Payday Loan Times

NOTE: Below is a letter we received, via e-mail, from a resident of South Carolina who was recently spurned by a payday loan company. He believes he was the victim of false advertising, and wants to have his opinion heard.

If you have a story or viewpoint you would like to share with the Payday Loan Times and its growing number of daily readers, please use the Contact Us form and share it. Vulgarity, dishonesty or personal attacks aside, nothing is off limits at the Times.

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Let me start off by saying that I do not believe the payday loan industry in general is quote unqoute [sic] evil. I am not an activist nor do I feel that most payday loan companies treat people unfairly. However, I do believe that a growing number of online sites take advantage of borrowers through false advertisements.

I've used payday loans for years.

I don't like to, no one does, but there are a couple stores in my town and they have always been up front with me about all the fees. I know what I am getting into.

I've probably gone 5-6 times total over the past three years, not a lot really when you think about it. My experience has been good up until this year when I applied for a payday loan online.

I wanted to save time and keep this private so I though [sic] I would try to get a loan online. What happened really, really makes me mad. First I filled out a form and heard nothing from the payday loan company. After 6 hours I tried again, then was told when the representative DID contact me that I had to fax in my application.

The ad on the site said faxless payday loans! These sites don't even tell you key pieces of information like, oh, you might need to fax in your info after all. I could not believe it but this actually happened to me.

I don't have a fax machine at home. Never have. Got no use for one. Had I know [sic] that I was going to have to do this I would have just gone to the payday loan store like I have in the past. All in all I could not get my cash until the following morning so this cost me at least 12 hours, not to mention some head aches.

I'm sorry, but when you need a personal loan like this, you are strapped. I don't want to get into the details of my personal life here but anyone who has applied knows that when you need cash NOW, it's kind of a big deal to get strung along and lied to.

Again, I'm not opposed to payday loans as a general rule. I just think people should know that these no faxing payday loan ads are not what they are cracked up to be. If you need a payday loan go to the store in person, you get better treatment and, the so-called technology is not worth it in the end.

Edward R. Parker

NOTE: Below is a letter we received, via e-mail, from an Oregon resident and small business proprietor with strong opinions about the payday loan industry in his state. If you would like to have your opinions heard, please use the Contact Us form and let us know what's on your mind. The democratic nature of the Payday Loan Times makes us inclined to share all views, so nothing is off the table.

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I've been reading your site and a ton of local papers lately about all the commotion going on regarding payday loans here in Oregon. I ask that you keep my name and my businesses [sic] name out of this because I know I will have activists breathing down by neck if this gets out. But as an owner of a payday loan store I have to voice my opinion.

I am frankly sick of being labeled a loan shark by all of these groups that are seeking to end payday lending in numberous [sic] Oregon communities, mine included. I run an honest business that, believe it or not, helps people. Why do you think the industry grows each year. Because it fills a niche and consumers want it. It's the way the world works, and the last time I checked, we were living in a free society! Imagine that!

People who call payday loan company's [sic] rates predatory do not know the facts. Yes they are high. Yes you can get end up with more debt if you don't pay off no fax payday loans on time. But most people do pay on time, and the fact that some people don't make the rates necessary from a business standpoint!

I make a decent living for myself but I am hardly raking in the riches. I will not waste time by breaking down the numbers for you but let's just say my overhead is massive due to the risk of every unsecured personal loan my store gives out. Think about it — yes I make money off interest, but what do I get if someone doesn't pay it back? Nothing!

This is unsecured debt, and while most customers of mine handle their loans responsibly, it's the people who don't that drive the risk (and rates) up for all.

I have no doubt that the intentions of the activists and politicians who want to regualte [sic] the payday advance business are good. But frankly if you ask me I believe in our constitution and I believe this is not their place. In a free society people make their own decisions, and the free market dictates what businesses succeed and which fail.

With ordinances against cash loans you not only strip people of a viable option but violate basic economic principles of the United States of America. Thank you for letting me voice my opinion.

Sincerely,

James

NOTE: Below is a letter we received, via e-mail, from a New Mexico resident with strong opinions about payday loans. If you would like to have your opinions heard, please use the Contact Us form and fire away. As a democratic and impartial site, Payday Loan Times wants to hear what everyone thinks, and present all views.

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Hello. I just read about the editorial you have posted on this website regarding the new proposed state laws regarding payday loans. There was a statement to some effect that "they vote with their feet everyday."

Well no offense to any opinions or comments from people, and I hope this to be a liberal website where you can post any message and be heard, but simply I do not believe that comment for what it is worth.

I have recieved multiple payday loans to only find myself in a nightmare situation.

I just walked into a Ready Money location and the gentlemen [sic] explained, "yeah you look like the type that will pay us back, most of our consumers that walk through payday loan centers hand over their bank statements and you could clearly see why they are here, they live in the casinos."

There is another comment which I find stingy and crybaby-ish.

"Oh, if these laws pass, we just don't know what were going to do, probably just go out of buisness [sic]."

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