New loan company trend, good or bad?

lazy&indebt

Hello Everyone! Sorry if this has been posted about before but...

I was watching TV during my lunch break today and I noticed quite a few adverts by loan companies.
Almost all of them are offering a 'defferment' when you first open your account, meaning you don't have to make any repayments for 5 months, which sounds fantastic to a lot of people with money worries...no outgoings for 5 months? great!
However....small print that flashes up at the bottom of the screen indicates that...
"Interest will be charged from the day the account is opened"
meaning you have accrued 5 months worth of interest before you've even paid back a penny! I personally think this is yet another vile way for these huge companies to squeeze some extra pounds out of us poor, troubled souls who go to them for help! Plus, if you spend 5 months not repaying a penny,you would start to take it for granted and it would be a huge shock when you do have to start repaying!

What does everybody else think?

lynzpower

i thought exactly the same thing when I saw it.

But those sort of co's we know are the worst. It wouldnt suprose me if you could get 5 years "free" soon enough

Catseyez

I think that's terrible! Haven't watched much telly lately as spending time on here instead

Will look out for it to see just how 'small' the small-print is. Personally, I'd like to see a ban on all advertising of loans & credit cards.

lazy&indebt

It's ok for us as we know the score but I think of the poor guy/gal sitting there in despair going to a company like that for help and getting screwed over for it!

GreyPilgrim

Remember that Dudley Moore movies where he's the advertising executive and he starts doing a load of "honest" adverts ("BUY VOLVO'S - THEY'RE BOXY, BUT GOOD!!!").

I'd like to see a really honest debt advert. I don't want to see Phil Tufnell chatting happily with the pretty telephone operator who's telling him that "Mr Smith from Warrington needed some money for his daughters wedding and had been turned down for a loan by his bank, but we could help".

I want to see honesty

I think loan and finance companies should be forced to display stats on:

The number of customers that are referred to debt recovery agencies.
The number who are taken to court.
The number who are the subject to bailiff activity.

each time they run an advert

I don't think finance companies showing themselves as "there to help you when you're having financial problems" and happy and bouncy organisations helps really.

Grade_A_Reject

GreyPilgrim wrote:

I think loan and finance companies should be forced to display stats on:

The number of customers that are referred to debt recovery agencies.
The number who are taken to court.
The number who are the subject to bailiff activity.

each time they run an advert

QUOTE]

......or compulsary warnings like on cigarette packets. "Borrowing can seriously damage your wealth".

GreyPilgrim

Grade_A_Reject wrote:

......or compulsary warnings like on cigarette packets. "Borrowing can seriously damage your wealth".

EXACTLY like that. Talk about iron fist in a velvet glove. I can't impress enough how much I DESPISE these guys for their flowery, cuddly "WE'RE REALLY NICE PEOPLE TO DEAL WITH" image, yet giving no indication of what happens when you fall behind with payments.

In_Search_Of_Me

They're BAAAAD...they pray on vulnerable, desperate people (like us!!) who believe the "easy option", dont learn lesson, carry on spening and before you know it they're either here or off to declare bankrupcy...I think they should be banned...but until people have lightbulb moments wont change but thats easy to say when you've had a lightbulb moment isnt it! I remember feeling huge relief that I got (another!) loan but now wish I'd stopped spending so much then!!

lazy&indebt

I think some of these companies want people to fall behind on their payments to make the extra charges off of us!
My credit rating is fine at the moment ans I could probably easily take out a consolidation loan but I refuse to! I've talked quite a few other's out of it too!

jcr16

it almost as bad as the letter i had from proivdant say we can give u a loan at a competative apr of only 177%. well that letter lined my bin nicely.

it does make mer very annoyed when i see these adverts. it kinda makes u think it ok to get into debt.

i would hate it if my dad paid for my wedding with a loan. if my parents had to do that i woulnd't take the money. i wouldn't want to see them in debt for years for one day
i personally think that adverts like this should be stopped. consolidation is ok for some, but not a choice to be taken lightly. there is other ways which yes may take time but will be better in the long term.

we took out a secured loan on our house many years ago for £15k. 18 months later we sold the property and had to pay £22k back.

Kevicho

fishface-69 wrote:

They're BAAAAD...they pray on vulnerable, desperate people (like us!!) who believe the "easy option", dont learn lesson, carry on spening and before you know it

Speak for yourself

Seriously though they are misadvertised as a solution when they are not

People are just not educated enough to realise the trap they are getting themselves into.