Legisature, Credit Counselors Question Future of Payday Loans in South Carolina
By J.J. CameronPayday Loan Writer
Perhaps more than anywhere else in the nation, South Carolina has seen an influx in the popularity of payday loans. While some struggling individuals welcome the cash advances, various consumer advocates are not as sure.
“There’s nobody else out there willing to lend these individuals with [bad credit] money,” said credit counselor Schrendria Robinson.
Payday loans look like the perfect solution, but credit counselors say the quick-fix cash causes problems - now the State House is taking on the issue.
Since Georgia and North Carolina banned the quick loan companies, many of them have moved to South Carolina. Since 2000 the number of these stores have doubled, according to a recent study by AARP, and credit counselors say so has their case load. Robinson’s agency helps at least 50 people a week.
That’s why counselors support a new law legislators are considering.
The law would limit the number of payday loans a person could possess at a time - to only one. Credit counselors say it would help put an end to what has become a vicious cycleof debt
South Carolina lets payday loan lenders charge 15 cents for every $1 borrowed, with the money due in some cases in as little as two weeks. That’s an annual interest rate of nearly 400 percent.
“Unless something is done quickly, we’re just going to see more people in our state filing for bankruptcy and more people getting into worse financial trouble,” said Robinson.
