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It's an oddity in a way, if a logical one, that whilst poor people spend less on food, furniture, houses, just about everything, they pay more for loans than people who can better afford to service them.
Beyond that, dealer introduced credit has been essentially uncompetitive for consumers ever since it was invented.
In a way it just followed on from the days when retailers did their own 'tick'. The funding transferred to specialist lenders but the retail margin remained with the vendors, who maximised it just as they will charge the highest prices for their goods that they can profitably sustain.
What made the loans uncompetitive (and will continue to do so when the market adjusts) is that it was (and will remain for many) linked to the purchase. Market intervention has been deemed necessary in many other linked costs, such as extended warranty, PPI, and even credit card charges. Not of these has worked perfectly and this one won't either.
The answer for those who can is to separate the source of the loan from the purchase of the goods.
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