South Carolina Governor: Payday Loans, Cash Advances Here to Stay
By J.J. CameronPayday Loan Writer
Despite a meeting held last week on payday loan awareness in the area, it doesn't appear as though much will change on that front on South Carolina.
Governor Mark Sanford said he won't push for changes in the industry.
In a Sun News article, it was reported that Sanford see doesn't see the state following North Carolina and Georgia in outlawing super-high interest lending. Sanford's remarks came as the AARP decided payday advance and car title lending was their number-two priority for the 2007 legislative session.
At a meeting at the Grand Strand Senior Cente, Althea Truitt of Camden, said she recently found out her friend, who is mentally ill, has 10 payday loans.
"She is retired on disability. She no longer has fluid money. I had no idea that it could get that bad," Truitt said.
She thinks the industry should be banned or regulated because "they prey on poor people." If Sanford wins a second term in November, the Republican governor said he won't push for changes in the cash loan industry, though. He emphasized that he doesn't like payday lending, but said "those vendors are there because there's a demand for that product. Some of these folks can't get a loan at that lower rate."
Problem with payday loan enforcement: No fax payday loan lenders can be outlawed, but it would be difficult to enforce, Sanford said. The lenders charged $150 million in fees on more than 4.3 million loans in 2004 - closing more loans than the total population of South Carolina.
In Horry County, 52 new payday lending locations opened up between July 2005 and June 2006 - equal to one a week. Georgetown County has 20 licensed businesses. The industry is BIG business in South Carolina, which is home to Spartanburg-based Advance America Inc. The company operates in 36 states and is one of the nation's largest providers of fast payday loans.
Advance America wants to "work with local and state governments that help develop responsible use rules for the use of our services," spokesman Jamie Fulmer said.
Tougher laws that force the company to curtail or stop operations don't help consumers, Fulmer said.
Theresa Ross with Consumer Credit Counseling in Horry County counsels clients to go to a bank that will do small $200 to $300 loans, like Conway National Bank, instead of going to a payday cash loan lender. As long as individuals are aware of alternatives, it seems like it ought to be their decision to make.
