Concerned Residents Share Their Thoughts On Oregon’s Ongoing Payday Loan Controversy
By Desmond CarlislePayday Loan Writer
Readers of the Oregonian are speaking out. A number of concerned Oregon residents wrote to the paper about the recent payday loan controversy.
In their letters to the editor, the readers expressed their beliefs that the state should regulate both car title loans and payday loans, for these are the products of companies who prey upon consumers who cannot help themselves. Below are their thoughts.
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From Charles W. Hemingway of Bend, Ore.:
My stepdaughter, a single mother of four, took out a $500 car title loan without telling us. We had given her the car to help her get back on her feet. She needed money to pay rent, buy groceries and put gas in the car and was too proud to come to us because she felt like she had come to us too often.
She got sick and missed several payments. By the time she came to us for help, it cost her and us about $1,400 between what she owed and what she had to pay back, even though she had been trying to pay it off. This was all over a three-month timeframe from the time she took out the loan until she got it paid off.
Had she lost her car, she would have had no way to get to work to support herself and her four children. These businesses need to be subject to the same laws and regulations as fast payday loan companies.
From Janet Whitney of Bend, Ore.:
I believe that interest rate regulations should be extended to car title and other lenders. They are imposing predatory rates, similar to payday loans.
Anna Aguilar of Portland, Ore.:
Of course Oregon should do something about the car title loan places that rip-off low-income people. I don't know why they are allowed to exist at all. They prey upon people who don't have money and charge huge fees. Restrict them and get rid of them.
They do nothing positive for our community.
