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About Us
We are a registered charity working to influence the regulation of credit markets, and to improve the way that credit is provided.
We also work to create better support and solutions for people who are struggling with debt.
Founded in 2010, we drove the campaign for caps on the total cost of credit that could be charged by payday lenders. Brought into effect by the Financial Conduct Authority in 2015 the total cost cap has saved approximately 760,000 borrowers up to £150 million per year since then.
We also campaigned for, and won, a cap on the rent-own-lenders in 2019. This has reduced costs for people who had previously been paying extortionate prices for basic household items such as cookers and fridges.
Today we are providing free consultancy and strategic support for the We are Debt Advisers campaign which is focused on stopping proposed cuts to face to face debt advice services and improving the debt solutions available to people in financial difficulty.
We are also working with Debt Justice to bring the voices of debtors themselves into policy making as well as to campaign for a write-down of unjust debts.
Aside from our campaigning activities, we are the innovators behind FlexMyRent and Financial Shield, and provide high quality research, evaluation, and consultancy services to improve lending practices and the support available for people in debt.
We are committed to promoting greater equity and social justice; to inclusivity and the celebration of diversity, and to empowering lower income people and communities who are in debt to exercise greater autonomy in their lives.
We promote equality of opportunity, social justice, inclusion and celebration of diversity, especially in respect of the established equality strands of gender, impairment (including health and disability), learning difference, age, ethnicity, religion and belief, sexual orientation, and gender reassignment but also in respect of socio-economic or marital status, trade union membership, family circumstances, political belief, language or culture.
Check out our timeline below.
2010
CfRC is established as an independently directed unit within the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion and we start work campaigning for caps on the total cost of credit.
2011
Our campaign hits Parliament - Payday lenders: the need for urgent action - Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.
2012
Following a study tour to Japan, we report on their successful interest rate caps and other measures to tackle irresponsible lending (Download Report here). The report is referred to in Parliament and is influential in gaining cross-party support for our campaign. This leads to the Financial Conduct Authority being provided with the power to cap prices in the Financial Services Act.
2013
We draft a Private Member's Bill concerning high cost credit for Paul Blomfield MP & work with Stella Creasy MP and Lord Sharkey to ensure an amendment is put to the Banking Reform Bill. This seeks to compel the Financial Conduct Authority to use its powers to cap the total cost that payday lenders can charge. The amendment looks set to pass in the Lords and forces a Government U-turn. On 25th November, the Chancellor George Osborne, confirms a total cost of credit cap will be brought in.
2014
The Financial Conduct Authority publishes plans to cap the total cost of interest, fees and charges on payday loans at 100% of the amount borrowed. These come into effect the following year. Subsequent evaluations indicate that this saves payday lending borrowers £150 million per year.
With funding from Barrow Cadbury Trust, we undertake and publish a review of local welfare schemes in England.
2016
Our report for the TUC reveals how British household debt burdens are unsustainable, and calls for a review of debt advice and insolvency solutions. (Download Report here). The report calls for a better measure of indebtedness which takes into account the impact of rising living costs.
The Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion merges with NIACE to become the Learning & Work Institute. CfRC continues as an independently directed unit within Learning & Work.
With funding from JP Morgan Charitable Foundation we also publish a review of services seeking to improve the financial health of low-income households. This highlights the need for greater flexibility with household bill payments.
2017
We begin work on a small rent flexibility pilot with Optivo Housing Association tenants.
We also refresh our work on local welfare schemes, highlighting huge cuts in the level of support and call for greater investment in services to prevent people from falling into debt.
We start campaigning for a cap on the prices being charged by Rent-to-Own lenders.
2019
With funding from the Money and Pensions Service we evaluate the findings from the initial rent flexibility pilot, and start to seek funding for larger scale, digital, trials.
Working with the University of Brighton, we scope out the Reshaping Financial Support Project for the Local Government Association.
The FCA introduces a cap on the prices being charged by Rent-to-Own lenders.
2020
CfRC leaves the Learning and Work Institute and establishes itself as an independent not for profit company.
We conduct a social impact assessment for the not for profit lender, Fair for You, which identifies benefits of over £5 million. The report is hailed as setting a new standard for social impact reporting for the sector by Fair4All Finance.
We begin to develop the FlexMyRent digital platform and start a trial with Optivo tenants.
With funding from Impact on Urban Health we scope out and start to deliver the Financial Shield project to improve support for people with long-term health conditions and money worries.
2021
JP Morgan Charitable Foundation agrees funding to support two further FlexMyRent trials.
CfRC helps to establish the We are Debt Advisers Campaign and raises concerns about proposed Money and Pension's Service cuts to face-to-face debt advice services.
We are commissioned by Fair4All Finance to evaluate their Covid-19 Resilience Fund for the affordable credit sector.
2022
Our independent evaluation of Fair4All Finance’s Covid-19 Resilience Fund is published.
Money and Pensions Service abandons its plans to make around £16 million of cuts to face-to-face debt advice services, and promises a new consultation concerning the arrangements for regional services over the course of the following year.
CfRC obtains charitable status.
Our independent evaluation of Fair for You’s Food Club trials with Iceland Foods is published, leading to a national roll out of the scheme.
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Million pounds per year saved for 760,000 payday loan borrowers since 2015 due to our successful campaign to cap the total cost of credit.
Thousand + pounds of rent being flexed by Optivo tenants this year, providing interest free help for low income households facing cash-flow problems, and linking them to wider support.
Million pounds of proposed cuts to face-to-face debt advice services prevented by the We Are Debt Advisers Campaign with our support in 2022.
