Ohio bill announcement
June 2, 2009 | Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio, industry, regulation | Comments (5)From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Under the Lorain Democrat’s bill, payday lenders would, for the first time, explicitly be held accountable under the state’s Consumer Sales Practices Act, which prohibits deceptive and unconscionable sales practices.
“I want them to know when this thing comes out of the gate that this means business,” Lundy said as he worked on the bill.
His bill would require payday lenders to follow the fair debt collection rules in place for third-party debt collectors when the lenders use their own employees to collect past-due amounts. Lenders would not, for example, be able to harass, threaten or intimidate consumers who fall behind on repayment.
This is an extraordinary over reaction. Many payday lenders responded to the rate cap imposed last year by offering a new service. I wonder if Mr. Lundy can point to consumer complaints (we doubt it) or specific problems with this new service.
Comments»
“Lenders would not, for example, be able to harass, threaten or intimidate consumers who fall behind on repayment.”
You mean we can do this NOW?
I know of no paydaylenders who “harass, threaten or intimidate consumers who fall behind on repayment?” What a joke? What about banks that harass people into repaying their overdraft fees? What about utility companies that intimidate consumers into paying their reconnection fees? Never any mention of them?
“Under the Lorain Democrat’s bill, payday lenders would, for the first time, explicitly be held accountable under the state’s Consumer Sales Practices Act, which prohibits deceptive and unconscionable sales practices.”
So, I guess that getting a state license, building out a store, opening the door and loaning money with a transparent agreement is now a deceptive and unconscionable sales practice? What does that say about credit cards, home mortgages and car loans?
Here is a snippet from Mr. Lundy’s website regarding his agenda…
“Retention & Creation of Jobs
Tax Breaks for Seniors & Ohioans
Tuition Freeze for Students
Pro-Life
Respect for Our Veterans
No New Taxes
Protection for Consumers
Open Government
Responsible Fiscal Management”
Notice the very first item!!!!
Mr. Lundy does a good job of creating the perception of a problem , then creating the perception of addressing it. That’s much easier then solving real problem and it diverts the media’s attention away from his failures. What’s that unemployment rate in Ohio now? 10% and heading north?