Wonga’s woes spell the end of the payday-loan era
But as short-term lenders go under, Britain’s debt problem is growing
UPDATE Aug 30: Shortly after this article was published Wonga said it was putting itself into administration.
THE death of Kane Sparham-Price came to symbolise all that was wrong with Britain’s “payday lenders”. The 18-year-old, who suffered from mental illness, hanged himself. A coroner’s report in 2014 noted that on the day he died, Wonga, a provider of short-term, high-cost credit, had taken from him part-payment for a debt, emptying his bank account and leaving him in “absolute destitution”. Small wonder that many Britons welcomed the news this week that Wonga was apparently nearing collapse, seeing it as a sign that the country had kicked its reliance on such lenders. Yet focusing on Wonga’s woes misses the bigger picture. Britain’s household finances look increasingly shaky.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "The Wonga paradox"
Britain September 1st 2018
- How Brexit could change the face of rural Britain
- Farmers adapt NASA’s Mars rover to raise chickens
- Pressure grows on Labour to back a referendum on a Brexit deal
- Ian Paisley’s suspension gives voters the chance to force an election
- The puzzle of Britain’s unhappy girls
- Wonga’s woes spell the end of the payday-loan era
- Britain’s belated charm offensive in Africa
- Britain’s new generation of soldier-statesmen
From the September 1st 2018 edition
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