Cheryl Cole Doorstep Loan Comments Anger Anti-Debt Campaigners

Wed, 23 Jun 2010

Anti-debt campaigners have hit out at pop icon Cheryl Cole over comments which they fear may influence young adults to take out doorstep loans from illegal lenders .

In a recent interview, the 26-year-old Girls Aloud singer said that she once took out a short-term loan from a doorstep loan shark to buy trendy clothes and make-up when she was just a teenager.

She said: "I got a temporary loan from the guy that comes round your house, to get myself something – some hairspray, make-up and an outfit. It was the latest thing from River Island. It was the top everyone wanted."

The comments have angered anti-debt campaigners who claim her younger fans could follow her example and turn to doorstep loans in order to get their hands on the latest fashion items.

A representative from the National Debtline said: "Unfortunately, unlike in Cheryl's case, there are thousands of people who don't get the dream lifestyle afterwards and pay the price."

Earlier this year, a report from the Financial Inclusion Centre revealed that the number of Brits getting into debt by taking out doorstep loans rose between 2007 and 2010, from an estimated 165,000 in 2006 to 200,000 a year by the end of 2009.

The report blamed the rise in loan shark activity on the impact of the economic recession.
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