20 February 2007
Cosmetic loans offered at interest free rates from one of the UK's largest cosmetic surgery businesses have been branded as "irresponsible" by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).
The personal loans issued by Transform allow patients to take out a minimum personal loan of £500 interest-free for the first 12 months to go under the knife for cosmetic purposes.
This is one of several incentives the surgery group has offered its customers in the past few months, with previous attempts to entice new business including holiday vouchers and loyalty cards.
Transform's Sales and Marketing Director, Gary Nicholls, told the Western Mail: "We wanted to establish a more affordable option and 0% finance packages are something we are all familiar with in our everyday lives, especially when making large purchases.
"There is huge demand among patients who want procedures to be more affordable in the UK so they can avoid going abroad for treatment and this is just another way of making this happen."
Surgical experts are concerned that patients may be unduly influenced by the prospect of financial incentives to having their surgery carried out before they are truly ready, with Dr Richard Lewis, Welsh secretary of the British Medical Association adding: "Anything that promotes patients to undertake these procedures at a much lower threshold - such as encouraging plastic surgery through financial incentives - is ethically questionable."
However, consumers who have thoroughly thought through the consequences and risks of having cosmetic surgery could well be tempted by Transform's offer, which certainly is competitive compared to other personal loan rates from the big high street banks.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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