The Consumer Service Alliance of Texas, another payday lending association, said Texas legislation has checks and balances to protect small-loan borrowers. Payday loan groups say short-term loans are safe optionĪ spokeswoman for one payday loan trade association told NBC 5 Investigates that payday loans can a safe and reliable credit option, and that there are best practices members should follow. In Alabama, where the company is based, the State Bureau of Loans said no state law addresses businesses like but that the company had recently come to the agency's attention. The Texas agency that regulates the credit industry told NBC 5 Investigates that it is looking into what services provides and whether it complies with Texas law.
Because of wording in its disclaimer on its website, the company also may not have to register with the state. He declined to comment and hung up the phone twice.Įxperts told NBC 5 Investigates that could fall into a murky area when it comes to Texas laws and regulations and how lawmakers interpret those rules. NBC 5 Investigates reached out to the company's owner. They all offer to connect potential borrowers with payday lenders for fast, easy holiday money. And the company is run by a person who also operates similar sites, , and. Other red flags, such as grammatical and spelling mistakes, also appear.
#LOANSTAR PAYDAY LOANS DRIVER#
But once an email address is entered, the website prompts for personal information such as Social Security and driver license numbers.
#LOANSTAR PAYDAY LOANS CODE#
The application looks easy - just name, zip code and email address. From visiting its website, NBC 5 Investigates discovered that the service is not a payday lender but just appears to connect potential borrowers with payday loans. The NBC 5 Investigates Consumer Unit decided to take a deeper look into the company. "Get up to $1,000 cash, and you'll be wrapping your Christmas presents tomorrow," the ad says. The ads go on to say that lenders specialize in "lending cash for Christmas." Approval can be instant, and there's no paperwork, the ads say. The minute-long ad lures in listeners by asking if they need cash for Christmas or have bad or maxed-out credit cards and then says to "turn your radio up." It could be why one company, Alabama-based, hit the airwaves with rush-hour radio advertisements on i93 Hits KLIF-FM. "It's the Wild West, you know, still, with payday loans because there little to no regulation," said Reed Allman, a North Texas bankruptcy attorney. "It doesn't take anytime at all before those fees are more than the amount that you borrowed in the first place," she said. She works with the school's Consumer Advocacy Project, which assist consumers in areas such as credit matters and debt collection. Mary Spector, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law associate professor, said she has seen customers caught in the cycle. "Three of every four borrowers have to refinance that loan, which means that there's another $120 fee that's tacked every time they refinance, so that kind of begins the churn, which a lot of people call the cycle of debt," he said. To make matters worse, most people can't pay it back when it's due, Baylor said. That means that a customer would pay an additional fee of $120 on a $500 loan, which translates to an annual percentage rate of about 600 percent when you look at a 14-day loan, which is typical for a payday loan term. On average, a $23 fee is attached for every $100 borrowed, he said. "Texans pay about 50 percent more than their peers in other states for the same product offered by the same companies," Baylor said.
He said he believes payday lenders thrive in the Lone Star because it's a fee-driven business and, in Texas, the fees are not capped. There are 3,400 payday loan locations statewide, more than the number of McDonald's, Wendy's, Starbucks and Whataburgers combined, he said. Payday lenders are everywhere in North Texas, along the highways, in strip malls and at standalone locations.īaylor said payday lending in Texas is big business. But they're even going to love more the fact that you don't have to go and work extra hours to pay for that payday loan."Īnd spending time with your family may be the greatest gift of all, he added. "Maybe you can't get, as my friend says, the GI Joe with the kung fu grip, just the GI Joe," he said. Two Years Later: Family Continues to Push for Answers in KPMG Exec's Murder
0 kommentar(er)
