End Legalised Loan Sharks.

[Tawnyowl]

On the consumer credit section of the review, it was clear that there was much concern about interest rates applying to the high-cost credit market with a number of respondents calling on the Government to introduce a cap on the total cost of credit that can be charged. Intervention in this market carries a risk that we might reduce access to credit. Given the concerns raised and the lack of hard evidence on what impact a total cost of credit cap might have on both the lenders and consumers, we will commission research to see if a cap on the total cost of credit would avoid adverse consumer outcomes. We will report back later in the year to announce the Government position on the consumer credit aspects of the review while we continue to consider the evidence.

[Tawnyowl]

Lets hope Credit Unions fire up. Some good news. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-1725358/Credit-unions-pay-savers-regular-interest.html

Just in case anyones interested http://www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk/home

[Tawnyowl]

Bit disturbed about report about Credit Unions in America. http://www.cutimes.com/2011/07/22/report-one-in-three-credit-unions-financially-weak I hope ours become stronger than they are by new legislation,government reforms.

But there is new hope with the Government announcement of a £73m fund to help support the sector over the next four years. In a further boost, the Post Office has agreed to allow credit union members to access their savings accounts through its branch network.

New legislation is also going through Parliament that will dramatically increase the business scope of credit unions.Good news for certain.

Time to go back to the Payday loan,legal loan shark thoughts.Sorry if anyone thought i was going off track.

 

 

 

 

 

Contentious issues are the issues that arouse emotions. If you cede the contentious issues, you cede passion to the other side. And given that people vote their passions, that’s always a losing strategy.

Note: A sound argument against the notion there are some issues we should avoid

Edited July 26, 2011 by tawnyowl

[Tawnyowl]

Message sent to my local MP (Paul Burstow), explaining my identity on CAG and my reasoning.... might get a meeting with said gentleman.

Hi Silylgirl nice when people get involved to that level.Hope you get some reaction from your MP.Time to let them know how you feel about things.Predatory lending,for me it was the subprimers that originally got my blood boiling..And what their practices and products caused for people and economies round the world.Now its this lot. All their astronomic charges are as the man once said gathered up picked up and jetted out of town.Less money to be spent in local communities.My view anyway. And luckily this is a free country and you can say what you want.People can disagree or agree thats your right..Goodluck Sillygirl.

[Tawnyowl]

Latest news in the battle against legal loan sharks.Support is needed.

 

End Legal Loan Sharking Newsflash: Consumer Credit Bill Secures Second Reading on Friday 14 October - make sure your MP is there to support it!

 

Hello!

I have just received confirmation that against the odds the Consumer Credit Regulation and Advice Bill will get a second reading in parliament on Friday 14 October 2011, having been denied this opportunity earlier this year.

 

This Private Members Bill would introduce a cap on the total cost of credit, thus helping to tackle the problems so called legal loan sharks cause to thousands of consumers in the UK who use payday lenders, doorstep credit or hire purchase agreements. We know that every day the Government delays action on this more and more people get into debt, as they try to pay off the costs these loans incur due to the excessive interest rates these companies are able to charge.

 

This Bill also has other important clauses designed to help the fight to support families and communities during this time of economic hardship. For example, it would make these credit companies contribute towards the cost of debt advocacy services to support those who get into financial difficulties, give local authorities the power to regulate the number of these companies in their communities and help promote credit unions too.

 

The second reading is the next step to making these proposals law. However to pass this stage at least 100 MPs must turn up to take part in the day and vote for it. Please ask your MP to attend and vote for the bill to get its second reading - below is some suggested text to send to your MP and click here for a shortcut to contact your MP.

 

Let's use this opportunity to finally ensure vulnerable British consumers get the protection and support others across the world enjoy,

 

 

 

Stella Creasy

Labour and Co-operative MP for Walthamstow

 

P.s. please forward this email to friends and family around the countryand ask them to help lobby their MP to write as wellso that we reach as many MPs as possible. Together we can end legal loan sharking!

 

 

Suggested Text for your MP

 

Dear XXXX

I understand that against the odds the Consumer Credit Regulation and Advice Bill will receive its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday 14th October 2011. I'm writing to ask you as my local MP not to lose this chance to help consumers struggling to make ends meet by voting for this legislation.

This bill will help tackle the problems caused by so called legal loan sharks in our local area as well as ensure they contribute towards helping provide debt advice services for their customers. It will also give local authorities the ability to regulate the presence of these companies in their communities and provide support for the expansion of credit unions as a form of alternative affordable credit to those who cannot access mainstream banks. A second reading would allow the bill proper scrutiny to ensure these proposals provide the effective protection for vulnerable consumers that many other countries offer their citizens in the credit market. That's why I'm asking you as my MP to attend parliament on that day and vote for this legislation to progress.

