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Wonga debt collection methods criticised by OFT
High-profile money lending firm Wonga has been criticised by the Office of Fair Trading for using aggressive and misleading debt collection methods. Wonga staff had tried to collect some debts by suggesting the defaulting customers had committed fraud and might be reported to the police, it said. The improper pressure was applied in letters, emails and phone calls. Wonga said it would appeal against the OFT as the incidents had been isolated and had taken place a long time ago. The OFT insisted that Wonga should not indulge in this sort of behaviour again, or it would face fines of up to £50,000. "We have acted to ensure that Wonga does not behave this way again," said David Fisher of the OFT....Read more hereYou must be logged in to post a comment.
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Short-term loan company Wonga.com has avoided a ban from the advertising watchdog despite more than 80 complaints that its ads failed to show that it charged up to 4,214% interest. Wonga.com has come in for criticism from opponents of high-cost lenders which entice consumers with large advertising budgets on TV, press and outdoor. Labour MP Stella Creasy has described such firms as legal loan sharks. The Advertising Standards Authority received 82 complaints about Wonga.com advertisements that failed to state an annual percentage rate of interest, with three of the complainants specifically citing a TV ad featuring three puppets that portrayed elderly employees in an office. Wonga.com said that it had a transparent method for detailing the true cost of borrowing on its website, and said that the loans it advertised on TV had to be applied for online. The company argued that APR (annual percentage rate) was a one-size-fits-all piece of information and including it would not allow a meaningful comparison of Wonga.com products against that of other financial institutions......Read more here: Wonga.com escapes ad ban from ASA
TV personalities Ant and Dec are facing a Twitter backlash after it emerged that short term loan company Wonga would sponsor the new series of 'Red or Black', the duo's ITV show. Labour MP Stella Creasy asked the presenters to use their influence to speak out against the deal. On Twitter she said "Imagine the families you will place in difficult financial circumstances by your endorsement of Wonga". She also called for her followers to send a message to the showbiz duo telling them "Wonga is wronga until there's caps on the cost of credit"..........Read more here
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