5 October 2005
Loans customers are being misled by advertisements in regional newspapers and magazines, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found.
According to the regulator, over 60 per cent of advertisements in regional newspapers, and 68 per cent in car magazines, failed fully to comply with the Consumer Credit (Advertisements) Regulations, which came into force on October 31st 2004.
Most breaches of the regulations concerned the way in which typical APRs were depicted in advertisements, including no typical APR being shown, where this is required by law; displaying more than one typical APR in an advertisement – as many as six were displayed in one advert; the typical APR not being given the required prominence; and the typical APR not being shown together with information on payments and charges.
OFT Chairman Sir John Vickers said: "The findings of our sweep are most unsatisfactory for consumers, who must have clear information on the costs of loans.
"The OFT and trading standards services are working with business to drive up compliance, and will take enforcement action where necessary."
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