Consumer credit online: information given to consumers is insufficient in more than one third of cases checked by the Commission and national authorities

Today, the European Commission and national consumer protection authorities published the results of an EU-wide screening of 118 websites offering consumer credit online. More than one-third (36%) of the screened websites were found to be in potential breach of the EU consumer law. Key information such as the cost of credit, interest rates or the existence of compulsory insurance were either missing or unclear. The method used by some lending websites to assess consumers’ capacity to repay their loan, the so-called creditworthiness, was not clear either. Finally, websites did not always mention whether there were COVID-related extraordinary measures affecting consumer credit, such as the possibility to request a delay to repay instalments. The survey shows that those issues were even more acute when checked on smart phones. Participating authorities will follow up on the cases that were flaged for potential irregularities based on their national rules on investigation and enforcement.

Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice, said: "Quick credit solutions are flourishing online. One third of new consumer credits are taken online, including for credit cards. We live in world where quick transactions have become the norm, but it does not exempt lending websites from respecting the EU consumers’ right for full and clear information on the cost and conditions of contracts. Consumers must be properly advised on the burden of repayment, all the more in our times of crisis. This screening shows that the sooner we have stronger EU legislation to better protect consumers in a fast evolving and increasingly digitalized world, the better”.

As part of the New Consumer Agenda, the Commission is working on the review of the Consumer Credit Directive and as a follow up to the Evaluation of this Directive published in November 2020. More information on the EU-wide screening of online credit offers, is available online as well as recent data on the consumer’s appreciation of consumer credit markets (For more information: Christian Wigand — Tel. + 32 229 62253; Katarzyna Kolanko — Tel.: + 32 229 63444; Jördis Ferroli — Tel.: + 32 229 92729)