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Working‐class consumer credit in the UK, 1925–60: the role of the check trader

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  • SEAN O'CONNELL
  • CHRIS REID

Abstract

This article provides fresh insights into working‐class credit by examining the history of check trading. It explains the system's origins, and its dependence on a series of relationships involving check traders and their agents, retailers, and customers. Data from the market leader— Provident Clothing and Supply Co. Ltd—is analysed to explore the scale and scope of the sector, and to examine its history from the early 1920s to the 1960s. Check trading was both an important and controversial supplier of credit to working‐class families, and the article explores criticisms of the system, and the reason for its popularity.

Suggested Citation

  • Sean O'Connell & Chris Reid, 2005. "Working‐class consumer credit in the UK, 1925–60: the role of the check trader," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 58(2), pages 378-405, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:58:y:2005:i:2:p:378-405
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2005.00308.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bowden, Sue & Turner, Paul, 1993. "The Demand for Consumer Durables in the United Kingdom in the Interwar Period," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(2), pages 244-258, June.
    2. Sue Bowden & Avner Offer, 1994. "Household appliances and the use of time: the United States and Britain since the 1920s," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 47(4), pages 725-748, November.
    3. Coopey, Richard & O'Connell, Sean & Porter, Dilwyn, 2005. "Mail Order Retailing in Britain: A Business and Social History," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198296508.
    4. Richard Hynes & Eric A. Posner, 2002. "The Law and Economics of Consumer Finance," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 4(1), pages 168-207, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Abdul Karim Aldohni, 2017. "The UK New Regulatory Framework of High-Cost Short-Term Credit: Is There a Shift Towards a More “Law and Society” Based Approach?," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 321-345, September.

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