Finally!  Someone who “gets” it.

From this morning’s Bob Franz show on WTAM 1100… 

“As long as you are up front and you tell people, you said you’ve got poster size, not fine print, in fact its great big bold faced, poster sized listings of your fees up front, anybody who walks in there knows full well what they are going to be charged. If they choose to sign on the dotted line and they agree to those terms, then why should the government be getting in the way at all?  Why should they be trying to regulate how much you guys can make, regulate what interest you charge regulate any of your fees or anything else? If they are spelled out and people choose to do it anyway, I don’t understand how they can blame Checksmart or any of the others.”

Referencing CFSA’s mandated extended payment plan, Franz says, “Am I the only one that finds that extraordinarily generous?”

Franz speaks to a rep of the Community Financial Services Association, customers that have used the service and an employee of the industry. 

Listen to the program at http://www.wtam.com/pages/bobfrantz/ondemand/. In the first hour, payday lending coverage starts 18 minutes and 30 seconds in.  In the second hour, coverage starts 9 minutes 15 seconds in.

With all of the talk of fee and market transparency in the credit markets…Payday Pundit wants to remind everyone of the steps the payday lending industry has proactively taken to address the concern over hidden fees and fine print.

Interesting post from Steele Street Blog, The Assault on Market Transparency:

“When a free market works it is a beautiful think. Adam Smith’s invisible hand graces many a bargain from flat screen TV’s to fast food. Supply and demand work as opposing forces in a tug of war as the market sets the price of goods and services. This process works when purchasers are able compare the quality of goods and services along with their price, among multiple sellers.”

We could not agree more.  The best way to protect consumers is to give them the
information they need to make an informed choice. Consumers demand and deserve full disclosure of relevant information before they make a purchase.

To that end, CFSA member companies are required to display their fees in large type on posters in all of their stores.  Before entering into the transaction, customers can compare the fee with their alternatives and decide if the product is right for them.