Unscrupulous payday lenders are “harassing clients” day and night for money, removing cash from accounts without warning and causing “debt and misery” to their clients.
Dundee Citizens Advice Bureau say more and more people are visiting the CAB office on a daily basis, often at the end of their tether, to report lenders’ behaviour.
The agency says despite 90% of payday lenders signing up to a Good Practice Customer Charter nine months ago, people are still being pressurised and forced into financial situations they can’t afford.
CAB has now launched a campaign to help the victims of payday loans fight back against unscrupulous companies.
The campaign will see the bureau help people who have taken out loans identify when their lender has broken the rules and advise them of actions they can take to fight back and assert their rights.
Dundee CAB director Mary Kinninmonth said: “The behaviour of some payday loans companies is causing many problems and considerable upset for a lot of local people.
“We see these people every day now at our office. Many of these companies are acting unfairly, causing debt and misery across our community.
“Time and again the lenders are breaking the rules they signed up to last year.
“For example, we see clients who have made reasonable repayment offers that have been turned down and clients who have had money taken from their accounts without any warning.
“We’ve also heard about lenders who are harassing clients with multiple phone calls and text messages each day and at inappropriate times of night.
“All of this goes against the charter the payday lenders signed up to. In other words, the lenders are breaking the rules.”
Ms Kinninmonth went on: “Our campaign has two main purposes to help people see when the rules have been broken and to show them how to fight back.
“We are also encouraging payday loan victims to fill in the CAB service’s national survey on the issue.”
This is so CAB can build up evidence of payday lenders breaking the rules to lobby the UK and Scottish Governments.
The survey is at survey-monkey.com.