Posted on: 08th Mar, 2010 10:08 am
Change.org is a site that is dedicated to changing things for the better for society. you may or may not agree with all the ideas spread around on their website, but there is one which i think virtually all of us will get behind.
Carl Chancellor, who is a pulitzer-prize winning journalist, has written an article about payday loans, their excesses and the way they prey upon poor folk who have few, if any, other alternatives.
change.org has petitions which can be signed getting behind a topic that has change in mind, and i invite - nay, suggest - that we get behind this particular topic as soon as possible.
and before i forget this...please be aware that i do not work for, nor have i ever worked for, a company that is involved in payday loans. i only write what i write about this travesty because i have plentiful background in lending and recognize what nastiness these payday loans represent.
Carl Chancellor, who is a pulitzer-prize winning journalist, has written an article about payday loans, their excesses and the way they prey upon poor folk who have few, if any, other alternatives.
change.org has petitions which can be signed getting behind a topic that has change in mind, and i invite - nay, suggest - that we get behind this particular topic as soon as possible.
and before i forget this...please be aware that i do not work for, nor have i ever worked for, a company that is involved in payday loans. i only write what i write about this travesty because i have plentiful background in lending and recognize what nastiness these payday loans represent.
Hi George,
I checked out the blog post that you've mentioned in your post. It is a highly informative post and Carl Chancellor has given some astonishing facts about payday loans. I personally do not support going for payday loans as they charge a high interest rate. This in turn leads the borrower to fall into a debt trap which at times forces them to file bankruptcy.
I checked out the blog post that you've mentioned in your post. It is a highly informative post and Carl Chancellor has given some astonishing facts about payday loans. I personally do not support going for payday loans as they charge a high interest rate. This in turn leads the borrower to fall into a debt trap which at times forces them to file bankruptcy.
agreed...payday loans ought to be eliminated entirely from the lending landscape. they are a trap for those least prepared to obtain credit to begin with.
I worked at a payday loan company for almost two years. I think you would have to identify the phrase "prey upon" to say that they do that. I never saw anyone dragged in by their collar through the door and up to the window. People make their choices and the rates are posted on the wall. In most cases, yes, it's an awful choice, but it does serve a small percentage of people who need to get out of a jam fast. But most customers do end up being lasting customers who never catch up with their payment obligations. I still don't believe those kinds of companies should be allowed to lend, but again..it's the consumers choice.
you're quite right about it being a consumer's choice. however, payday loans are banned in several states - i think that speaks volumes about their detrimental effect on american pocketbooks.
unfortunately, even though there may well be disclosure (on the wall??? - wow), i think we all recognize that the american public isn't too keen on paying attention to the fine print. and, we must admit, that we're not talking about this portion of the public as being financially astute to begin with, so there's bound to be confusion in what they're getting into.
having worked in financial institutions all my adult life, i know that the first thing many lenders do is to simply summarize the deal for a consumer who isn't sophisticated. this is the easy way out, but it doesn't exactly give a consumer the full scope.
i'm only thankful that it affects a small percentage of consumers; otherwise i firmly believe that these products need to far more tightly regulated if they're going to continute to exist. and i would rather see them disappear entirely.
unfortunately, even though there may well be disclosure (on the wall??? - wow), i think we all recognize that the american public isn't too keen on paying attention to the fine print. and, we must admit, that we're not talking about this portion of the public as being financially astute to begin with, so there's bound to be confusion in what they're getting into.
having worked in financial institutions all my adult life, i know that the first thing many lenders do is to simply summarize the deal for a consumer who isn't sophisticated. this is the easy way out, but it doesn't exactly give a consumer the full scope.
i'm only thankful that it affects a small percentage of consumers; otherwise i firmly believe that these products need to far more tightly regulated if they're going to continute to exist. and i would rather see them disappear entirely.
George, (that was my dad's name) I agree with you, actually I think that there should definitely be regulations on who can borrow. I'm no expert, but people who are on SDD, SSI, and VA benefits should be barred from being able to take out loans at these places. There were an unbelievable amount of folks from that sector who were indeed up to there necks in debt. I felt bad for them, but I also needed a job. When I applied, I had no idea what they did or how it worked. After awhile I got the drift. I worked at one in AZ, and we actually were handing out small petitions to send to lawmakers at the state level to gain votes to stay in business. And again you're right about not educating them correctly, as I said the annual APR was posted on the wall, and the monthly cost of borrowing amounts up to $500 was posted at the window where they got the loan. A loan of $500 cost $80 a month unless you paid the loan in full within 5 days. Then there was no charge to borrow the money. We would tell them that they were only allowed one payday loan, but there was no system in place that linked our place with the other 8 in the neighborhood, so how would we know? I forgot all about them until I saw your post. You are very knowledgeable, I enjoy reading your posts. :)
thanks for the compliment, wendy! :D