Latest News - Letter to the Office of Fair Trading

21/4/10 The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has recently released its Irresponsible lending – OFT guidance for creditors. This guidance covers many or our previous recommendations on protecting vulnerable people from unethical banking and lending practises.

Consequently we have now abandoned our plans to send open letters to get banks and building societies to bring our recommendations to their attention. The OFT's guidance and its power to revoke credit licenses to enforce that guidance makes our plans largely redundant. Instead we are now focusing on working directly with the OFT by submitting recommendations to improve their new guidance as this is currently still in development and open for public consultation.

With this in mind today we sent a letter to the OFT designed to offer extra recommendations not already covered which will go much further toward protecting consumers – especially vulnerable people. Areas covered are highlighted in green font on our home page under the headings home repossession, penalty charges, reckless lending, right of set-off and consultation with social welfare and consumer protection organisations.

A full copy of this letter can be seen via this link.