MSE News: Scottish Parliament to debate payday loan regulation

Former_MSE_Guy

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

"An MSP will today call for the UK government to introduce stricter controls on payday lenders ..."

Read the full story:
Scottish Parliament to debate payday loan regulation

chanz4

Its fine saying lets regulate it etc, but wont this just drive people to unregulated borrowing from sharks?

opinions4u

My own regulation would be to insist on a 48 hour cooling off period before funds are released.

The immediacy of service is one of the temptations of expensive borrowing.

But, as the post above suggests, the unintended consequences of any regulation needs to be considered very carefully.

I'd urge people to budget better and save. That way they will never need one of these horrible loans.

45minutewarning

As I have previously posted on this forum, when you apply for a payday loan your application may go through a broker without you being aware of it. Payday loan brokers try to get the loan from the lender that pays them the highest commission - they are not interested in getting the best deal for you. Lenders can pay up to £40 commission to the broker for each loan secured. Remember, that £40 comes out of your pocket. They may also damage your credit rating by sending inaccurate personal details to lenders most of whom will perform a credit check. The industry is currently enjoying an orgy of unregulated greed. Having worked for such a broker, my advice is kick the habit and don't touch these loans. The profits that are being creamed off vulnerable people are enormous, enabling people in the industry to live in tax havens like Monaco. I believe the UK Government will inevitably have to regulate this industry but we should also try to avoid using their "services"

keet83

The government should make the interest rate on THEIR student loans much fairer too.
RPI + 2%?
That's 7.2% just now, it could and will for some, guide the up and coming students to 'cheaper in the short term' loans from banks that are stricter and can reposes. What will that do for the borrowers, send them in to bankruptcy or worse homelessness?
I know this wont happen to all however even some is bad enough.

dealer_wins

opinions4u wrote: »

My own regulation would be to insist on a 48 hour cooling off period before funds are released.

I think that is actually a very good idea indeed. It would stop a lot of impulse loans which I reckon are the ones that tend to go wrong.

opinions4u

dealer_wins wrote: »

I think that is actually a very good idea indeed. It would stop a lot of impulse loans which I reckon are the ones that tend to go wrong.

I can see a case against it - e.g. bank charges are about to be triggered and the 48 hour delay means the applicant ends up having to pay them, so it's not foolproof.

But if it stops somebody having an extra night out they don't need, or sticking a £300 bet on the live TV football match or something, that's a good thing.

On balance, I think removing the "easy money in an hour" tag would be a positive regulation.

AidyTy

First post and prompted to post by the motion that was put forward....

The motion as it was submitted committed the Scottish Government to do nothing, yet gets all this publicity. Whilst some of the powers for this are reserved the Scottish Government could do more than continually blame everyone else - Better Financial education, better support for alternatives etc are two areas in which they could help.

I must be honest and say that I am fed up with SNP MSP's continually trying to drive a wedge between the Scottish and UK Parliaments....this is all we will get until the referendum is held in 2014. There have been other motions put forward by members of opposing parties in the Scottish Parliament that actually would have debated what the Scottish Parliament could do but they weren't well supported by the ruling SNP party....

Sorry for the rant!

PowerToThePeople_2

BAN THEM NOW MR CAMERON. I would guess that everyone who gets into this will regret it without exception. Why are we allowing more and more of these schemes that were outlawed in the Middle Ages to come back. PROTECT THE POOR AND VULNERABLE MR CAMERON ( we wont mention bank extortionate penalty charges this time which the government is ignoring!). BAN THE SHYLOCKS. PROTECT YOUR PEOPLE.

~Brock~

PowerToThePeople wrote: »

Why are we allowing more and more of these schemes that were outlawed in the Middle Ages to come back.

I would be more than interested to hear how a scheme to allow you to apply for a loan over the internet and then have the money transeferred into your bank account within minutes was 'outlawed in the Middle Ages' :rotfl: