.......as payday lender comes under fire for linking loans to medical bills

Fans of Bolton Wanderers are petitioning the football club to reverse its shirt sponsorship deal with payday lender QuickQuid. The deal came as the lender faced anger after seeming to promote its high-cost loans as a means to pay for dental check-ups or seeing a doctor - services that are free to many. The fan protest over the choice of shirt sponsor emerged soon after Bolton Wanderers announced the two-year deal yesterday. A petition was posted on the change.org website imploring club chairman Phil Gartside to reverse the deal. A statement accompanying the petition said: 'Bolton Wanderers is a family club. It has been at the centre of community life in Bolton for more than 125 years. That is why so many fans are upset that the club has done a deal with the payday lending company QuickQuid. 'Payday loan companies charge sky-high rates of interest and are looking to exploit people who have fallen on hard times. In this tough economic climate, that includes many Bolton fans.' Bolton and the wider North West region have debts levels higher than the national average. According to debt charity StepChange, the average unsecured debt of a client in Bolton contacting its helpline last year was £16,533 compared to the national average of £15,547. 79 people from the Bolton area contacted the debt charity in 2012....Read more here