MPs want to limit interest rates charged by mail order companies

The PvdA and ChristenUnie want to significantly lower the maximum interest on loans provided by mail order companies. According to them, people too easily end up in debt through mail order companies offering installment payments. The plan can count on majority support in parliament, RTL Nieuws reports.

If you want to buy something from companies like Wehkamp, but can't pay immediately and take the installment option, you can quickly face interest rates up to 14 percent. "Unacceptable," PvdA parliamentarian Gijs van Dijk said to RTL Nieuws. "Customers are sometimes stuck with such a mail order company for years. These companies deal in people's misery. That has to stop."

"We want to go to an interest rate of 7 percent," Eppo Bruins of the ChristenUnie said. "Because of the corona, the number of people living in poverty is growing. Now is the time to really take care of it."

According to RTL, these high interest rates have been a thorn in parliamentarians' side for years. There is therefore a lot of support for the PvdA and ChristenUnie's proposal.