Holding columnists accountable
December 17, 2009 | Missouri, industry, local issues, positive media coverage | Comments (0)Jamie Fulmer of Advance America takes issue with a recent column in The Missourian. From Fulmer’s letter:
We post our rates and fees prominently on the walls of all our stores and our agreement documents fully outline the terms of the transaction. Customers tell us that they choose payday loans, in part, because they are simple, reliable and transparent.
Of our customers, Mr. Jarvis alleged that “nearly all felt misled or abused.” Wrong.
A recent study from the George Washington University School of Business concluded that payday-advance borrowers make informed choices. About half of those surveyed had considered other credit alternatives — such as bank or credit card services or personal loans — before taking out a payday advance. Many (over 80 percent) chose a payday advance to avoid expensive checking account overdraft fees and nearly all (90 percent) said they were satisfied with their transactions.
Many journalists or columnists who write about payday lending have never even visited a store.
Need drives the number of stores
December 16, 2009 | Missouri, industry | Comments (0)I’m really sick of reading stuff like this:
“There are more payday and title loan lending (businesses) in the state of Missouri than there are McDonald’s, Burger King, and Starbucks combined,” said Jana Castanon, a community outreach director for the Consumer Credit Counseling Service.
That’s a fact without a point. There must be more demand for payday lenders and title lenders than for fast food and coffee.
Columbia City Council update
December 2, 2009 | Missouri, industry | Comments (0)Today’s the day when the Columbia, SC City Council votes on a proposal to restrict payday lending and check cashing stores.
State Rep. to join PDL firm
December 1, 2009 | Missouri | Comments (0)Good news for Q.C Holdings.
Tension building in Columbia
November 19, 2009 | Missouri, industry | Comments (0)The City Council there has postponed its vote on payday lending/check cashing restrictions until Dec. 2.
“Payday loans help millions”
November 19, 2009 | Missouri, customers, industry, positive media coverage | Comments (0)So says CFSA’s Tommy Moore in today’s Southeast Missourian:
Payday advance customers are educated, hard-working, middle-class Americans who face unbudgeted or unexpected expenses between paychecks and want and need access to short-term credit.
Millions of customers across the country have used payday advance responsibly and appreciate having somewhere to turn when they need quick access to credit. Analysts estimate payday advances were used by 19 million households in 2008.
That Missouri hearing
November 17, 2009 | Missouri, industry, regulation | Comments (0)Nothing new here. From the story:
Many people with different backgrounds called for payday loan reform at the hearing — among them professors and religious leaders. Problems with high interest rates and multiple loan renewals were among the points raised. Another issue that was repeatedly brought up was whether people who use payday loans are making an informed decision.
Are the professors and religious leaders implying that the posters on the walls aren’t big enough. There’s little evidence that costumer don’t understand the costs of a payday loan.
Maybe not
November 16, 2009 | Missouri, local issues, regulation | Comments (0)The Columbia, MO City Council is having second thoughts about restriction on payday lenders.
Missouri action
November 13, 2009 | Missouri, industry | Comments (0)Reps. to hold local hearings. From the story:
Two state representatives will have a district legislative hearing to discuss payday loan reform at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Columbia Public Library, 100 W. Broadway.
Rep. Mary Still, D-Columbia, and Rep. John Burnett, D-Kansas City, plan to discuss the issue and hear testimony from reform advocates including religious groups, representatives of the Better Business Bureau and AARP. Bill Black, an author and economics and law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, also will testify. Black formerly served as deputy director of the National Commission of Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enforcement.
Still and Burnett co-sponsored reform legislation in the House of Representatives during the 2009 legislative session. The bill, House Bill 150, was modeled after federal legislation that called for interest rate limits of 36 percent for military families and no rollover of loans.
If you’re in Columbia, MO, go to the meeting. Tell them what your customers say about the service.
Weirdest lede ever
November 3, 2009 | Missouri, industry, local issues | Comments (0)From the MU Maneater:
City Council voted Monday for a moratorium on payday loan businesses and received a check for services during the Roots ‘N Blues ‘N BBQ Festival.
The Payday Pundit likes barbecue as much as the next guy, but….
