17 December 2007
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has accused some UK banks of sharp practices when it comes to their advertising of personal loans.
Some of the most vulnerable consumers are, CAB claimed, being sought out through phone sales - despite their being in debt problems as a result of taking out a loan.
Indebted customers are typically then pressured by the banks - via the phone calls or by letter - to take out an extra loan or to make immediate repayments.
The CAB warning came in the wake of debt problems and complaints from members of the public to the service rising by 20% to hit 1.7 million this year.
Peter Tutton from CAB said: "We see a lot of cases of people coming in who have tried to talk to their banks about arranged payments and they haven't been listened to, and they have been asked for more than they can afford.
"Typically people find that, even after they have been dealing with us, they have found that they have been continued to be written to - they get aggressive letters and phone calls from their lenders."
Total UK personal debt currently stands at approximately £1.4 trillion, according to latest government figures.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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