Consumer credit is systematically sold to vulnerable consumers at usurious rates in Germany and abroad. To hide unconsciously high interest rates part of the cost is hidden as a mandatory provision for annexed payment protection insurance (PPI) useless or overpriced with regard to free insurance.
Vulnerable consumers have no choice since they have no access to the average product and to competition.
However, concentrating on PPI alone is not enough. Once it is adequately addressed by regulation usurious prices will reappear in new disguise. Finance has proven to be harmfully innovative. Such lending is irresponsible. Financial usury is a system that addresses unfairly and systematically a whole class of people adding to the general trend towards a rising division between rich and poor. We want to concentrate on products that are harmful to society as a whole.
In 2018 we formed a Germany-wide initiative including scientists, consumer organisations, trade unions and debt advice organisations as well as consumer advocates to fight usury. We have started to collect cases of credit chains in combination with PPI and bring them to the courts. We want to cooperate with those who do the same with regard to usuriously high rent and underpaid labour.
