London: Britain’s financial watchdog is considering capping “rent-to-own” prices and fundamentally reforming how banks charge for unarranged overdrafts to crack down on high cost credit, it said on Thursday The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published findings from its review into high cost credit, which includes unarranged bank overdrafts, home-collected credit, and a form of hire purchase known as rent-to-own.
“High cost credit is used by over three million consumers in the UK, some of who are the most vulnerable in society,” FCA Chief Executive Andrew Bailey said in a statement.
“Today we have proposed a significant package of reforms to ensure they are better protected, including the possibility of a cap on rent-to-own lending.” The package of proposals could save consumers a combined £200 million (Dh980 million, $266 million) a year, the watchdog said.
The FCA has come under pressure from Britain’s lawmakers to cap the cost of rent-to-own credit, as it already has done for interest charged on payday loans.
The watchdog said costs for the 400,000 customers that use rent-to-own, a form of hire purchase for obtaining goods like fridges and washing machines, can be exceptionally high.
In some cases, customers have paid over £1,500 for an electric cooker that can be bought in the shops for less than £300, it said.
The FCA said it would now carry out a detailed assessment of the impact that a cap could have on the sector and how it might be structured — and that it was also open to other options.
Any changes to the sector would be introduced by April 2019.
The FCA said it was also consulting on banning the sale of extended warranties when a rent-to-own contract is signed, which could save consumers up to £7.7 million per year.
