Fourteen payday lenders leave market following OFT investigation

The deadline to receive all of these responses has now passed.

Fourteen lenders have informed the OFT that they are leaving the payday market. Three of these have surrendered their licences and are not required to provide an audit report. The remaining 11 continue to trade in other areas of business that require a credit licence and have been required to provide an audit report to the OFT.

In total, the OFT has received audit reports from 46 lenders.

One business failed to meet the deadline imposed by the OFT. The business has informed the OFT that it is no longer lending and will, at the OFT's insistence, be submitting an audit report.

In addition to the 50 leading lenders, and since the OFT published the final payday review report in March:

- three firms engaged in payday lending have had their licences revoked after their appeals against OFT determinations were either dropped or struck out by the First Tier Tribunal

- another two payday lenders, in addition to the 50 leading lenders, have also surrendered its licence.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: 

"The fact that many lenders would rather leave the market than face scrutiny from the regulator shows just how bad practice has been in this fast-growing industry.

"People are increasingly turning to high cost credit just to pay for essentials or repay other debts, so it is vital that the government and regulators continue to get tougher on irresponsible lenders."