Lee Miller
“Everybody needs an enemy, and instead of going after the problem, they want to take a swing at payday [lending].”
Payday loan industry trade group lobbyist Lee Miller defends his industry and believes opponents should look at the true cause of financial difficulties…
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Dollar Financial Group
“Despite the demand for basic financial services, access to banks has become more difficult over time for many consumers. Many banks have chosen to close their less profitable or lower-traffic locations. Typically, these closings have occurred in lower-income neighborhoods where the branches have failed to attract a sufficient base of customer deposits. This trend has resulted in fewer convenient alternatives for basic financial services in many neighborhoods. Many banks have also reduced or eliminated some services that under-banked consumers need.”
According to Dollar Financial Group’s 10-K filing, demand for payday loans has increased because traditional financial institutions have turned their backs on lower-income neighborhoods…
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Allan Jones
“Another misconception spread by consumer groups is the portrayal of payday [loan] customers as “poor and uneducated.” They intentionally confuse payday-loan customers with active checking accounts with the “unbanked” check-cashing customers.”
Payday lender Allan Jones claims that consumer advocates intentionally mischaracterize his customer base…
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James Wood
“It’s like everyone who drinks a glass of wine is not an alcoholic.”
Payday lender James Wood believes that blaming payday loan shops for borrowers who suffer financial hardship because they abuse payday loans is like blaming liquor shops for drinkers who struggle with alcoholism…
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Donald P. Morgan
“To economists, this predator-prey concept of credit seems foreign. If credit is so expensive that lenders are earning abnormal profits (given their risks and costs), why don’t new lenders enter the market to compete rates down to fair levels.”
Federal Reserve Bank of New York research officer Donald P. Morgan disagrees with consumer advocates who claim that payday lenders earn excessive profits…
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Peggy Matson
“If a customer uses (a payday loan) properly, it’s a good thing… If the customer abuses the payday loan, it will abuse the customer.”
Arkansas Board of Collection Agencies director Peggy Matson says that the payday loan industry, an industry her agency oversees, works well when used correctly…
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Michael Tipton
“Who else is going to loan you money? A lot of people complain about these payday lenders charging too much money in fees and interest… But it’s their own decision to agree to the terms. It’s their responsibility.”
Former textile manufacturer employee Michael Tipton says that he has used payday loans on several occasions but has now found a cheaper alternative…
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Jamie Fulmer
“That’s about what banks charge for you to take your own money out of an ATM and the banks carry no risk doing that… But somehow we are supposed to loan money to a customer, absorb the risk and charge the same things that banks charge. That just doesn’t make any sense. We couldn’t even cover our operating costs that way.”
Advance America director Jamie Fulmer says that payday lenders could not survive on a proposed rate cap of 72% APR. The rate cap works out to about $3 per $100 borrowed on a two-week loan…
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Donna Cassun
“I think a lot of people have realized it is cheaper to get a loan from us than bounce a check, and a lot of people use us for emergency money.”
Donna Cassun of Advance Pay in Tooele, Utah, defends payday loans by claiming they are less expensive than bounced checks…
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Doug Jones
“The vast majority of people who take out payday loans utilize the service responsibly. However, there are a small number who do not… This irresponsible minority is driving the debate and the opposition to payday loans.”
Payday loan shop employee Doug Jones defends his industry against opposition he believes is driven by a small number of borrowers who abuse payday loans…
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