Payday loans companies criticised for lending money for tummy tucks

At least two short term loans companies have been advertising unsecured loans for cosmetic surgery, suggesting that loans for thousands of pounds for the treatment could be taken out, despite the companies normally dealing with very short term lending arrangements.

The adverts have caused a lot of heated comments from social welfare organisations and some MPs.

Payday loans are high interest loans normally available to people who need some instant cash to tide them over until they get paid. They are unsecured so are high risk loans that depend on being made available to people who have a job or at least a consistent income. Interest rates can be as high as 4000% pa. Payday loans companies have been criticised in the past for being vague about the true cost of their loans.

Cosmetic surgery like tummy tucks, breast enlargements and liposuction can cost thousands of [pounds. It seems unlikely that anybody getting a loan to pay for things sort of surgery would be able to pay back the loan very quickly on a normal wage, which suggests that any instant cash loan company handing out the cash for such a procedure would be charging very high rate of return for a significant period of time.

The websites that advertise the loans for cosmetic surgery include cheapfastloans.co.uk and needloans.org.uk. A quick look at their websites reveals glossy photos of attractive women carrying shopping bags with the promise that they can easily hand out loans with no credit check. The photos lie alongside the promotion of loans for cosmetic surgery up to ₤25,000.

Cosmetic surgeons have commented on the suggestions that patients take out loans for cosmetic surgery, urging them to think clearly about what they want to do before committing themselves. President-elect of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons, Rajiv Grover, said that the association discouraged anybody taking out these sorts of short term loans. He suggested that anybody wishing to have cosmetic surgery should make sure that they had saved up the cost of the surgery beforehand and then had the treatment.

It is thought that a more stringent lending environment by traditional credit providers has prompted people to turn to instant cash loans companies instead. Many of them make applying for loans easy and fast.

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