A bill to end rip off interest rates
18th June 2004

Adam Price M.P today (Friday 18th June) introduced a bill to set a ceiling on the rate of interest charged on credit agreements. The Interest Rates (limits on charges) bill, is supported by a cross party group of M.P's and would give the Office of Fair Trading the power to set a statutory ceiling in credit markets that were not price competitive.

The bill comes only days after the National Conumer Council made a super-complaint to the Office of Fair Trading concerning the lack of competition in the home credit industry.

Debt on our Doorstep is fully supportive of the bill and is asking all supporters to write to their local M.P and request that they personally support the bill, and also request that Government make parliamentary time available so that it has a chance of becoming law. Very few private members' bills of this kind become law without the endorsement of the Government.

Nevertheless, the bill does show how easy it would be for the Government to introduce effective primary legislation on this issue, and would give the Office of Fair Trading real powers to deal with rip off lending. Because the bill only allows a ceiling to be introduced if a market is found to be operating uncompetitively and provides for legitimate lending costs and profit to be made, those lenders who are confident that they are not overcharging customers have nothing to fear. Now who does that leave to oppose it?

A copy of the bill can be downloaded here.