Payday Loan Companies Spending Loads Of Money Targeting Families

Payday loan and text loans lending companies spent more than £500,000 advertising on children's TV over the past two years, it was revealed yesterday.
 
Commercials for short-term loans, with interest rates of up to 4,214 per cent, have been appearing on channels such as Boomerang, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, and between children's television programmes on Channel 5.
 
Payday loan lender  firm QuickQuid, which charges between £20 and £29.50 a month for every £100 borrowed spent the most on adverts on the three children's TV channels - £292,108 between the beginning of November 2010 and the end of October 2012. Pounds2Day spent £80,361 over the same period.
 
Experts said adverts shown during children's TV programmes were aimed at young parents who would often be watching at the same time as their youngsters. Most payday loan companies reduced their advertising spend last year from 2010/11.
 
QuickQuid, WageDayAdvance, and Wonga were the highest spenders on adverts shown on Channel 5 during the breakfast slots, at which time kids' television programmes are broadcast.

Pounds2Day, QuickQuid and WageDay-Advance did not respond to enquiries from Which? Money.

Wonga said it had a policy not to advertise on children's TV, but admitted there was a risk that adverts may inadvertently appear on mainstream channels during a children's show.

— WebWireID170025 —