Payday Advance Lenders
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Payday advance lenders are all over the country both online and in local towns and cities offering quick and easy small loans to individuals who have run into an emergency situation and need to have their payday happen ten days or twelve days or some other time frame before their actual calendar pay day. The payday advance lenders have become extremely popular all over the globe in places where easy credit has driven millions into debt slavery and personal savings are nearly nonexistent. This is true for over seventy percent of Americans who have become so debt impoverished that they live paycheck to paycheck. The crisis in lack of savings has made many people vulnerable to unexpected emergencies that might crop up and so the first impulse is to look to family, friends, churches and perhaps even liquidating some personal property. But if all those have been tried, where does the person go next for help? The answer is to someone who doesn't care about past failures.
The great advantage that these lenders have over banks and many loan companies is that they are not interested in someone's past credit failures. They are also not interested in how much debt a person already has and whether or not the person already has too much debt for his income. The employee that stands inside the counter will not cluck their tongue in shame at the borrower and will not give a sermon to him on how very irresponsible he is for getting into such a situation. Perhaps that is the reason that on this occasion, the borrower heads down to the payday advance lenders at the corner of "I Don't Want to Listen Anymore" and I've Heard It a Million Times Before." The office of this lender is a place of anonymity and no shame and walking out with a loan can be a painless ten minute deal.
At the vast majority of payday advance lenders there are only a few questions asked. The first is does the borrower have a picture ID authorized by the government and the second is does the borrower have a job right now? If the job has been three months in length, if the person has a checking account, and if they can show a piece of mail addressed to the borrower from a utility or other similar entity, the loan is a done deal. There are no credit checks, there are no investigations into whether the borrower has too much debt already, and the money will be directly deposited in the customer's checking account by the morning. The customer writes a post dated personal check to the loan company for the total amount borrowed plus the interest and loan fees. The check will be cashed by the lender on the day of the borrower's next payday, up to fourteen days away. So now the clock is ticking.
The major concern that many states have had with these payday advance lenders are the very high interest rates on money that is due in a very short amount of time. Within days, the customer must repay borrowed money with as much as thirty six percent interest plus some loan fees. A simple one hundred dollar loan may cost as much as one hundred and forty dollars. A two hundred dollar loan might be two hundred and sixty or eighty dollars to repay. For some, that may not be as high as originally thought, but then comes the real issue. Many of these borrowers are not in a position to repay after fourteen days, even if there is a paycheck on that day. If a borrower gets an extension of the lending agreement, then the customer must pay penalty costs before the extension is approved and the interest continues to accrue on the loan.
Some states allow an annual percentage rate of over eleven hundred percent for their payday advance lenders. Figure out the interest on a six hundred dollar loan that can't be paid back for even six months, let alone a year. Other states have so heavily regulated these lenders that they have fled the state or gone out of business. The heart can go out to people in this predicament of endless debt enslavement and applaud the stiff regulation, even to putting these payday advance lenders out of business. But then the question becomes, where does someone go to get emergency money if all the resource roads have dead ends? Do these lenders actually provide a needed service?
When Jesus spoke, He wanted to convey to His listeners that God is ready to take care of His children. "Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them; how much more are ye better than the fowls?" (Luke 12:24) Payday advance lenders should be licensed and regulated by local and state governments so before using them, a person must ask around about their credibility. Check with the Better Business Bureau to see how the loan company handles disputes with customers. Go online and find out the different deals and interest rates these lenders offer and ask if the rate is a new customer rate for one loan or for all loans. Make sure that all fees and costs are stated upfront, starting with the first page of a website or on the walls of the loan company office.
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