Thanks to Dave for sending the following to Payday Pundit…

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New Hampshire is on the verge of banning payday loans. I own a payday loan office in Manchester, NH. The following is a letter one of my employees wrote to address this injustice.

Guest Shot: Appalled at Legislatures effort on payday lending

February 22, 2008 6:00 AM

I am a payday loan officer in Manchester. I have been very active with the current bill (HB 267) that has gone through both the House and the Senate.

This bill will eliminate payday loans in the state of New Hampshire by imposing a 36 percent APR cap. Thirty-six percent would mean for every $100 loan, we would make $1.36, this is not enough to pay normal maintenance for a company. I am appalled at the behavior of both the senators and House members in regard to these bills. It is my belief that instead of working in the interest of their constituents, they are working in the interest of the banks.

…In the past four years, the welfare department of New Hampshire has seen a drop in the number of people requesting assistance. Oddly enough these numbers coincide with when payday loans first started to emerge in the state. Instead of New Hampshire residents asking for government assistance, they are trying to make ends meet on their own.

…At the New Hampshire Senate hearing which was held on Feb. 14, Sen. Bargdon of Milford, admitted to having a limited knowledge of how payday loans work. Instead of voting with a lack of knowledge about the subject, he actually visited a payday loan office. He spoke to customers and loan officers. After getting an idea of what it is we do, he voted against HB 267 to eliminate payday loans, deeming payday loans to be a valuable service. Perhaps the vote would have gone differently had more senators took the initiative to visit or even call a payday loan office.

…HB 267 has left a number of people without an option and currently it appears that the only ones benefiting from its passage are the banks. The banks who will be making $30-$40 per overdraft fee. As stated earlier, these fees equated more than $30 million in one state, and that was within one year. It now seems as though the senators have lost the interest of the people and replaced it with an interest for the banking institutions. My concern is no longer for myself and the 200 other employees out of a job in the state of New Hampshire. My concern is where are our customers supposed to go?

Well said Ms. Simms.