Business Services Industry
Critics call U.K. agency's store-card probe "waste of time and money".
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, September, 2004
By Lucy Farndon, Daily Mail, London Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Sep. 23--The Competition Commission's inquiry into store cards is expected to last 18 months, cost millions and be a waste of time, say critics.
Regulators are investigating whether cards offered by retailers such as House of Fraser and Marks & Spencer charge excessively high interest rates.
They are also assessing whether there is enough competition among finance firms that provide card services such as GE Capital and HSBC.
Many economists say the probe should never have been launched and the regulators' meddling will come to nothing.
Though store card charges are steep, critics argue that other credit cards and loans are available. And they say few...
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