Comments (0) PAYDAY loans can make personal problems with debt much worse, the Bishop of Stafford warned.
The Right Reverend Geoff Annas said that companies such as QuickQuid and Wonga, who were grilled by a committee of MPs this morning as part of an inquiry into payday practices, can provide much-needed assistance to those in need.
However, he stressed there were alternatives for vulnerable people looking for short-term financial relief.
"From all the accounts I've read that there are some people who found payday loans could be useful and helpful, but for many people it's really increasing their problems," he said.
"From the church's point of view we've done our utmost to support credit unions, and we would very strongly back the union based in Blurton."
Reverend Annas added the number of needy families relying on charity donations or foodbanks showed something was "wrong", and wondered whether payday loans were a symptom of an unhealthy relationship with debt, but with Christmas looming he said the need to help people was likely to rise.
He said: "Morally we seem now to live in a society that, unlike people in my generation, who were not supposed to buy something unless we could pay for it, sees debt as normal, which I think makes it a difficult question.
"Borrowing seems to be a normal part of life, which is a thorny issue - the last thing we want to do is exploit people in their vulnerability, and people in massive debt are very vulnerable.
"We're coming up to Christmas, and in my personal experience such problems get worse around this time, so we need to be careful to support needy families."
