“There are some people for whom payday lenders is appropriate,” Ms Guthrie said. However, very few FCA clients would enter into such arrangements after an initial consultation, it was heard.
FCA counsellor Sandra Blake, who appeared alongside Ms Guthrie at the hearings, said she had not seen one instance where payday loans had been useful to a client.
“They have not been helpful they have been detrimental,” she said, adding some clients were suicidal.
The FCA employs 800 people, with about 500 full-time equivalents. It is calling for additional funding to accommodate growing demand for its services and said it would take more than nine months to scale up to deal with the call on its services.
ASX-listed company Cash Converters also appeared,…
Read the full article at: https://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/customers-of-payday-lenders-are-ashamed-broken-and-suicidal-senate-inquiry-told-20181212-h190j8