"Policy and themes in managing the consumer credit relationship" [2019] ELECD 2501; in Brown, Sarah (ed), "The Regulation of Consumer Credit" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 38

Book Title: The Regulation of Consumer Credit

Editor(s): Brown, Sarah

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 3

Section Title: Policy and themes in managing the consumer credit relationship

Number of pages: 41

Abstract/Description:

The control of credit can take a number of forms. Control can be substantive and/or procedural. These controls primarily reflect concerns about fairness, exploitation and expectation of the parties, both pre- and post agreement. They are the basis of regulatory tools reflecting wider policy questions of the role of consumer empowerment, overindebtedness and trust in the consumer credit relationship. These are examined in order to provide detailed analysis of the approach to managing the consumer credit relationship. Questions of consumer empowerment and self-reliance, framed within a structure of financial capability and consumer responsibility, are covered, followed by a discussion of overindebtedness, which has highlighted the vulnerable consumer and the inequality that arises in the relationship. Trust is examined in this context, drawing in the question of institutions’ role in consumer credit provision. Some concluding observations are then made.