Select Committee may look at CCCFA next month

The law which came into effect on December 1 has been widely criticised for making it far harder for many people to get a loan even if they have a good record, and for swamping brokers with layers of expensive paperwork.

In a startling comment a few days ago, the Act Party leader David Seymour said the Act was not properly understood by politicians when it went through Parliament.

He was a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee which shepherded the law through the House.

But he says debate at the time was focussed on predatory lenders and vulnerable borrowers.

“Nobody believed that the law would affect every single person seeking credit, whether they were vulnerable or not, but that’s exactly what’s happened.”

So Seymour wrote to the committee and to its chair, Duncan Webb, asking for a review or at the very least a briefing into the “havoc” the law was causing.

“What is the point of the Committee having such power if it won’t use its powers to hear the public’s concerns about the laws it’s been involved in making?” Seymour wrote.

A response to these comments was sought from Webb.

But he replied that it was not possible to do anything during the holidays.

“You will appreciate that Parliament is not currently sitting,” Webb said.

“While the letter from Mr Seymour was addressed to me as chair, any decision will be that of the Committee as a whole.

“The issue will be able to be considered in early February when Parliament sits again.”