“Scummy predators.”
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Stupid consumers.
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Sounds like a combination of scummy predators and foolish military buyers.
I look at them, these predatory scumbags who prey on our servicemen and women, as liberals (to put ‘scumbags,’ ‘***holes,’ etc., here, would be superfluous). They certainly have no love or affection for our men in uniform, which is an identifying trait of a liberal.
They’re like a bunch of greasy hypocritical Michael Moores lurking right outside the front gate. We all know about those little towns that spring up right outside the front gates of our big military bases... Depressing places! I used to go out the back gate just so I wouldn’t have to go through them.
Doing the same things with cars...”No credit?...No problem” is very popular on many TV commercials locally (near two major military onstallations).
Predatory lending on service members? Wow. There’s a news flash.
I remember car dealers, literally outside the front gate, selling sports cars to non-rates. Of course they could not make the payment, would have the car repoed, it would be sold at a closed auction to a puppet dealer, a deficiency judgemnt would be had against the original purchaser, the car would be resold to another service member often with the same result.
I cannot begin to tell you how many sound systems were sold in a similar manner at Siagon Sam’s.
I completed the sentence for him.
If you don't have the money to pay for it, you can't afford it.
i suppose they had to have new, and didn’t consider used. whilst i tend to abhor those who take advantage of others, especially our service people, there comes a certain level of responsibility. go in for a washer/dryer, leave with all kinds of extras, is it really their faulty? entirely?
I use to teach a class for young soldiers, sailors, and airman that covered these types of traps. Unfortunately, most of them were already in deep trouble before they attended my class. The predators loved these young folks because they were gullible and the creditor knew that they could easily attach the young serviceman’s pay to get the money. Some of the predators charged as much as 6000% APR for things like payday loans.
I got caught up by one of those places when I was fresh out of boot camp. But spent a lot of liberty time on the boat and paid it off on time and never set foot in one of those places again.
I am the first person in a room to bemoan stupid people breeding. I am also aware of the quality of recruits when I enlisted in the ‘80s, as well as my boy’s feedback on the pathetic level it’s degraded to.
That stated, the dichotomy between this thread and others supporting the troops is absolutely pathetic.
.02
Several years ago I did a “Great American Teach-In” via my tax-prep employer and of the subjects I could choose from I talked about BUDGETING to High School Sophomores Honors Class. 20 per class for 6 classes and I hoped and prayed that I could get through to at least 1! No concept about money was the rule but some were awake.
Right now most of them are in College and are spending plastic money and student loans. I shudder!
FYI: The High School has stopped that program, the “Great American Teach-In”, because it is too expensive to validate the volunteer adults. Security and paranoia trump the chance to have someone give real-world advice. Sigh!
Sorry, but these folks agreed to the deal.
Now, let’s talk about another organization that uses the same tactics: The IRS.
The people who do get taken advantage of don’t think they can afford to spend $800 or so for a decent budget washing machine and dryer, nor will they consider buying 2nd hand for even less or economizing on non-essentials and saving up to pay cash and in truth, they can’t afford $800 or even $400 for used because they don’t save anything, spend money recklessly and on impulse items (and on cigarettes, beer and liquor and lottery tickets), and at the end of the week, they may only have $30 left in their pockets if that much. But they can “afford” $10 a week¸ or so they think because that would still leave them with $20. That is a very common rationale.
Army Spc. Angel Aguirre needed a washer and dryer…..“We ended up getting a computer, a TV, a ring, and a washer and dryer,” Aguirre said. “The only thing I really wanted was a washer and dryer.”
And once they go to one of those “rent to own” places they are told for only $10 more per week they can “purchase” even more stuff. What a bargain! “I will still have $10 left at the end of the week so I’m in the black – right?”
What they don’t consider is that the washing machine and dryer that they might have needed and all that other stuff like a new flat screen TV, a computer and ring that they didn’t really need, that they are paying “only” $20 a week for ends up costing many, many thousands of dollars over the course of the loan term and far over the actual retail value of the items in exorbitant interest and late fees if they are even one day late in making their weekly payment. And I bet most of them don’t bother to read the terms or even attempt to do the math on what the loan terms actually cost them or what will happen if they default. They only think – ““New, shiny, cool stuff today” - I’ll worry about paying for it tomorrow.”
But if something unexpected happens, like their car breaks down, one of their kids gets sick, they have to not pay any bills that month or take out a payday loan to pay for the emergency repairs and they get behind a big ole 8-ball of getting further and further behind and they are hounded by creditors and or the stuff gets repossessed and or their wages get attached.
I am a payroll manager and I’ve seen a fair share of wage attachments over the years and all too often these very same folks also have a child support order, sometimes more than one. I’ve also seen that these same people won’t contribute to their company’s 401k and when they fall behind in their bills, they will submit a W-4 withholding form, claiming 20-99 exemptions so that little or no federal tax is taken out of their pay.
As long as the W-4 is properly filled out and signed and they don’t personally tell me it is fraudulent, and it is not my job to determine its accuracy or give them personal tax advice, I will however council them in very general terms to make sure they understand that by claiming so many exemptions from withholding, not having tax withheld, that doesn’t mean they won’t owe taxes at the end of the year and what the possible consequences of a tax levy are, but I can’t stop them from doing it. But more often than not, a year or so later I will receive an IRS tax levy order for them.
Until last year, the company I work for allowed employees to cash out their PTO. I had one employee who had both a child support order and an IRS levy and every pay he was cashing out all but an hour or so of his PTO balance, I presume just to make ends meet. Then one day he got very sick and missed over a week of work and having no PTO to cover it, had to take the time off without pay and was in an even bigger world of hurt. I felt bad for the guy, he’s seems like a nice guy and is a good and reliable worker but he obviously can’t handle money.
FWIW, my company is considering, as a part of our “wellness” initiative, bringing in representatives from a reputable local bank who will, free of charge offer financial wellness seminars and also offer free one on one financial counseling sessions including lessons on basic family budgeting to any employee who wants to take advantage of it. Sadly I think the people who need it most will probably not participate.