To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2018 to Question 141345 on Instalment Credit, whether (a) he, (b) Ministers of his Department and (c) officials of his Department have discussed the feasibility of introducing a total cap on the cost of rent-to-own goods with the Financial Conduct Authority.
Answered on
24 May 2018
Treasury ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. This includes regular meetings with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to discuss relevant regulatory issues.
The government has given the FCA strong powers to protect consumers, including the power to cap the cost of credit, and the FCA can do so if it thinks it is necessary to protect consumers. In 2015, the FCA capped the cost of payday lending, and the FCA has said that it will keep the issue of capping the cost of credit in other markets under review.
The government welcomes the ongoing work of the FCA to review the high-cost credit market, including the rent-to-own sector. The FCA will publish an update later this month.