Barclays Acted A Bit Too American In Its Dealings With British Customers

Unlike on this side of the Atlantic, where the very idea of protecting financial consumers is anathema and where preying upon the hard-up and less-fortunate is an exceedingly lucrative line of business, in the U.K., turning the screws on customers in distress is illegal. Indeed, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority goes so far as to require consumer credit firms to try to understand their positions and, heaven forfend, show forbearance to customers struggling financially.