Round three in Ohio?
February 18, 2009 | Columbus Dispatch, Ohio, industry, media coverage, regulation | Comments (3)From the Columbus Dispatch:
Some state lawmakers plan another run at payday lenders because stores are operating much the same as they did before the legislature approved tough regulations last year.
After weeks of legislative debate on what became the new law and a failed attempt in November by the payday industry to overturn the measure, payday lenders continue making loans, often at virtually the same rates as under the old law.
The new law limits short-term loans to 28 percent interest and a maximum 31-day term. But payday lenders skirt the law by offering loans and charging fees under a different section of law known as the Small Loan Act.
The demand for short-term credit is greater than ever. Why would legislators consider curtailing this credit in this economy?
Comments»
I hope that the payday lenders spend another $20 million in Ohio and then lose a vote nearly 2-1. You lost in May in the legislature, you lost in November at the ballot box, and you will lose again. Ohio does not want loans with triple digit interest rates. You found a loophole to HB 545, and now that loophole will be closed. The Small Loan act was never intended to be used the way the payday lenders are using it, and that will be fixed.
Not only that, the payday lenders have lost any bit of credibility they used to have. I thought 1,600 stores were going to close. I thought 6,000 jobs were going to be lost. A real case of “the industry who cried wolf” here.
So, this time, instead of spending $20 million on ads in a losing campaign, why not just write me a check? I’ll only charge you $2 million to tell you that you have no chance in Ohio. That’ll save you $18 million and the end result will be the same.
Dozens of stores have closed and hundreds of workers have lost their jobs. If the legislature acts to stop lenders from operating under the Small Loan Act, the rest of the stores will close and thousands of people will be out of work. And Jeff and other other crazies can celebrate Ohio’s continued descent into thirdworldness.
Jeff,
I am curious about your hostility. Did you get a loan and then not pay it back and then got sued?
EVERYONE is trying to say that we are doing the EXACT same thing, not true. On a loan to get the customer $400 in cash we write them a check for $430.11, on a 14 day loan they pay less than $460. This is less than $30 in fees. They have the OPTION to cash the check in the center for an additional fee, in which only half of my customers do. So please tell me how is this a bad deal?