News

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said today that payday lenders must improve the clarity of their products and actively help borrowers compare them with other lenders.

Scotland’s Financial Health Service (SFHS) was launched on 3rd December by the Scottish Government to provide a one-stop portal for people living in Scotland. The SFHS site aims to act as a hub of information and a signposting site directing people to the most appropriate organisation to get help.

• This week marks two years since the introduction of the Payday Loan industry’s voluntary charter to govern their conduct.
• Citizens Advice Scotland closely monitored payday lenders’ behaviour – and we made recommendations as to what needed to be done.
• Nine out of Citizens Advice Scotland’s ten recommendations outlined last year have been met – but the industry’s products are still causing issues for thousands of consumers in Scotland.

Citizens Advice Scotland has urged people to avoid using loans or credit cards when paying their fuel bills, and to instead get free financial advice from their local CAB.

Musselburgh and District CAB have designed and launched a mobile phone app to help people keep track of their finances and avoid falling into debt.

Commenting on the launch of the Scottish Government's 12 point action plan on 'Tackling Pay Day Lending and Gambling in Scottish Town Centres and neighbourhoods' published today and launched at Glasgow Central Citizens Advice Bureau, Susan McPhee, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Citizens Advice Scotland said:

Citizens Advice Scotland has welcomed reports that complaints to the ombudsman have doubled in the last year.  The Financial Ombudsman Service figures reflect a more assertive consumer, unwilling to accept poor practices from payday lenders. CAS has called on other victims of rogue lenders to speak out, report their experiences and to seek help.

Bereaved Scots are finding it hard to pay the growing costs of burying their loves ones, according to new research published today by Citizens Advice Scotland. 

The average cost of a simple funeral in Scotland today is £3,240 - an increase of 7% year on year since 2004. And this rise has occurred against a background of falling household incomes and a cut in the emergency assistance that people can claim for funerals, leaving some families unable to bury their deceased at all.

Citizens Advice Scotland have called for tougher actions against banks who fail to properly compensate victims of mis-selling.