Debt on our Doorstep is a UK-based campaign against extortionate credit lending and for fair financial services. The campaign, founded in 1999, comprises

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

and

non-governmental organisations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

including

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

and the

National Housing Federation The National Housing Federation (NHF) is a trade association for member social housing providers in England. Function The National Housing Federation (NHF) is a trade or industry body representing providers of social housing in England. The Fede ...

. It scored a success in 2003 when it successfully pressed for a

Competition Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under t ...

investigation into the UK 'Home Credit' or door-to-door lending market. The subsequent inquiry, which completed in late 2006, found against the industry and estimated that around £75 million per year was being made by lenders as a result of a lack of price competition in the market. Remedies, including compulsory data sharing to allow borrowers to build up credit scores and access cheaper alternatives, are due to be introduced in 2007. More recently, the campaign has broadened out to include activity against a variety of '

predatory lenders Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

' in the UK including payday loan lenders and

rent-to-own Rent-to-own, also known as rental purchase or rent-to-buy, is a type of legally documented transaction under which tangible property, such as furniture, consumer electronics, motor vehicles, home appliances, real property, and engagement rin ...

shops, whilst also promoting local action to increase access to affordable credit following its 2005 report, ''Scaling Up for Financial Inclusion''. Founder member and Chair of Debt on our Doorstep, Damon Gibbons, also sits on the Organising Committee of the European Coalition for Responsible Credit, which has organised a series of conferences to promote debate and dialogue between consumer agencies and the financial services industry on issues including usury, responsibility, and fair access to financial services.

External links

www.debt-on-our-doorstep.com
*
Scaling Up for Financial Inclusion
', March 2005 Social welfare charities based in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1999 Debt 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-org-stub

See also

External links