Jenny Rathbone AM has raised concerns about the regulation of payday lenders with Jeff Cuthbert, Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty.
Jenny Rathbone has previously raised the case of Cardiff resident Joe Diamond in the Senedd. Joe applied for a pay day loan from Wonga in October 2013. When his request for a loan was declined, his details were passed on to other providers and he was subsequently bombarded with offers of high interest credit. He received more than 350 calls, nearly 700 texts and more than 1,000 emails; many offering more money than he could ever hope to pay back.
Speaking in a scrutiny session of the Communities, Equalities and Local Government Committee, she asked Jeff Cuthbert what action the Welsh Government had taken to alert the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to the alleged abuse of the Data Protection Act by payday lenders in Cardiff.
The Minister confirmed that similar cases had been brought to his attention from other parts of Wales and that his department had raised data protection breaches with the Financial Conduct Authority. He was told that “they will be looking at these issues and following them up” “
The Financial Conduct Authority is the regulatory body that oversees the work of financial companies and advisers, including payday loan companies. They have the power to fine and suspend the activities of companies that have failed to meet their standards of conduct.
Jenny Rathbone AM said “Whilst the Regulatory role of the FCA is clearly not a devolved matter, it is unclear what action the FCA has taken and how seriously they are following this up.”
This follows action by Jo Stevens, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Cardiff Central who also wrote to the Financial Conduct Authority about Joe Diamond’s case.
