Could Personal Loan Adverts be banned?
Adverts for personal loans that run during the day could be banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), according to the Independent newspaper.
Talking to the paper, Chairman of the ASA Lord Chris Smith said: “”I get irritated when I think consumers are being sold something in a very tempting way which is going to have huge financial and personal consequences for them. That to me is irresponsible advertising.”
It seems unlikely that a full ban will take place, but Lord Smith has said that loan advertisements which currently pass as ‘acceptable’ may not get through regulations in the future. The ASA have banned loan ads in the past with Lord Smith pointing out the example of the particularly annoying advertisement for Picture Financial Services that ran a few years ago which saw a woman getting a £25,000 loan over the phone in a matter of seconds.
However, past bans have revolved around adverts that were misleading. This move would see the ASA banning adverts based on their ’social responsibility’ under a new rule from the Broadcasting Committee in Advertising Practice. This brings up all sorts of concerns about how far social responsibility clause will be used to impede free speech.
Those worried should also be aware that the ASA rarely remove adverts and didn’t ban any of the adverts which had the top ten number of complaints last year.
The move could be a serious blow to companies like Ocean Finance who have long since been known for their adverts which suggest ‘easy money’ for those who are willing to put their house down as collateral. The companies take advantage of the non-working audience and cheaper advertising slots.
Lord Smith has stated that companies will be briefed on how they can target campaigns in the future to avoid being banned under the social responsibility clause. This will likely see a greater emphasis put on the idea that you could lose your home if you default on payments and put an end to advertising the deals based on the idea of consolidating existing debt.