Google takes aim at copycat debt advice firms in ad crackdown

Search engine Google is targeting debt advice firms masquerading as charities in a tightening of its rules on advertising, following pressure from this newspaper, writes Sam Meadows.

In August, Telegraph Money reported firms that charge vulnerable people for debt management services were paying to be “promoted” in search results for charities such as StepChange and the National Debtline. StepChange said it had been forced to pay Google extra just to appear above the copycat firms.

Google this week announced that from November only firms that can prove they are regulated by the City watchdog will be able to advertise on debt-related queries. It hopes this will stop people with problem debt being tricked into paying for management plans in the belief they are speaking to an adviser for a reputable charity.

Matt Lavine, of Google, said the change was a result of “extensive” work with organisations such as StepChange. He added: “We believe [it] will provide further protections for vulnerable users who come to Google for information on how to remedy their debt or credit problems.”

StepChange said in August it had seen examples where consumers paid hundreds of pounds up front for plans that they thought were approved by, or even designed by, the charity. It said it had reported 83 instances of misleading advertising to search engines, up from 46 in 2018. Richard Lane, from the charity, said: “Now that Google has taken the first step we would urge all digital platforms that accept advertising for debt services to consider their own approach. These impersonator firms tend to be highly opportunistic and adaptable, and it would be very unfortunate if they were displaced from Google only to exploit alternative channels.” Google has previously taken similar steps to restrict advertising in the ticket resale market. It also works with charities to ensure only legitimate addiction recovery centres can advertise against addiction-related terms. Telegraph Money has also shown how Google displays adverts for unregulated property schemes to people who search for “low-risk investments”. Google is considering extending the rules to areas such as investments.