Interest-free loans to be rolled out in UK to help with food bills

17 comments
  1. Oh so I can borrow money just to survive but I’m to be thankful I don’t pay extra on it? Get stuffed

  2. >The scheme is designed to enable them to cover school holiday grocery bills or smooth out gaps in their income by providing interest-free “microloans” of between £25 and £100 to buy everyday items.

    >Iceland has partnered with Fair for You on the initiative, which is being extended across the UK from 16 August after a pilot phase during which loans were provided to more than 5,000 customers.

    >The microloans are made available on preloaded cards, with repayments set at £10 a week. During the pilot, customers paid a “minimal” amount of interest on the loans, but Iceland had decided to invest an undisclosed amount “in making all loans completely interest-free for the national rollout”.

    >An independent evaluation of the pilot found that 92% of customers who had previously used food banks had stopped or reduced their use, while 71% said they were less likely to fall behind on rent, council tax or other bills.

    The final bit at the end there is the bit to take note of. It seems to actually have helped people and hopefully will in the future.

    This is one of those things that we should not need in our country, but is helpful that we have it.

  3. Maybe I’m missing something here but…..why don’t they just provide the food free of charge directly to customer who are eligible for these loans? Why the extra rigmarole?

  4. Went to give this charity a quick google, their monthly interest rate seems to be 3.75%? So annually thats what, 45-55% pending compound interest?

    Seems a tad high for a charity, no?

  5. I was initially told my student loan, back in 2010, would be interest-free. There was a change in policy real quick, so now I pay interest. Fuckers.

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