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This briefing was provided for a Scottish Parliament members debate on the Financial Conduct Authority’s Plans to Regulate the Payday Loan Industry. Citizens Advice Bureaux across Scotland deal with 100 cases every week regarding problems with payday loan debt. CAS have made a number of recommendations that we believe will help alleviate the biggest issues clients are seeking advice on.

CAS has responded to the Financial Services Authority consultation on consumer credit.

Citizens Advice Scotland carried out a year-long survey of members of the public who had used payday loans (November 2012 to 2013). This followed the introduction of a payday lenders ‘Good Practice Customer Charter’ which 90% of payday lenders signed up to and committed to stamping out bad practice. Our results, backed up by case studies seen at CAB, show that one year on, many of the problems still exist for borrowers, and the code of conduct is being ignored repeatedly.

In April 2013, an estimated 82,000 households in Scotland were affected by the under occupancy penalty for social housing – often referred to as the ‘bedroom tax’. These households have experienced an average reduction in housing support of around £11 per week, a loss of £53 million annually across Scotland. In the six months after the change, over 1,600 affected people sought advice on the ‘bedroom tax’ at a CAB in Scotland, and we are starting to get a picture of the social impact of the policy.

Citizens Advice Bureaux experience very significant difficulties resolving problems with benefits and tax credits on behalf of clients.  A complaints mechanism is only as good as the system it supports.  Where there is a lack of faith in the system itself, it is likely there will also be a lack of faith in the complaints procedure.

Citizens Advice Scotland has reponded to the Scottish Affairs Committte's request for written evidence on how zero hours contracts affect people in Scotland.

Citizens Advice Scotland has responded to the Business Innovation and Skills consultation on consumer protection from unfair trading regulations.

CAS has responded to the Financial Conduct Authority's consultation on how they approach achieving their objectives in regulating financial products.