Uk Lender Wonga Offers 12-year-old A Loan

Payday lender Wonga has a lot of explaining to do after their offer to a pre-teenaged boy for a loan worth £400 made national headlines, such as The Drum.

At the beginning of November 2013, 12 year-old Dennis Earle received a letter from the company stating that he had been granted a ‘special discount.’ For Dennis, this meant that he would be able to take his family on vacation; but, to his parents who knew better, this was just another ploy by a loan company trying to lure innocent youngsters into debt before they even know what they’re getting into.

“He had heard of Wonga through the adverts on television but I don’t think Dennis knows what a loan is,” said Dennis’ mother, Theresa. “He is only 12 years old, he is not on the electoral roll.”

Wonga claims that this was basically a misunderstanding. They stated that someone completed an online survey in Dennis’ name and confirmed that he was over the age of 18.

“[We ran] a small direct marketing campaign to explain the business,” they said. “[We’ve taken] special care to make sure we only contacted people aged 18 and over.”

A spokesperson for Wonga made further assurances that Dennis’ name has now been removed from its database.