BEUC Statement on Consumer Credit

Today the European Parliament has decided to put an end to the five years of discussions on consumer credit which have created intense debate in the Institutions.

 Although we are pleased that consumers in some Member States will be better informed about the real cost of taking out a loan, we regret that opportunity has not been seized to start to tackle the problem of over-indebtedness by strengthening the concept of responsible lending.

From now on, early repayment charges for consumers will be subject to controls, and we are pleased that Member States will be able to prohibit lenders from imposing such charges. We are convinced that France, Belgium, Finland, Slovenia and Poland will maintain their consumer protection standards which are higher than in the rest of Europe.

According to Monique Goyens, BEUC Director General "Even though the result is a long way from our initial demands, there have been some improvements, particularly in terms of the information which should be provided to consumers. However we regret that all the efforts of the last five years have not led to a more ambitious solution to an issue which affects almost every household in Europe."

The European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) was created in 1962 by the consumer organisations of Belgium, Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. After working together for a number of years, these organisations decided to create a European association, based in Brussels, right at the heart of Community policy. BEUC was a pioneer, one of the first lobbying organisations to set up base in the European capital in a bid to influence the decision-making process.