Please let me know whether you will do this and thank you in advance for supporting these important proposals.

Yours sincerely,

XXXX

[Tawnyowl]

35 days left till the the Consumer Credit Regulation and Advice Bill gets a second reading in parliament on Friday 14 October 2011, having been denied this opportunity earlier this year.Help make it happen.

Lobby your MP .Together we can end legal loan sharking!

 

 

Suggested Text for your MP click here for a shortcut to contact your MP.

 

Dear XXXX

 

I understand that against the odds the Consumer Credit Regulation and Advice Bill will receive its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday 14th October 2011. I'm writing to ask you as my local MP not to lose this chance to help consumers struggling to make ends meet by voting for this legislation.

 

This bill will help tackle the problems caused by so called legal loan sharks in our local area as well as ensure they contribute towards helping provide debt advice services for their customers. It will also give local authorities the ability to regulate the presence of these companies in their communities and provide support for the expansion of credit unions as a form of alternative affordable credit to those who cannot access mainstream banks. A second reading would allow the bill proper scrutiny to ensure these proposals provide the effective protection for vulnerable consumers that many other countries offer their citizens in the credit market. That's why I'm asking you as my MP to attend parliament on that day and vote for this legislation to progress.

 

Please let me know whether you will do this and thank you in advance for supporting these important proposals.

 

Yours sincerely,

XXXX

Perhaps some of you dont agree with my views.Perhaps i am becoming a activist.I respect your views.Some things i just have to support.The subprime chaos changed me.And songs like this one while looking around America hardened my views on things.Right or wrong i may be.I dont mean to upset or distress anyone.But some things just dont seem right.and legal loan sharks is one.Heres the song

Tawnyowl.

Edited September 12, 2011 by tawnyowl

[Tawnyowl]

PLEASE SUPPORT.

 

..24 days left till the the Consumer Credit Regulation and Advice Bill gets a second reading in parliament on Friday 14 October 2011, having been denied this opportunity earlier this year.Help make it happen.

Lobby your MP .Together we can end legal loan sharking!

 

 

Suggested Text for your MP click here for a shortcut to contact your MP.

 

Dear XXXX

 

I understand that against the odds the Consumer Credit Regulation and Advice Bill will receive its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday 14th October 2011. I'm writing to ask you as my local MP not to lose this chance to help consumers struggling to make ends meet by voting for this legislation.

 

This bill will help tackle the problems caused by so called legal loan sharks in our local area as well as ensure they contribute towards helping provide debt advice services for their customers. It will also give local authorities the ability to regulate the presence of these companies in their communities and provide support for the expansion of credit unions as a form of alternative affordable credit to those who cannot access mainstream banks. A second reading would allow the bill proper scrutiny to ensure these proposals provide the effective protection for vulnerable consumers that many other countries offer their citizens in the credit market. That's why I'm asking you as my MP to attend parliament on that day and vote for this legislation to progress.

 

Please let me know whether you will do this and thank you in advance for supporting these important proposals.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

The second reading is the next step to making these proposals law. However to pass this stage at least 100 MPs must turn up to take part in the day and vote for it.

 

Anyone asked their MP to attend.Any support for this on the forums.

You could help make a difference

Tawnyowl.

[Tawnyowl]

There will be no second reading on 14th October as house now not sitting so people are working on other ways of making progress!Will keep everyone updated

on latest developments as they happen.Changes happen so sorry if anyone has allready contacted their MP.At least they know you are concerned.Tawnyowl.

[Tawnyowl]

Have just read quackquacks thread about Toothfairy finance.Link to the story in the Daily Mirror here http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2011/09/this-wont-hurt-a-bit-says-payd.html

There is something of the night about these companies.

You can see the forums getting bigger with the troubles people are getting into with these legal loan sharks.

Hopefully soon the regulation may come that will control their practices.

People will not rollover for ever.

Gets your blood boiling when you read some of the antics they get up to.

Enough,can anyone get to the bottom of this statement.Who is the main man at Toothfairy,the man at the top.

 

Larholt was a director of NDR until last November but its website northerndebtrecovery.com is still registered to oliver.holt@toothfairyfinance.com.

The same address was previously used to register toothfairyfinance.com. We don't know who owns Toothfairy, as the shareholder is another company registered offshore on the Isle of Man.

