Professor John Gathergood worked with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to design and implement research into the effect on consumers of using rent-to-own financial products. This resulted in a consultation paper, published by the FCA in November 2018, which ultimately led to a policy proposal to limit product pricing and interest charges in the rent-to-own market.In March 2019 the FCA announced the introduction of a price cap to protect some of the most vulnerable customers in the UK in the rent-to-own (RTO) sector. The cap, which was introduced from 1 April 2019, was estimated to save consumers in the UK up to £22.7 million a year.The measures included:
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the FCA announced temporary guidelines in April 2020 (updated in July 2020), which addressed payment referrals with rent-to-own, buy-now-pay-later and pawnbroking agreements.
Sir Clive Granger BuildingSchool of Economics The University of NottinghamUniversity ParkNottingham NG7 2RD
telephone: +44 (0)115 84 66067 email: chris.starmer@nottingham.ac.uk
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