Speaking of a waste of money…
July 27, 2010 | Cincinnati Enquirer, Financial Reform Bill - CFPB, Ohio, best practices | Comments (0)Mary Hulburt from Consumer Credit Counseling Services–an organization which charges consumers to renegotiate their debt for them–has an oped in the Cincinnati Enquirer today where she mentions, among other things, payday loan debt.
She could have just directed the individual back to the free extended payment plan at payday loan stores, but then I guess the CCCS wouldn’t have gotten its cut. Looking out for consumers’ best interests indeed.
Talk about competition
March 19, 2010 | alternatives, best practices, industry | Comments (0)Wal-mart is expanding its financial services. From the story:
With plenty of Americans still struggling financially, Walmart says it is stepping up its offerings to the “unbanked” — people unable to afford basic checking accounts — and will open 500 more Walmart MoneyCenters this year. First introduced last August, the concept is currently in 1,000 stores. With the additional rollouts, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer says they will be in roughly 40% of more than 3,700 U.S. stores.
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“Right now, Walmart is competing with a variety of different types of institutions, including payday lenders and check cashers, and anyone in the money transfer business. And in some sense, there is competition for that consumer now because banks are trying to do a better job with outreach to the underbanked and unbanked — they, too, recognize that it’s a growth segment, and that a lot of those consumers will eventually be good candidates for the products and services banks offer.”
Charging more for high-risk borrowers
January 2, 2010 | Wall Street Journal, best practices, federal legislation, industry | Comments (0)The Wall Street Journal weighs in on the costs–and politics–of a high interest credit card.
Why didn’t we think of this?
September 14, 2009 | Illinois, best practices | Comments (0)In a silly column about how to avoid payday loans, this Illinois reporter gives some extremely boilerplate suggestions:
2. Plan your spending
Create a budget that accounts for all income and expenses. Plan funds for every category, and discipline yourself not to spend more. Be sure to devote some amount — even if only a few dollars a week — to saving for unexpected costs.
3. Create an emergency fund
Set aside money you will not touch except in an emergency. Jump-start your fund by brown-bagging lunch, avoiding extras like coffee or CDs, holding a yard sale, or taking on a second job. Put the proceeds in a simple savings account that you will not accidentally empty. It is not a good idea to keep a lot of cash around the house, but if you must keep funds in cash, hide the money well — even from yourself.
That third suggestion is a great one, but not always achievable.
Bad idea
September 10, 2009 | Kansas City Star, Missouri, best practices, industry | Comments (0)From the Kansas City Star:
Missouri regulators are being asked to impose new rules on how utility bills are paid, including restrictions on allowing payday-loan stores accepting the payments.
Utilities over the years have largely eliminated offices that will accept payments in person. Instead, there’s been growth in places such as grocery stores and payday loan businesses that accept the payments, which are forwarded to the utility.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
We already do
April 30, 2009 | Utah, best practices, industry | Comments (0)A reader to the Salt Lake City Tribune suggests payday lenders post their rates. Has he ever been to a store?
Rapid City Journal gets it right
April 10, 2009 | Rapid City Journal, South Dakota, best practices, customers | Comments (0)Rapid City Journal ran a nice, balanced article today. Props to them for helping to educate consumers that payday loans should be considered for emergencies while acknowledging the service these loans provide and the extent payday loans companies go to to help consumers.
My whole impression of Utah is changing
February 23, 2009 | Utah, best practices, industry, regulation | Comments (1)Who would write such an ugly editorial? I mean calling payday lenders “creepy”? Utah is not the polite, free-market, sensible state the Payday Pundit thought it was. Or maybe the reporters and editorial writers are a distinct breed from the rest of society.
Impact of 36% cap felt in Ohio
January 26, 2009 | Oregon, best practices, customers, employees, industry, industry critics | Comments (0)They’re still writing about the impact of the 36% cap in Ohio:
Jennifer Kindel, market manager for Cashland offices in Northeast Ohio, said they’ve closed 40 locations because of the legislation, but she didn’t give a specific number of layoffs.
Kindel said the company provided the loans for periods between 14 and 30 days, charging a flat $15 fee for every $100, not charging 391 percent interest as was the claim. The higher interest figure came from multiplying the flat fee out over a year’s time, she said.
“We’re talking about a two-week loan. You can’t take the loan out for a year. To attach (an) APR (annual percentage rate) doesn’t make sense,” Ferguson said.
She said more than 90 percent of their customers pay back the loans on time. Those who don’t are offered an extended payment program. Customers can’t take out two loans at Check Into Cash at the same time, she said.
At this risk of being repetitive, the customer’s voice is missing from this story. What are citizens of Ohio doing to meet their short-term credit needs?
&!*#*%!$#
January 8, 2009 | New Hampshire, best practices, industry, media coverage, regulation, states | Comments (0)That’s the Payday Pundit letting out a primal scream after reading this garbage in the Concord (N.H.) Monitor. Another bunch of editorial writers who don’t live in the real world.