[caro]

There will be no second reading on 14th October as house now not sitting so people are working on other ways of making progress!Will keep everyone updated

on latest developments as they happen.Changes happen so sorry if anyone has allready contacted their MP.At least they know you are concerned.Tawnyowl.

 

Don't apologise Tawny. IMO people should continue to write to their MPs and let them know that the problem hasn't gone away and they need to take action.

[Tawnyowl]

Now who seems to be living in a different world to most of us.

No good lecturing uk public about debt & doing nothing to help- Britain needs govt that takes on the legal loan sharks .

Time to act.

[Tawnyowl]

No good lecturing uk public about debt & doing nothing to help- Britain needs govt that takes on the legal loan sharks

 

If Cameron so concerned abt personal debt he could fast track govt research into credit caps-not due until late next year.

Time to act.

I seem to remember the subprimers targeting their victims here and in America.The worst was promising a minister a donation for every subprime loan taken out,hiring out the mission for the day.

Are the payday loan companies targeting our poor areas.

You bet they are.

Write to your MP before they target one of your family demanding action.

Calming down.Better have breakfast now before i blow a gasget.

More news coming soon.

[asmilecostsnothing]

Brooks Newmark Conservative MP for B'tree didn't want to know about this after I wrote and sent the Stella letter to him...

Ah well his lose with my next vote I guess !

[caro]

Unfortunately many MPs and people in positions of power don't have experience of living with debt and can't fully understand the desperation of people struggling to get by. If they did they'd do something about it, but as it is we have to keep the pressure up because the PDL companies won't change unless they're forced to. Another route could be to contact the Office of Fair Trading. If they get enough evidence they'll have no choice but to investigate.Don't get me wrong. I don't expect a quick solution, and I don't have huge confidence that action will be fast or as far-reaching as we might like. but pressure has to be kept up to make sure that people who think they need these loans are protected from these sharks.

[Tawnyowl]

Brooks Newmark Conservative MP for B'tree didn't want to know about this after I wrote and sent the Stella letter to him...

Ah well his lose with my next vote I guess !

Hi asmilecostsnothing

I know the Braintree area quite well a lovely part of Essex.

Reading about Brooks Newark i understand he has published a few papers on debt-: ‘Simply Red: The True State of the Public Finances’ (CPS, 2006), ‘The Price of Irresponsibility’ (CPS, 2008) and ‘The Hidden Debt Bombshell’ (CPS, 2009).

Seems to have a safe seat something like 16321.Minus one now,Oh well.Well done for letting him know how you feel.If enough people let their MPs know sooner or later they will realise something needs to be done urgently.Or slowly the votes will slip away.

Inaction is not a option.Sometimes i feel this country and its people seem to be targets for every predator and speculator in the world out to make a quickkilling.Targeting the vulnerable,the elderly,the young.No one is safe.

Just down the road from you in Chelmsford was the great Marconi factory,the birthplace of radio which i have been reading about.

Sorry was drifting for a short spell then.Back to the legal loan sharks.

I have been reading about the ways American Payday loan companies get round caps,regulation and bans on rollovers etc.Regulation when it comes will have to be tight.They will wriggle like worms on a hook to find their way round things.Hopefully we will be ready to spot their moves.

Ah well time for breakfast.Nice to have heard from you .Tawnyowl.

Edited October 11, 2011 by tawnyowl

[Tawnyowl]

Latest comment from Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow.."amazing- 73% of the public would support vote4credregbill according to new PR Week poll. Come on Cameron - help us end legal loan sharking!"

[Tawnyowl]

Back a page i was talking about payday loan companies possibly targeting certain areas of the country.Well today i received a Email from Stella Creasy M P for Walthamstow who seems to be trying her hardest to fight the legal loan sharks.

I do not think she will give up this fight against the legal loan sharks.I also believe this MP is one to watch for the future.

Back to the Email. This is what seems to be happening in Walthamstow.Perhaps some of you can tell us what is happening in your area.Interesting to find out where they are spreading their tentacles to.

Message---

Hello!

 

There are yet more payday lenders arriving in Walthamstow - two new shops have opened recently on the High St, another Money Shop as well as a business called Cash Generator. As we near the end of the month and local people find their pay packets stretched to breaking point, I'm writing to ask you to join me in this protest about their activities in our area and to help highlight affordable sources of credit in our area instead.

 

These new shops are the latest examples of the high-cost credit boom taking place at the moment, not just in Walthamstow but around the country. As well as these two new shops on the High St, another payday lender called Instant Cash Loans is planning to open at the site of the Arcade. As part of the campaign to increase regulation of this exploitative industry, I have been working with concerned residents and the Waltham Forest Community Credit Union to challenge local payday lenders in Walthamstow and encourage their customers to use the credit union instead.

