Before taking out consumer credit, customers must:

• consider whether their income is sufficient to ensure the payment of the debts they intend to incur;

• evaluate the impact on their effort rate, calculated as a quotient between the monthly amount of instalments due under other credit agreements they have and the monthly income earned;

• choose the type of credit most suitable for what they want to buy, since there are several modalities with different purposes and associated costs;

• compare different offers, taking into account the annual percentage rate of charge (APR) and other elements included in the standardised information sheet (SIS) provided by the institutions;

• provide true and complete information about their economic situation so that the institution correctly assesses the risk of the loan and its creditworthiness (i.e. the customer’s ability to repay the loan);

• read carefully the draft contract and clarify all doubts with the institution before signing the contract.