CFPB's Inconvenient Truth Revealed By Complaints Database

Townhall.com ^ | August 22, 2015 | Dan Horowitz

[upchuck]

Another worthless government agency for Ted Cruz to shut down in Jan 2017.

[Bob]

Please provide a link to any payday lender requiring that $900 be repaid for a $400 loan for a month.

In California, a $300 loan (net $255) for a month (if you’re paid monthly) or 2 weeks (if you’re paid biweekly) costs you $45 in interest. That’s steep but it’s the maximum set by state law and is nowhere near your ridiculous claim.

[Alberta's Child]

Those are all valid points. What you're seeing today, though, is a systemic problem with entire groups of people who simply don't have the capability to handle money and make prudent financial decisions. In fact, our economy is built on financial irresponsibility from top to bottom.

I believe these Biblical references relate to dealings with people who are poor because of some kind of misfortune related to the human condition. I don't think any ancient culture could even imagine the kind of dysfunction that is commonplace today.

I think it's also important to note that these "predatory lenders" are not large financial institutions. Think about that for a moment: Even companies like Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase wouldn't lend money to these people at those interest rates.

[Alberta's Child]

If a lender commits a fraud the proper way to hold them accountable is a jail cell and a hefty penalty paid to their victims.

You try getting a prosecutor interested in a case where someone is being ripped off by a debt collector to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. They'll be the first ones to tell you that it costs more to prosecute the case than they'd ever recover from the perpetrator.

That's why something like a CFPB complaint is often so effective. The CFPB functions like a national repository that allows one office to deal with @ssholes cumulatively without the time and expense of a criminal trial.

[Carry_Okie]

You try getting a prosecutor interested in a case where someone is being ripped off by a debt collector to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars.

And there is the real problem. We don't ELECT prosecutors who do the real job. We also don't ELECT politicians that set appropriate penalties because corporations are persons under the 14th Amendment. As a result "equal protection" is decidedly unequal.

I'm not trying to belittle what you said; I am trying to point out that when the people don't address the real issues we collectively deserve what we get. Unfortunately, it is individuals who pay the disproportionate burden.

That's why something like a CFPB complaint is often so effective.

So we go running to government to fix the problem and act surprised when the game ends up even more skewed than it was when the fix was put in.

[unlearner]

“Please provide a link to any payday lender requiring that $900 be repaid for a $400 loan for a month.”

Just a quick random grab for Texas (where I live):

http://www.speedycash.com/assets/pdf/tx/payday_$500_example.pdf

One month repay for $500 is $783.84 IF you get the 10% APR example plus fees.

Since I have never taken one of these loans, I am unsure if this is a cap. I know someone in another state who took one and gave me numbers like the $400/$900 though.

Regardless, it appears Texas allows more than 2.5 times the APR as California in your example.