A report presenting the CAB evidence in relation to debt and money advice issues in Northern Ireland.

The deregulation of the financial markets in the late 1980’s created a widespread availability
of credit and problems with debt, which are apparent with the statistic that consumer debt
in the UK has doubled to £115 billion - twice the amount in 1987.

CAB in Northern Ireland has been at the leading edge of money advice provision since the
early 1990’s, and the case examples in this report illustrate very clearly the difficulties
encountered by consumers of the financial services industry. These range from inappropriate
and irresponsible lending, through to the harassment of customers when things go wrong.
On the evidence of this report, there is much that the financial services industry could do to
address the results of its own practices, and much that the government could do to ensure
that consumers have more protection at the point when loans are taken out. In particular
government could usefully take a view on what constitutes extortionate credit, and give the
courts power to reopen cases if judges consider that the credit terms in question are
extortionate. In addition, it is clear that the school curriculum should include material on the
whole area of finance and how it is best managed.

Some 49% of the cases represented in this survey involved people who are in employment
across a wide variety of occupations. These include caring, the civil service, nursing, graphic
design, local government, marketing, police and social work, - an illustration of how even
educated and professional people can get into trouble with easy credit. CAB takes no
financial interest in the debt of its clients, and it is clear that the consumers of financial
services in Northern Ireland need the independent, and confidential service which we
provide. This report contains detailed evidence that students, elderly people, and families are
vulnerable to sharp practices and predatory lending as well as unlawful harassment by
creditors. Hopefully the government will look closely at this in the context of the emerging
consumer strategy being brought forward by DETI(NI) and in the context of its commitment
to TSN and the promotion of social inclusion.