Loan shark bill dropped

PROPOSED changes to the law to protect borrowers from loan sharks and rogue lenders have been dropped after the Government announced the date of the General Election.

The Consumer Credit Bill is one of a number to be dropped because the Government has not enough time to push them through before Parliament is dissolved on Monday.

The Bill would have given the Office of Fair Trading greater powers to tackle loan sharks, toughened up the consumer lending licensing laws and allowed the public to challenge unfair loan deals without having to go to court.

It was dropped after the Tories said there was not enough time for them to consider the implications of its introduction.

Charities and consumer groups warned the failure of the bill left borrowers open to exploitation by lenders. Citizens Advice senior policy officer Sue Edwards said: 'People have already had to wait 30 years for adequate protection against extortionate credit, so any further delay in reforming what is widely acknowledged to be completely outdated legislation is deeply regrettable.'

The organisation said whichever party won the 5 May election should give the bill priority.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service said it was disappointed the bill was not going through and feared it would be put on the back-burner.

A spokeswoman said: 'It's not a massively contentious issue and we can't see much drive for it to be introduced, even though it has cross-party support.'

The Government admitted it was disappointed the bill had foundered. Leader of the House Peter Hain said: 'Loan sharks are now a scourge right across the country and we wanted to deal with them through this bill.'

Other measures it would have featured include the establishment of an independent ombudsman to let consumers challenge agreements without the burden of going through lengthy and expensive court battles.