UK Credit Card Lenders Admonished in New Report

By Jennifer Hill, The Scotsman

Consumer groups and insolvency experts yesterday hit out at Britain’s credit card industry, as a damning report found they were dishing out credit on a “lend now, ask questions later” basis.

Lenders were branded “grossly irresponsible” and calls mounted for a huge tightening up of the way credit cards are approved, as “alarming” findings showed that thousands of pounds of credit was being granted to those who could not afford it.

The independent research, commissioned by price comparison website uSwitch.com, found that 88 per cent of those who successfully applied for a credit card during the past year were not asked to prove their income level. And 95 per cent did not have to give evidence of their outgoings to provide a true picture of their ability to repay debt.

For this complete story, please visit http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=108122006.