KQED’s My Life Is True series (a radio station backed by NPR) has posted a real-life payday customer experience who says he was stuck in a cycle of debt.

We want to let consumers know that by doing business with a CFSA Member they are protected by our association’s Best Practices. Customers who cannot pay back their loans when they are due have the option of entering into an extended payment plan, allowing them to repay their loans over a period of additional weeks. This option is provided to customers for any reason and at no additional cost to the borrower. This is the only financial product that allows consumers to create their own terms should they not be able to pay back their obligation in time of the original agreement. We hope that more customers will do business with CFSA Members, and also know that they have the right to let us know when CFSA Members are not complying with the association’s Best Practices. You can do that by going here and filling out an online complaint form. If you’re a customer and have questions, e-mail us at LoanQuestions@CFSAA.com.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opens next month. The new federal agency was created in the wake of the financial crisis, and it’s charged with creating and enforcing consumer financial protection laws. Even before the agency starts operating, there is a great deal of controversy about its reach. Host Michel Martin discusses the CFPB and how it will change things for consumers with NPR business reporter Tamara Keith and Money Coach Alvin Hall.

The NPR station in Colorado reports on the new payday lending regulation there and mentions that payday lenders in the state are rightly concerned that consumers won’t have access to emergency funds when a need arises.  To refute the point, they quote the co-chair of “Coloradans for Payday Lending Reform” simply asserting that there are less expensive alternatives available.  Oh really?  Well, I certainly wouldn’t want a news organization to strain anything, ya know, calling alternative providers, doing the math to compare the rates, seeing how many people would actually be eligible to use the services in member-only credit unions, checking on the membership fees themselves…

Yeah, fact checking is a tough job, and apparently nobody has to do it as long as you’ve got someone with a vested interest willing to make a declaration.

We see that regular Payday Pundit reader Jon Schultz commented on NPR’s website about the “Marketplace” piece we post below:

The campaign against payday lending is a witch hunt. You cannot judge a loan by its APR without considering other factors such as the amount and term of the loan, the borrower’s other alternatives, and the lender’s costs. Even the nonprofit payday loan offered as a public service by Goodwill Industries has a 252% APR.

These consumer groups need targets to criticize to justify their existence. With their invalid stance on this issue they are hurting the very people whom they claim to be helping. Payday loans are used by people in emergencies and they save many people from having to pay higher fees of various kinds. The critics ignore customer satisfaction surveys which show that a large majority of payday loan borrowers feel they have benefited from the service.

This was a biased presentation. I expected better from NPR. Read George McGovern, please:

http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120485275086518279.html

NPR had a story this weekend about the CFPA possibly losing steam.  I just don’t see it.  It has a lot of momentum.

No kidding.  NPR has caught up to the overdraft protection issue.

NPR’s Marketlace has a very balanced story on payday lending.  Pay special attention to the University of Chicago professor who discusses the need for the loans and makes some reasonable suggestions.

Not often we post an NPR story, but this is a pretty good piece on the Feds crack down on credit cards.

NPR covers the issue of Ohio voters being confused on whether a YES or NO gets the appropriate results they want.    

A vote YES sustains the rate cap.  A vote NO overturns the rate cap.  It’s that simple.

And a payday lender is there helping neighbors out.  This NPR story is worth a read and listen.