Actor Michel Sheen, campaigning against high-interest credit providers.
Photograph: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock
Form of credit has been identified as the unhealthiest for mental well-being by a public health group
Payday loans have been identified in a new report as the “unhealthiest” form of credit, with unauthorised overdrafts coming second.
More than 500 borrowers were asked about the impact that different forms of credit had on them to compile the findings.
The report, from health education charity the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) ranked payday loans as having the most negative impact on mental well-being, followed by unauthorised overdrafts, doorstep loans and weekly payment stores.
The research was welcomed by Michael Sheen, who this week revealed he has decided to scale back his acting career to devote himself to campaigning against high-interest credit providers such as Wonga and BrightHouse, and working to find fairer alternative sources of credit.
Sheen, probably best known for playing Tony Blair in several films, has launched the End High Cost Credit Alliance, a campaign group of politicians, charities and tech firms that will work to promote more affordable ways of borrowing.
He says: “We share a moral responsibility to help protect vulnerable customers from the harm high-cost credit causes. The evidence on the impact on our health and well-being is now overwhelming. We have the evidence. Now we need action.”
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