Wonga

[Blue Valkyrie]

But that is bollocks. Interest is capped after 60 days.

I'm slightly biased as I do allot of work for many of the pay day loan companies. They really aren't the horror merchants people paint them to be and when used how they are intended to be used provide a very useful service to many people (in Wonga's case 1.25m people last year). 97% of their customers pay their loans back in full and on time. Sure enough that does mean in the case of wonga you end up with about 40k people who default but if you are using a pay day loan company then I would guess you've exhausted every other avenue of borrowing money. The chances that person won't ever be able to repay that money and are likely to go bankrupt. Therefore it's really not in Wonga's interest for people to default on their loans.

I'm sure their qualifying criteria could be made stricter but in the same breath individuals need to take some responsibility for their actions. No one is putting a gun to anyone's head and saying take a loan out.

Yes 97% may pay back, but how many are then so skint they have to then get a new loan to cover the month as they can't pay anything else

 

[piersa]

But with a loan you don't end up owning a house.

and the interest rate is a lot lower. Hybrid must be a little confused. Bless.

 

[beorhthelm]

I imagine the high interest figure they quote is their way of getting people to pay back any loans quickly.

its because the way you are obliged to represent interest and repayment fees, to enable consumers to compare. if you loan £100 for 5 days and charge a flat fee of £10, thats going to work out at 730% over a year, say charge a late payment penalty of another £10 and doubles the anuall rate. if you look closly at mortgages you'll often see two numbers, one for the initial rate and another counting in all the fees with APR appended.

 

[Beach Hut]

If the government ban their adds the same should happen to the betting industry

 

[Arthur]

Yes 97% may pay back, but how many are then so skint they have to then get a new loan to cover the month as they can't pay anything else

How is that the fault of the lender? It's not like they hide their APR. In fact Wonga's whole advertising campaign is based on their "sliders" so you know exactly how much money you are going to have to pay back.

I see it a bit like ticket touting, yes in an ideal world it wouldn't exist but this isn't an ideal world and if you really want cash/ticket they provide a valuable service.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

How is that the fault of the lender? It's not like they hide their APR. In fact Wonga's whole advertising campaign is based on their "sliders" so you know exactly how much money you are going to have to pay back.

I see it a bit like ticket touting, yes in an ideal world it wouldn't exist but this isn't an ideal world and if you really want cash/ticket they provide a valuable service.

I never said it was the 'fault of the lender' !

Merely highlighting the misery they can cause and a trap that is there.

People may take the view that nothing needs to change with payday loans. I take a different view that a reform of them is required.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

It costs £6.57 to borrow a pound for a day.

 

[LargeHadronZugzwang]

In today's zeitgeist we have a Government in which Payday Loan Companies thrive and those who have to resort to food banks, are told that they are "mismanaging their finances". These Payday Companies are in some cases employing bosses that are directly connected to the Government's austerity measures. We now find out, that Wonga has been sending letters to people threatening legal action from bogus law firms: this is scrapping the barrel of our current moral ineptitude. The Government has surrounded itself with liars and lies. Is it any wonder 50000 marched against austerity when the rich are increasing their salaries exponentially and gladly carrying on with tax loopholes? Big Society? Pah utter drivel. A Society run by Kleptocrats and Plutocrats is what it is.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

If the government ban their adds the same should happen to the betting industry

Very good point,both feed off other peoples misery.

 

[Rugrat]

Yes 97% may pay back, but how many are then so skint they have to then get a new loan to cover the month as they can't pay anything else

Nail on head. I've spent 20+ years in the industry with different businesses dealing with a range of sectors. Thankfully I've never been down at the level of payday lending but I can absolutely guarantee that the lenders operating in these markets rely on the same people coming back time and time again, because they have to, not because they want to.

Anyone that thinks these companies are providing some sort of alternative public service might want to meet me for a beer, I will soon put them right.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Nail on head. I've spent 20+ years in the industry with different businesses dealing with a range of sectors. Thankfully I've never been down at the level of payday lending but I can absolutely guarantee that the lenders operating in these markets rely on the same people coming back time and time again, because they have to, not because they want to.

Anyone that thinks these companies are providing some sort of alternative public service might want to meet me for a beer, I will soon put them right.

You going to run a tab?

 

[Rugrat]

You going to run a tab?

Some of the stories I can tell are worth buying me a beer for .... guaranteed

 

[Vegas Seagull]

I recall Wonga boasting that they recruited 0 professionals from the banking industry.
They have now been fined £2.6m for incorrect collections procedures across just 45,000 cases
Who signed off their licence to lend?

 

[Rugrat]

I recall Wonga boasting that they recruited 0 professionals from the banking industry.
They have now been fined £2.6m for incorrect collections procedures across just 45,000 cases
Who signed off their licence to lend?

You might get me started! The "regulator" (in my opinion) performs nothing more than the most fundamental of checks. What is "allowed" is little better than disgraceful and many lenders operating under licence pretty well ignore the slack parameters anyway

Business that lend money to the susceptible at extortionate interest rates "because they can" would not be licensed if I had anything to do with it!

 

[Pinkie Brown]

In today's zeitgeist we have a Government in which Payday Loan Companies thrive and those who have to resort to food banks, are told that they are "mismanaging their finances". These Payday Companies are in some cases employing bosses that are directly connected to the Government's austerity measures. We now find out, that Wonga has been sending letters to people threatening legal action from bogus law firms: this is scrapping the barrel of our current moral ineptitude. The Government has surrounded itself with liars and lies. Is it any wonder 50000 marched against austerity when the rich are increasing their salaries exponentially and gladly carrying on with tax loopholes? Big Society? Pah utter drivel. A Society run by Kleptocrats and Plutocrats is what it is.

Nail on head.

Wonga aren't the only company partaking in this practise. Last year, a close relative received a letter from a so called firm of solicitors acting on behalf of some tin pot loan company probably a few levels beneath Wonga. After a few inquiries, no name of these 'solicitors' could be found. I then called the number and guess what? A youthful sounding oik answered the phone quoting the name of the loan company!!!

There are so many scumbags feeding of the desperation and misery of those in poverty in todays modern day Britain.

The last letter I received from a private parking company had a scales of justice emblem in the top right of the letter. Nice try, better luck next time.......