Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to take steps to prevent rental purchase retailers from charging in excess of twice the value of the goods sold over the contract period; and if he will make a statement.

The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, including high-cost credit, transferring regulatory responsibility from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014. This more robust regulatory system is helping to deliver the Government’s vision for a well-functioning and sustainable consumer credit market which is able to meet the needs of all consumers.

The Government welcomed the FCA’s update on it’s high-cost credit review in May. The FCA has identified a need to intervene to protect vulnerable consumers in the rent-to-own market, and is considering a cap on the cost of rent-to-own. The government will continue to work with the FCA to ensure that all high-cost credit customers are treated fairly.