MONDAY VIEW: High time for an end to 合法的な loansharking

By GAVIN HAYES, GENERAL SECRETARY OF COMPASS
Updated: 22:32 BST, 1 August 2010

As many of us pack our 柔軟な friends to jet off on holiday it's 価値（がある） 公式文書，認めるing that in April this year, 私的な 負債 借りがあるd by the British people stood at a sky high £1,460billion - an awful lot of plastic.

Of course, many of us these days have a credit card, 貸付金 or overdraft and nearly all of us will at some point in our l ives experience 存在 in 負債 in one form or another.

In fact, if used sensibly, credit can be a good thing: it can help us through life to get a university education, own our own home or 始める，決める up our own 商売／仕事.

Worrying: Many Brits are 軍隊d to turn to high cost predatory 貸す人s who are 合法的に 許すd to 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 whatever they like for credit

But as we have seen in 最近の years, irresponsible lending and high levels of unaffordable 負債 can not only be harmful to individual borrowers, it is also bad for our economy.

It was the selling of dodgy 貸付金s at high 率s, 特に to those on lower incomes, that played a 重要な 役割 in 原因（となる）ing the worst 財政上の 危機 for over half a century.

High 負債 返済s are bad for society and are linked to a whole raft of social ills 含むing rent, 会議 税金 and 公共事業（料金）／有用性 arrears, 強制s on 職業 捜し出すing behaviour, poor diets and 冷淡な homes, 同様に as incr 緩和するd mental health problems such as 苦悩 and 不景気.

It is therefore profoundly worrying that in Britain today, as those on lower and middle incomes struggle to make ends 会合，会う in 堅い 経済的な times, many are 存在 軍隊d to turn to high cost predatory 貸す人s who are 合法的に 許すd to 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 whatever they like for credit.

The problem is made all the worse, of course, by High Street banks' 拒絶 to 申し込む／申し出 short-称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語 and 柔軟な credit to some of the very same people who have 保釈（金）d them out.

Let's be honest: for millions of us who go in search of ' helpful banking' the answer is all too often ' computer says no'.

So ingenious have the whizz kids at some of the high-cost 貸す人s become that there is now an iPhone app in which payday 貸付金 companies will 移転 money 直接／まっすぐに into your bank account all at the touch of a 審査する - 供給するing you're 用意が出来ている to 支払う／賃金 the 同等（の） of a mind blowing 3,000pc APR.

Then there are the smiley smiley door to door 貸す人s who 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 up to £83 for every £100 borrowed.

許すing companies to 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 usurious 率s that are over five thousand times the bank base 率 of half of one パーセント is nothing short of a 国家の スキャンダル.

It is 合法的な 貸付金 sharking. It should be stopped.

The 政府 has already committed in the 連合 協定 to long-延滞の 活動／戦闘 on credit cards, 蓄える／店 cards and overdrafts, but it hasn't yet 約束d any 明確な／細部 活動／戦闘 to rein in the 合法的な 貸付金 sharks.

So as part of the 来たるべき 財政上の Services 法案, the 政府 should now commit to the sensible 政策 of capping lending 率s on all 消費者 credit.

Such caps are already in place in Germany, フラン and Poland and many US 明言する／公表するs - so why not Britain?

A lending 率 cap also needs to be …を伴ってd by 活動／戦闘 to 確実にする 代案／選択肢 接近 to affordable credit.

Why not introduce a 'Peoples' Bank' using the 地位，任命する Office 網状組織? Why not give more support to credit unions and 始める，決める up a 国家の Credi t Union?

Last but not least, we should make all banks 適切に commit to 供給する everyone with 全世界の／万国共通の and affordable banking services.

This could be part of their 保釈（金）-out quid プロの／賛成の quo, 軍隊ing them to do something socially useful.

It 簡単に cannot be 権利 to carry on 許すing 財政上の 会・原則s to 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 people whatever they like for credit - the 事例／患者 for 許すing them a 解放する／自由な rein is both morally and economically 破産者／倒産した.

It is bad for society and it is bad for the economy.

This is why we now need 緊急の 活動／戦闘 to end 合法的な 貸付金 sharking and introduce lending 率 caps to cover all forms of 消費者 credit.

Gavin Hayes is general 長官 of the think-戦車／タンク Compass