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Walking with Moneylenders: The Ecology of the UK Home-collected Credit Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Leyshon

    (School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK, andrew.leyshon@nottingham.ac.uk)

  • Paola Signoretta

    (School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK, paola.signoretta@nottingham.ac.uk)

  • David Knights

    (School of Economics and Management Studies, University of Keele, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK, d.knights@mngt.keele.ac.uk)

  • Catrina Alferoff

    (School of Economics and Management Studies, University of Keele, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK, mnb01@keele.ac.uk)

  • Dawn Burton

    (Department of Sociology, County College South, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YD, UK, sociology@ lancaster. ac. uk)

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to assess the role of doorstep credit companies in the delivery of financial services in areas affected by high levels of financial and social exclusion. In particular, the paper looks at the relationship between agents and customers using two metaphors associated with interaction between different species in an ecological setting-namely, parasitism and symbiotic mutualism. The metaphor of parasitism circulates widely within debates about moneylending in the media and among advocacy groups, such as the Consumer Association, that work on behalf of low-income individuals and households. The metaphor of symbiotic mutualism describes the depiction of the relationship between consumers and moneylenders put forward by the moneylending industry. Drawing on field work undertaken within moneylending companies, this paper argues that the relationship between the agents and customers is cultivated to overcome information asymmetries; that is, to produce information about customers' ability to repay. The paper investigates the way in which the initial knowledge about customers is developed during the weekly visits that agents make to the homes of customers. 'Friendly' relationships are cultivated by agents to retain profitable customers who have earned the agent's trust.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Leyshon & Paola Signoretta & David Knights & Catrina Alferoff & Dawn Burton, 2006. "Walking with Moneylenders: The Ecology of the UK Home-collected Credit Industry," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(1), pages 161-186, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:43:y:2006:i:1:p:161-186
    DOI: 10.1080/00420980500409326
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul Bagguley & Kirk Mann, 1992. "Idle Thieving Bastards? Scholarly Representations of the `Underclass'," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 6(1), pages 113-126, March.
    2. Andrew Leyshon & Dawn Burton & David Knights & Catrina Alferoff & Paola Signoretta, 2004. "Towards an Ecology of Retail Financial Services: Understanding the Persistence of Door-to-Door Credit and Insurance Providers," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 36(4), pages 625-645, April.
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    Cited by:

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    2. J. N. Marshall & A. Pike & J. S. Pollard & J. Tomaney & S. Dawley & J. Gray, 2012. "Placing the run on northern rock," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 157-181, January.
    3. Hugh Morris, 2012. "Financial Exclusion and Australian Domestic General Insurance: The Impact of Financial Services Reforms," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 33, July-Dece.
    4. Caleb Gallemore & Kristian Roed Nielsen & Kristjan Jespersen, 2019. "The uneven geography of crowdfunding success: Spatial capital on Indiegogo," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 51(6), pages 1389-1406, September.
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    7. Clark Gordon L., 2022. "Agency, sentiment, and risk and uncertainty: fears of job loss in 8 European countries," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 66(1), pages 3-17, May.
    8. Clark Gordon L, 2021. "The Significance of Financial Competence and Risk Tolerance in Home-Related Expenditure by Jurisdiction and Regime," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 65(1), pages 12-27, March.
    9. Pamela Lenton & Paul Mosley, 2014. "Financial Exit Routes from the ‘Poverty Trap’: A Study of Four UK Cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(4), pages 744-762, March.
    10. Zhao, Yuying, 2016. "Regional Differences of Rural Financial Exclusion ——in Gansu and Jiangsu Province," 2016 Annual Meeting, February 6-9, 2016, San Antonio, Texas 230134, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    11. Paul Langley & Andrew Leyshon, 2017. "Capitalizing on the crowd: The monetary and financial ecologies of crowdfunding," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(5), pages 1019-1039, May.
    12. Ian Dunham & Alec Foster, 2023. "FRINGE FINANCIAL ECOLOGIES AND PLACE‐BASED EXCLUSION: A Tale of Two Cities," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 881-898, November.
    13. Kevin Keasey & Gianluca Veronesi, 2012. "The Significance and Implications of Being a Subprime Homeowner in the UK," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(6), pages 1502-1522, June.
    14. Pelkmans, Mathijs & Umetbaeva, Damira, 2018. "Moneylending and moral reasoning on the capitalist frontier in Kyrgyzstan," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 84409, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Gordon L Clark & Janelle Knox-Hayes & Kendra Strauss, 2009. "Financial Sophistication, Salience, and the Scale of Deliberation in UK Retirement Planning," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 41(10), pages 2496-2515, October.
    16. Hugh Morris, 2012. "Financial Exclusion and Australian Domestic General Insurance: The Impact of Financial Services Reforms," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 3-2012, January-A.
    17. Elena Magli & Micaela Mazzei & Olga Biosca & Neil McHugh, 2024. "Exploring ‘Alternatives' in the Consumer Credit Market: Community Development Finance Institutions in the United Kingdom," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 115(5), pages 598-614, December.
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