Pounds to Pocket under fire for encouraging consumers to fund birthday celebrations with loans
An email marketing push by loans company Pounds to Pocket has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for encouraging consumers to take out a short-term loan for “frivolous spending”.
The Citizens Advice Bureau complained to the watchdog about the email calling it irresponsible and blasting its “worry free” attitude to taking out a short-term loan.
The subject line of the ad read "Happy Birthday from Pounds to Pocket" with body text offering a special birthday loan offer to “enjoy your birthday worry-free”.
Pounds to Pocket said the ad was designed to appeal to people who had shown previous interest in its products and were already considering taking out a short-term loan. It said the purpose of the birthday ad was to show consumers that their business was valued, and added the company takes steps to ensure it does not target inappropriate individuals.
It offered to remove the email from circulation.
While the ASA said it acknowledged Pounds to Pocket’s intention for the e-mail to appeal to those who were already interested in a loan, the approach used was “unlikely to be acceptable”.
The ASA welcomed Pounds for Pocket's suggestion that the e-mail would be withdrawn and ruled that it must not appear again in its current form.
Earlier this month the goverment introduced toughened regulations over pay day loan companies, such as Wonga and QuickQuid, designed to strengthen consumer protections for borrowers struggling to repay their loans.
Wonga last week ushered in a new CEO to repair the brands tarnished reputation following its controversial advertising and payment collection techniques.