear, transparent, easily comparable information
  • Put borrowers in control of their credit
  • Crack down on irresponsible lending – including withholding or withdrawing authorisation for firms that are found to have business models that rely on irresponsible lending or customers defaulting.
  • Ban excessive default fees and charges
  • Swift, early and effective intervention for people in financial difficulty

 

Statement: ,