The UK now has one of the highest levels of personal debt in the world - in April this year the British people owed over £1,460bn in private debt.Irresponsible lending can cause debts to become unmanageable: some loan and credit companies are charging annual interest rates equivalent to over 2500% (despite the Bank of England base rate being just 0.5%).
Borrowing at these rates repeatedly tips customers into inescapable cycles of debt and poverty. High debt repayments are linked to rent, council tax and utility arrears, constraints on job seeking behaviour, poor diets, cold homes, and mental and physical health problems.
This is legal loan sharking, a national scandal which must be stopped. It's come to our main streets. I agree with those who think its time to pressurise for government action to cap lending rates for all consumer credit.
