Petition to Ban Credit Ads

bb23

I didnt know how to re-title my other thread but i've started a blog and also posted here to try and drum up some interest and signatures for a petition that i've set up to ban credit ads through the post and on tv

original post here

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=633785

the main reason for this is, from the moment you turn 18 you are bombarded with offers of credit cards and loans and obviously now, with 10 years and 10K of debt under my belt i dont think ANYONE is adult enough at 18 to make the decision about getting a credit card - you just think "ooh, free money" at the time and it spirals out of control

please support my petition and spread the word
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/BanCreditAds/

many thanks

Belinda

Broken_hearted

My first meeting with debts was at uni, the freshers fair was crammed full of banks and credit card companies.I had neary £4,000 just in student o/d (only £500 left to pay off)

Actiongirl_2

Hi,

I think I can kind of understand why you are doing this (my mum has worked in the CAB for the last 20 years, so believe me I know what credit can do - I have also been in debt for most of my adult life...), but I think your reasoning is slightly wrong.

At 18 one can vote, drive and drink. Surely these are far more responsible activities which a person can choose to do or not to do. In exactly the way that one can choose not to take out credit.

I happen to think that the credit companies SHOULD be allowed to advertise. In the same way that Nintendo have advertised Wii all autumn, M&S have been advertising frocks, and Morrisons Christmas food - it is all a consumer choice.

I think maybe a better think to petition for would be greater regulation of the
way that sub-prime credit is sold (eg. Picture Loans). These kinds of adverts are misleading in so far as they don't show the consequences of secured lending (both cost and impact if you default).

Just my thoughts on a boring grey friday morning..! I hope you take these comments in the constructive way they are meant, I just think that there is a slightly different approach which might be more successful.

bb23

thank you for your comments on this, once my blog is more established i'd love to have people comment over there too. im going to set up polls and all sorts, its only been running 1 day so its nothing special right now.

lauradora

Well I think its an ace idea please see your other post xx

bb23

thanks i really appreciate the support

taxi73

Hi there I actually agree with Actiongirl. You can't expect card companies not to advertise everyone has a right to do that..it's the like of picture loans and such firms that are mis-leading at the end of the day a lot of responsibility is in the hands of the borrower. It may be an idea to put the age for getting credit up to 21 but unfortunately life is about choices at the end of the day.

rayday2

I think the problem is in education, I don't believe petitions work at all but if you were to do one get finance education in the schools. We cannot become a "ban" society ban everything that some people cannot handle (me included!) we should become an educated society that can cope with choices and make the best of what credit offers!

bb23

rayday2: funny you should say that, my partner and i were discussing it the other night, finace and money management in schools and were wondering how you'd stretch that kind of lesson over the school year - we wondered if it would be compulsory or optional, if it would be once a week, once a month etc etc - we had a very lenghty discussion about it

that of course is the best idea but you never know, a petition may plant some seeds. My partner was contacted by the BBC last tuesday regarding a comment he had left on the 'have your say' part of their website about the same thing i'm talking about here, how your bombarded with 'pre-approved' this and that from the moment you turn 18 and your adolescent mindset doesnt usually tell you to stop - they wanted to interview him for "the daily politics" but their camera crews couldnt get down our end of the country as its filmed up north. its one thing both he and i feel very strongly about, the minimum age is rediculous but yeah, we thought a petition would definatley be a start

how would you get the idea to the schools? about teaching financial management?

rayday2

Schools do a lesson has several names usually something like Physical Social Education (PSE) it could be in that and should be under the governments "Every CHild Matters Agenda" one of the 5 items is to "Achieve Economic Well Being" can you think of anything better than credit and bill paying?

The government has insisted all schools, colleges and youth clubs work with Every Child Matters and it is something OFSTED insist on so maybe if you quote this you could get somewhere!

rayday2

http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/aims/

Just in case you want to throw the governments own words back at them!