JAMES DUDDERIDGE FINDS OUT WHAT'S IN STORE AT THE MONEY SHOP
James Duddridge, Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East, has today visited the Southend branch of The Money Shop. James visited the store to find out more about the range of financial solutions available on the high street.
The Money Shop, which has a store in London Road, recently became a member of National Pawn broking Association (NPA), forming the largest network of pawn broking stores in the UK.
A successful pawn broking service has been available at The Money Shop amongst its list of services for several years. The full range of Money Shop products and services include payday loans, foreign exchange, pawn broking, ‘Gold to Cash', cheque cashing, Pre-paid cards and Western Union money transfer products.
James was shown around The Money Shop premises, and met with the Head of UK Compliance, Caroline Walton, and Store Manager Ellie Sord. They discussed the impact of the recession on consumers and their business and its effect on the services they offer.
James said: "The visit to The Money Shop was very interesting. I was unaware of the number of different services that the company offers. Pawn broking does not have the best reputation but it was nice to see a business that operates within stringent guidelines. The services that The Money Shop offers seem to be very beneficial for a number of my constituents, particularly in these economic troubling times.
"I found the prepayment cards for use overseas very interesting and once again, can see how this would benefit large numbers of people. The idea of a prepayment current account style card is a great way for those that have experienced financial difficulties who are unable to have a bank account but still wish to be able to purchase goods and services online for example."
Ms Walton added: "Managing finances is important at any time, but the current economic downturn is encouraging more of us to look for alternative financial solutions. The Money Shop can provide viable alternatives to those who might find it difficult to secure credit from the banks and it is good to see MPs such as Mr Duddridge recognising this."
The Money Shop opened its first store in Nottingham in 1996 and now employs over 1500 people across its network, serving over 450,000 customers a year often in communities which have been vacated by traditional banks and post offices.
