Clause 8 - OFT to prepare information sheets on arrears and default
Consumer Credit Bill
9:55 am
Charles Hendry (Shadow Minister, Trade & Industry; Wealden, Conservative)
I am grateful to the Minister for setting out in detail what is proposed, but there continues to be a lack of detail on which we can make an adequate decision. Who will the OFT consult with to decide what should be included in the sheets? The Minister says that the sheets may be revised, but how often does he expect them to be revised? Will that be done, say, six-monthly, annually or every five years? Will there be a rolling programme, or will revision be more sporadic?
Can the information be provided on-line, or will it have to provided in writing? Will lenders be able to adapt and amend the OFT sheets, or must they be provided as they are published? Some lenders might see the OFT information as a bare minimum and wish to provide additional information. Will they be in a position to do so or will they have to use the OFT information without adding to it? Perhaps the Minister can say how prescriptive the information sheets will be. For example, will they say that a certain maximum default fee can be imposed? Will they set out in what circumstances early payment could be demanded?
Finally, to pick up on the point that the right hon. Member for Leeds, West raised, the sheets should be clear to all who receive them. How will the information be made available to blind people, for example? How will it be made available to people whose first language is not English? Will the sheets have to be produced in a range of languages, or will the lender be required to find out the first language of the borrower and then determine what language the sheet should be written in? What about people who cannot read very well or who have literacy issues? How will the terms and conditions be made clear to them?