National admits loan shark law not up to it
National admits loan shark law not up to it
National has admitted new laws to crack down on loan
sharks, truck shops and dodgy credit merchants aren’t up
to the task of protecting vulnerable consumers, Labour’s
Commerce spokesperson Kris Faafoi says.
“Paul Goldsmith has acknowledged the laws might just be good enough for now. However it’s clear from people dealing with families who fall victim to loan sharks that the law changes don’t go far enough.
“Not enough is being done to back them up and not enough thought has gone in to how they will stop future rip-offs.
“The Minister has given the responsibility of policing the new laws to the Commerce Commission which is not resourced to effectively keep vulnerable communities from being targeted.
“Labour warned National when the legislation was going through Parliament that it needed more teeth. The Government didn’t listen and has left Kiwis open to being exploited by loan sharks and peddlers charging exorbitant prices for every day goods.
“The laws offered more protection, but not enough. National needs to wake up to what is happening in our communities and beef up measures to protect people against these rip off merchants,” Kris Faafoi says.
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