Payday Loans Shops Blight Hampton Roads

My hometown in Hampton Roads has changed quite a bit since I moved to Northern Virginia. Where there used to be shops and boutiques and restaurants are now Payday Loan Sharking businesses and second hand thrift stores. And its ugly. Here is a map of just some of the Payday Loan shops. And Thrift Shops.

There is a national movement by civil rights groups and Congress to place caps on Payday Loan businesses or to ban them altogether. Many states already ban the predatory practices of Payday Loaning. Virginia should be next.

From CNSnews here:

Payday loans allow individuals to stay financially afloat between paychecks. They are short-term cash loans in which the borrower often hands over electronic access of their bank account to the lender so the lender can then gain access to the borrower’s deposited paycheck to get repaid.

Huge finance charges can accumulate from payday loans since the borrower has the option of renewing or “flipping” the loan in exchange for another fee. Critics of the industry also say millions of people take out multiple loans, paying one loan with the proceeds of another and end up getting caught in a financial trap.

In September, Congress passed an amendment to the Defense Department Authorization bill, creating a 36 percent cap on interest rates that members of the military can be charged on loans. A Virginia state legislative committee next week is also expected to take up legislation that would produce more restrictions on the industry.

But 39 states still allow payday lending in some fashion, prompting liberal consumer and civil rights groups Thursday to urge a national crackdown on the practice.

Citing data from state regulators the average payday customer borrows $325, but ends up paying back almost $800. This “predatory payday lending,” he said, costs borrowers who take out five or more loans per year $4.2 billion per year.

For short term two-week loans, borrowers have to pay back 15 to 30 bucks for each 100 dollars they borrow. Had this been a credit card, the APR they are paying is 390 to 780% APR!

It is bad enough to work crappy jobs for low wages. Its worse when a business exploits you to take that much money from your already meager wages. This is just a legalized form of loan sharking, except, rather than breaking your legs, the Payday Loan businesses wreck your credit ratings. And this goes for those rent to own furniture businesses too, which charge upwards of 40% on their “financing.”

You know, Congress overhauled the bankruptcy laws last year. It is very difficult to run out on your financial obligations. Now that large companies are better protected from rampant bankruptcy, isn’t it time to lower interest rates? And shouldn’t it be against the law to ever charge more than 25% interest on anything?

Virginia, don’t just “cap” Payday Loan businesses. Get rid of them.