Clause 19 - Unfair relationships between
Consumer Credit Bill
2:45 pm
Mr Chris Bryant (Rhondda, Labour)
It is a pleasure, Sir John, to sit under your chairmanship, not least because you are a senior member of the all-party Spain group, and I know that we are dealing with some Spanish practices this afternoon [Hon. Members: ''Oh!'']. Sorry, it was a very bad joke.
I confess to the Committee that there are several versions of how to remedy the same mischief. I suspect that the Minister will want to throw the words of the three very similar amendments into a pot and return with a version of his own.
When we deal with any consumer issue, the primary consideration is that, in the first instance, it is up to the buyer to beware: caveat emptor. However, it is evident from the spirit of the Bill as written that consumer credit is a rather more complex matter. That is for many reasons, not least those highlighted by the appalling tragedy of the widow who this morning on the ''Today'' programme recounted the terrible situation of her husband getting into debt and his eventual suicide. I am sure that all members of the Committee will know the issues only too well from remarkably similar constituency cases. That is not an isolated case.
Unfortunately, according to the statistics, 80 per cent. of people do not understand percentages, let alone the statistic of 80 per cent. The fact that people have so little financial literacy makes it very difficult for them to make their finances add up. More importantly, it makes it very easy for others to market products to them that they possibly do not understand, and almost certainly cannot afford.
In the run-up to Christmas, which is the time of year when many family budgets are at their most precarious, the industry sends out 140 million unsolicited, pre-approved credit card application forms. Last year, 13 million credit cards were taken out, increasing the number of credit cards in this country to 160 million. People are constantly being offered an increase in the credit that they are allowed on their credit card, even if they do not want it. The Bill attempts to deal with that process of offering easy credit.