Loan company banned from running ad
A secured UK loan company has been told by advertising regulators that it cannot run its television advertise in its current format after a number of complaints were received from consumers. The advertisement was being shown by Picture Financial, and the complaints claimed that the ad was too light hearted and did not make taking out a large loan sound like a big deal. The Advertising Standards Agency agreed with the complainants, and has now told Picture that the advertisement is banned in its current format.
In the advertisement a woman is on the phone to a loan adviser and keeps getting interrupted by family members whilst she walks around the home trying to sort out a loan. She states to the loan adviser: 'Don't worry it's always like this here. But at least I can get my credit sorted. We'd like to borrow £25,000.' The Advertising Standards Agency stated: 'We considered that the light-hearted tone of the ad, including the interruptions from family members, suggested that the decision to take out the loan had not been carefully considered and that it was an everyday occurrence.'
Consumer debt in the UK has become a serious problem over recent years, with increasing bad debt levels reflecting the extent of the problem. Secured finance is even more risky, as the homeowners risks losing the roof from over their head if they are unable to keep up with repayments on the secured loan. This is why many of those that complained stated that the tone of the advertisement was too light and it made taking out large sums of finance secured on the home seem like an everyday occurrence rather than something that should be very carefully considered
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