 

 

We'll be meeting outside the new Money Shop, 73 High St, E17 7DB at 2.30pm on Friday 28th October to hand out leaflets advising people to go to the credit union and alerting them to the costs of borrowing from these companies. The event will continue until 4pm so you can join later if you can't make 2.30pm. If you are able to come along please can you let Will in my office know on will@workingforwalthamstow.org.uk or call 020 8521 1223.

 

 

I hope you will be able to join me in trying to protect our local consumers from these legal loan sharks,

 

 

Stella

 

I hope any of you in the area of Wathamstow may be able to support this event.And do tell us what seems to be happening in your area.And i would really like to know what any of your MPs are doing or thinking about the legal loan sharks.Anyone Tawnyowl.

Edited October 20, 2011 by tawnyowl

[caro]

Wish I could be there Tawny but I couldn't get the time off work.

 

I agree Stella Creasy is a lady to look out for in the future.

[Tawnyowl]

Well i guess old Tawnyowl can write about legal loan sharks for ever and perhaps will till something is done about it

.Not everyone is symphathetic to my views.I understand that.Its a free country {thank goodness) and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I have seen people young and old targeted by predatory lenders,foreign based merchants saying you have won this that and the other,send us a tenner to collect your prize.Some still under their spell and believing everything they say

.A old man who fought in the war believing everything they say.and paying out of his pension for the impossible.Brought up in a time when people and companies could be trusted.

Bank [problem]s,pensioner asked for pin number because you have got unclaimed bank charges.The list goes on.

This is a explanation i guess of why i am today so angry that people are being targeted so cleverly by the legalloansharks,payday loan companies and others.

Caro said she thinks a solution will be slow to come.Perhaps this is true.

Having read the way American Payday companies wriggle around similar regulation, rollovers etc it will need clever regulation.Support in America seems to be growing against these legal loan sharks.

I think actions sometimes speak louder than words so have a look at this if you have not seen it.http://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/COM0327%20Compass%20Loan%20Shark%20toolkit%2019%2005.pdf

Old Tawnyowl is planning to go undercover and check out companies in my area and is seriously considering something similar.What do you think.

Edited October 23, 2011 by tawnyowl

[caro]

Well i guess old Tawnyowl can write about legal loan sharks for ever and perhaps will till something is done about it

 

Never give up Tawny. There is too much apathy in the world.

 

.Not everyone is symphathetic to my views.I understand that.Its a free country {thank goodness) and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I have seen people young and old targeted by predatory lenders,foreign based merchants saying you have won this that and the other,send us a tenner to collect your prize.Some still under their spell and believing everything they say

.A old man who fought in the war believing everything they say.and paying out of his pension for the impossible.Brought up in a time when people and companies could be trusted.

Bank [problem]s,pensioner asked for pin number because you have got unclaimed bank charges.The list goes on.

This is a explanation i guess of why i am today so angry that people are being targeted so cleverly by the legalloansharks,payday loan companies and others.

Caro said she thinks a solution will be slow to come.Perhaps this is true.

Having read the way American Payday companies wriggle around similar regulation, rollovers etc it will need clever regulation.Support in America seems to be growing against these legal loan sharks.

I think actions sometimes speak louder than words so have a look at this if you have not seen it.http://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/COM0327%20Compass%20Loan%20Shark%20toolkit%2019%2005.pdf

 

That's a really useful guide to how to get things moving - if people are prepared to put in the time and effort.

 

Old Tawnyowl is planning to go undercover and check out companies in my area and is seriously considering something similar.What do you think.

 

Depends what you're thinking ........ Phone calls are one thing ........

 

BTW Tawny, the next CAG newsletter should be going out on 26th, and it'll have a link to the info on the demo in Walthamstow on 28th.

[Tawnyowl]

INTERESTING.Maybe read this during a tea break.Seems to have been going on a while.I know what i think.

 

Press release: Was the OFT scared off by Wonga’s lawyers?

 

 

Stella Creasy, MP for Walthamstow, today demanded the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) admit whether they experienced pressure from Wonga’s lawyers before they decided not to take action on the payday lender’s controversial New Year’s Eve ad campaign in London.

This follows the revelation by the OFT’s chairman at a parliamentary committee that the watchdog makes an assessment of the presence of ”expensive lawyers” during its consideration of whether to pursue enforcement action. Speaking after the hearing Stella said:

“For almost a year I have been asking the OFT to explain their decision not to take action against a Wonga ad campaign which failed to display the astronomical interest rates they charge, as demanded by consumer credit law. While the OFT has consistently rebuffed my attempts to find out what happened, I am determined to get to the bottom of this as it is precisely this kind of misleading practice that is so hurting those who get caught in unsustainable cycles of debt by these companies.”

