She calls them "
push-to-crime
".
In a study published Wednesday, December 16, the UFC-Que Choisir denounces the attitude of certain companies which push the French to take out consumer loans despite the context of economic and health crisis.
“
When Sofinco encourages people to take out loans that can be reimbursed after the holidays, its colleagues in long-term car rental (LLD), like Toyota Financement, are proposing rent deferrals for six months!
», Denounces the consumer association which is alarmed by the high level of loans in default in households.
Read also: The crisis is also shaking up consumer credit habits
Before the crisis, French banks would have, according to the UFC, accumulated 9 billion euros in debt that their customers are not able to honor.
"
Per borrower household, these arrears exceed 1000 euros, nearly ten times more than in Germany,
" she underlines.
The situation deteriorated further with the crisis, especially since the moratoriums granted in the spring were, “
for two thirds
”, expired in November.
Thus, "
while 900,000 consumers are preparing to lose their jobs, consumer loans in default could, according to our estimates, exceed 12 billion euros (+ 40%) in 2021,
" she writes.
Call for caution
The association denounces "
a serious lack of vigilance in the conditions for granting loans
" on the part of banking establishments.
It points to the BNP Paribas group and Société Générale, of which 7.1% and 5.6% of consumer loans are in default, respectively.
These same establishments are reluctant, according to the UFC, to restructure the debt of their troubled customers.
This procedure concerns "
30% of cases on average, and only 18% at Société Générale
".
The association is also alarmed by the European Commission's plan to "
purge banks' balance sheets of their rotten loans
" by facilitating their resale to collection companies.
"
While these sales could double to reach 7 billion euros next year, the local associations of the UFC-Que Choisir are already witnessing an explosion of complaints due to the lack of safeguards to the aggressive practices of companies recovery,
”notes the UFC.
The association plans to publish, in January, a study on "
the exhaustive analysis of the deleterious actions
" of these companies.
And as of now, it provides consumers with "
a
decision tree
as to what to do in the event of an attempt to recover consumer credit
".
The association also calls on lawmakers to force banks to propose a restructuring measure from the second repayment incident.
In the meantime, it provides a standard letter to request a reorganization of credit and calls on the French to "be
careful
" before any new subscription.