This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29530615
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Wonga TV ad banned for failing to show interest rate | Wonga TV ad banned for failing to show interest rate |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a TV advert by payday lender Wonga, after a complaint by a charity. | The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a TV advert by payday lender Wonga, after a complaint by a charity. |
| Citizens Advice argued the advert - in which a man jotted down figures on a napkin before checking on his phone calculator - breached regulations by not revealing the loan's interest rate. | Citizens Advice argued the advert - in which a man jotted down figures on a napkin before checking on his phone calculator - breached regulations by not revealing the loan's interest rate. |
| One of Wonga's "pensioner puppets" is seen telling the man: "You appear to be in a financial quandary, young fellow." | One of Wonga's "pensioner puppets" is seen telling the man: "You appear to be in a financial quandary, young fellow." |
| The ASA ruled that the advert must not appear again in its current form. | The ASA ruled that the advert must not appear again in its current form. |
| Adverts from a handful of other payday lenders were banned by the ASA in July for falling foul of advertising codes. | |
| Wonga, which has faced criticism for its high interest rates and debt collection tactics, has not had any TV advertising since June, when a new chairman joined the firm. | |
| The company recently announced it was writing off £220m of debts for 330,000 customers after putting in place new affordability checks. | The company recently announced it was writing off £220m of debts for 330,000 customers after putting in place new affordability checks. |
| Credit 'incentive' | Credit 'incentive' |
| The advert banned by the ASA contained the line: "Yes - you can even pay back early and save money". | The advert banned by the ASA contained the line: "Yes - you can even pay back early and save money". |
| It ended by displaying the web address "wonga.com" prominently. | It ended by displaying the web address "wonga.com" prominently. |
| The regulator considered this "an incentive to apply for credit", and said that consequently, the representative annual percentage rate, or interest rate, should have been displayed. | |
| Responding to the ruling, the chief executive of Citizens Advice, Gillian Guy, said: "Adverts must be clear about what taking out a loan means and how much it will cost. | Responding to the ruling, the chief executive of Citizens Advice, Gillian Guy, said: "Adverts must be clear about what taking out a loan means and how much it will cost. |
| "The consequences are really serious when payday lending goes wrong. High interest rates and fees can mean that a small loan balloons into a huge debt." | |
| He added that "both the advertising and payday loan industries need to look at why so many adverts are not meeting the grade and change their ways". | He added that "both the advertising and payday loan industries need to look at why so many adverts are not meeting the grade and change their ways". |