Stella continued:

“Last week I was concerned to hear the OFT’s chief executive, Philip Collins, discussing the strength of companies’ legal teams before deciding whether to take action and the influence this has on their work. We need to know if these kinds of behaviours played a part in their decision not to censure Wonga – that’s why I’ve written to Mr Collins to demand clarification on behalf of the many people who have written to me about this issue.”

ENDS

 

• On 5 September 2011, OFT chairman Philip Collins gave evidence to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. During the session he said: “What has struck me since coming to the OFT, having been in private practice, is the fact that there are companies now pursuing particular practices that 10 or 15 years ago perhaps would not have employed the most expensive lawyers and taken every point under the sun. Now, however, that is happening with an increasing number of cases where you might have otherwise expected the party to throw in the towel after the first round. They do not do that, and therefore we have to take very careful assessments. We have a particular case at the moment that I have in mind where, much to my surprise, the parties have involved the most expensive City lawyers, and we know perfectly well that we are at substantial risks on costs if we lose.” [uncorrected transcript]
  
• This is the latest development in a long-running attempt to find out why the Office of Fair Trading did not take action on Wonga’s prominent ad campaign on the London Underground at the end of 2010. In December 2010 Stella asked the OFT to examine whether Wonga’s adverts were in breach of consumer credit advertising regulations in their failure to state the typical annual percentage rate (APR) for one of their short-term loans. The OFT decided not to investigate, prompting Stella to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act on 29 December 2010, requesting all correspondence regarding the decision not to investigate Wonga’s ad campaign. The OFT replied to Stella’s FOI request on 24 January 2011, citing Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act which exempts authorities from supplying information if the cost of retrieving that information exceeds the “appropriate limit”. Stella has subsequently appealed this decision and the case is ongoing.
  
• Wonga’s representative APR, which was not displayed on the adverts in question, is 4,214%.
  

For more information on this and the wider campaign to regulate the high-cost credit sector, contact Will in Stella’s office at will@workingforwalthamstow.org.uk / 0208 521 1223.

[Tawnyowl]

I love it.The fightback begins.Time to rollover the legalloan sharks.Biteback begins.

Daily Mirror Launches E-Petition to End Legal Loan Sharking In Time For Christmas:

Please Sign and Share!

 

Hello!

The Daily Mirror has posted a new e-petition on the Government's site in support of our campaign to tackle the problems caused to consumers across the country by legal loan sharking. If 100,000 people sign it, the Government will be forced to take action at last on the growing problem of high-cost credit. You can find the petition here:

 

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/20219

 

With Christmas around the corner, Britain's high-cost credit industry is gearing up for another bumper festive season. New research shows that since 2009 there has been a fourfold increase in the numbers of people getting into debt problems as a result of taking out loans with payday lenders, home credit providers and hire purchase agreements.

 

Yet despite this evidence the Government is delaying taking action to regulate these firms, appearing not to notice the speed at which this problem is growing and avoiding discussing the matter in parliament. Now with Christmas on the way and the rising cost of living, families are facing even more pressure on their incomes. Whilst other countries offer protection to their citizens through caps on the costs of credit, the UK Government has ruled out any action on these firms before the end of 2012.

 

This petition is the only way we can make the Government confront this issue in time to protect British consumers this Christmas. Please circulate this link as widely as possible so we can bring an end to legal loan sharking.

 

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/20219

 

 

Stella Creasy

Labour and Co-operative MP for Walthamstow

 

P.s. please forward this email to friends and family around the countryand ask them to sign it too so we can reach the 100,000 target. Together we can end legal loan sharking!

Edited October 26, 2011 by tawnyowl

[caro]

petition signed

[Notyetavet]

The Daily Mirror has posted a new e-petition on the Government's site in support of our campaign to tackle the problems caused to consumers across the country by legal loan sharking. If 100,000 people sign it, the Government will be forced to take action at last on the growing problem of high-cost credit. You can find the petition here:

This is factually incorrect. All Parliament has to do in DEBATE the subject. Just look what has happened with the EU fiasco debate on Monday. The mass of the people want action WAR WAR. We hardly got JAW JAW.

As a true conservative I recognise Stella as having a go at a future nightmare for poor and hard trodden people.

[Masai]

This petition is really flying - over 300 signatures in the last 24 hours.ePetition 20219