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Pawnbrokers are increasing the hardship of low-income Australians and should face tighter regulations, researchers say.

A recent study carried out by experts from Melbourne Law School was the first to investigate the impact of the nation's pawn industry.

It found that people who used pawnbrokers were disproportionately poor, typically earning less than $25,000 per year and were unlikely to own their own home or use credit cards.

The research, based on a survey of 1472 consumers, noted that pawnbrokers often charged extremely high interest rates for short-term loans, sometimes at the equivalent rates of more than 400 per cent per year.

Pawnbrokers have few legal restrictions on the amount of interest they can charge and, unlike instant payday loans (https://www.study.bbecas.org) loans, pawn loans can be continually extended.

The only regulations placed on pawnbrokers were at a state level and were largely intended to help police investigating stolen goods rather than protecting consumers, the study's lead researcher Lucinda O'Brien told AAP.

"The protections that are there are very difficult for consumers to enforce because they'd have to go to a court," she said.

"And it's just not worth it in many cases because the amounts of the pawn loans are usually very low, they can be less than $100."

Heavier regulations placed on payday lending might also lead more people to turn to pawnbrokers, Dr O'Brien said.

The study found 64 per cent of people getting pawnbroker loans had previously used payday loans.

"People who can no longer access a payday loan because of stricter regulation may be forced to use pawn loans more," Dr O'Brien said.

Those in the pawn industry were often aware of their customers' vulnerabilities, a former loan user in contact with the Consumer Action Law Centre told AAP.

"The people that go there for a loan don't tell their wives or husbands, it's sort of embarrassing to say they went to a pawnbroker," the man, who asked not to be identified, said.

"So they don't care what interest they're paying because they've got something urgent to cover up."

The authors of the study called on the federal government to keep records on pawnbrokers and their loans, and to force pawnbrokers to join independent dispute assessor the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

The law centre has also previously called for stricter regulation of pawnbrokers.

The office of Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones has been contacted for comment.

Angry crowds have gathered outside a Barclays branch after an IT glitch yesterday caused thousands to be left without access to their funds for more than 24 hours. 

Many have taken to social media to hit out at the firm and demand compensation for the problems, which leading experts have warned could cost the bank millions.

This morning the bank apologised to its customers, acknowledging 'intermittent errors' with their payment system and assuring that they were 'working to fix this as quickly as possible.'

The delays in fixing the IT issues have been made worse by the fact that the outage coincided with January payday loans online for many workers and the deadline for self-assessment tax returns, leaving some unable to make payments to HMRC.

When asked by MailOnline if they will be providing compensation to those effected, Barclays responded: 'We will ensure that no impacted customer is left out of pocket'.

Well experts at audit and tax advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg warned that with fines and interest rates being slapped on customers for late payment that figure could run into the millions. 

Andrew Sanford, a Partner at the firm said: 'The total compensation will be clearly dependent on the number of affected customers. Customers unable to pay their tax will have to pay interest at an annual interest rate of 7.25 percent charged on a daily basis. 

'Similarly, some customers waiting for their wages to pay off short term loans could be hit with punitive finance costs. 

'Lots of property transactions complete on a Friday and there could be financial repercussions from that to. It is not hard to see a situation where compensation could be in its millions, depending on the quantum affected.' 

Angry crowds have gathered outside a Barclays branch after an IT glitch yesterday caused thousands to be left without access to their funds

Outage tracking site Down Detector, showing there have been thousands of reports of service issues that have been logged since Friday

It's one of the most popular banking apps across the UK, but it appears that Barclays is still down

Barclays has not explained the cause of the IT problems, or how many people are affected but according to outage tracking site Down Detector, there have been thousands of reports of service issues that have been logged since Friday.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Barclays' website indicated that its app had begun working again but that issues persisted with payments and transfers. 

One upset Barclays customer took to social media to share the impact of the outage, writing: 'Due to you Barclays I'm left without money. 

'Had a food shop due for delivery this morning which now will get cancelled, leaving my four kids with no food. It's a joke as (it is) my money.'

Read More

Barclays customers are STILL having problems a day after bank's online services crashed

Another added: 'How can I eat and keep warm if I can't get to my funds?'

Other customers expressed embarrassment, with one stating: 'Well I've just had to put all my shopping back in Tesco, never been so embarrassed in my life... as can't access my own money.'

In a particularly distressing case, a mother said she could not buy milk for her baby due to the outage: 'My four-month-old is out of milk powder and screaming for a feed and I still haven't been paid,' she wrote, 'I've been in tears for hours.'

While others blasted the bank and demanded compensation for the inconvenience, one business said: 'Disgusting @Barclays. We can't pay our staff. Everyone in the UK should charge you interest for every minute you are down.' 

Another agreed: 'It is getting ridiculous now, nothing works it's been almost 24 hours and I've not been able to transfer or send money. If you don't fix this today I'm moving all my money to another bank.' 

For updates on all of our services, please visit website pic.twitter.com/8Bn5TNhCsR

— Barclays UK Help (@BarclaysUKHelp) February 1, 2025

One said they would be stopping banking with the company immediately: 'This was the final straw for me. Loyal CA customer for 18 years. Completely inappropriate for a major bank to suggest food banks as a solution to its own outage. 

'Looking forward to my current account switch completing.' 

On top of this it was the final day for many to pay their tax bills. One leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg said this couldn't have come at a worse time.

Andrew Sanford, a Partner at the firm said: 'Tax was due today for HMRC self-assessment and interest will be due on any unpaid amounts on a daily basis. Meaning the failure of Barclays payment systems today has come at the worst possible time.

'Many taxpayers would have been waiting for pay day at the end of this month to settle their liabilities, or structured their finances to make the payment today, so this glitch could be very costly.'

Read More

Barclays is DOWN: Banking app crashes for thousands of frustrated Brits

Barclays has responded to several customers on social media, offering apologies and reassurance that the problem is being worked on. In one reply, Barclays said: 'I'm really sorry for the inconvenience caused. 

'We're having some problems with our systems today and you may have trouble using some features in our app, online banking, as well as payments in and out of your accounts.'

Another message posted on Saturday morning read: 'I can only apologise for the ongoing issue that you are facing. 

'I can assure you that we're working on getting this fixed just as soon as we can.'

Despite these apologies, customers are still waiting for a resolution. A Barclays spokesperson told MailOnline this morning: 'We're incredibly sorry for the ongoing technical issues that are impacting our customers' accounts. 

'Some may see an outdated balance, and payments made or received may not show. We're working hard to fix this issue, and customers should not try to make the payment again. 

'Customers can use their cards and withdraw cash, and as soon as these remaining issues are resolved, we'll let our customers know. We will ensure that no impacted customer is left out of pocket.'

HMRCBarclaysTesco

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