More payday lenders slammed and banned for irresponsible adverts

The ASA has told Peachy Loans to scrap their advert

Three more payday loan adverts have been banned today. They include one from a short-term lender that tried to differentiate itself from payday loans, but which has been rapped by the Advertising Standards Authority for producing irresponsible advertising.

Cash On Go trades as Peachy Loans and claimed in its ad that its short-term lending deals were “Cheaper than Payday Loans!”

This claim annoyed the charity Citizens Advice, which reckoned it was misleading. It also took offence at the use of cartoon images on the ad which it said was “irresponsible because they presented a casual attitude to taking a loan”.

The ASA agreed and today has told the firm to scrap the ad and not claim its deals are cheaper than payday loans. It also censured two other ads that the charity complained about.

It said a text message from loan-monarch.co.uk was irresponsible because it encouraged customers who had been refused loans elsewhere to take out a loan.

The ASA also hit out at a text message from spends4u.co.uk for similar reasons. Last week it banned an ad from Pounds to Pocket for being irresponsible.

Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy said: “With four payday loan adverts banned within a fortnight, the payday loan industry needs to up its game. Lenders must look again at their marketing material and ensure they are fair and responsible.”

If you believe a payday loan advert to be irresponsible or misleading you can report it to Citizens Advice or the ASA.