Wonga.com

loobytoo

I just saw an ad for wonga.com
They're selling loans with an interest rate of 2689% APR!
Shouldn't this kind of thing be illegal? It's just targeting desperate and stupid people. Isn't there a government body who can put a stop to companies like this?

_Andy_

I guess we haven't had a thread about short term APRs for a while...

RobertoMoir

loobytoo wrote: »

I just saw an ad for wonga.com
They're selling loans with an interest rate of 2689% APR!
Shouldn't this kind of thing be illegal? It's just targeting desperate and stupid people. Isn't there a government body who can put a stop to companies like this?

With the greatest of respect, if the govt. implemented my idea for banning people from getting loans if they're not smart enough to understand how they work then you'd be banned from getting a loan. Hint: The APR is less important than you think for very short term loans but all lenders are required to publish theirs.

As for banning payday/short term loan companies, I'm not entirely against the idea given the large amount of people out there who get into trouble through them. But it is a pity to punish people who do understand how these types of loans work and can use them properly. Sooner or later people have to take responsibility for their own lives.

And Wonga certainly fall foul of my "never do business with a company with a stupid name" idea...

Apples2

wrangler5 wrote: »

I agree. The government should do something about the idiots who are stupid enough to use these loans companies. If enough of these idiots start using thier brains that should soon put these loan companies out of business.

Agree, it's the idiots who are unable to grasp the concept of apr who should be targetted (like the OP)

missk_ensington

Yes but where does this arguement end? "Ban people from taking out loans if they're too stupids to understand them" What next? "Ban people from having kids if they're too stupid to look after them?". Sterilisation at birth? How about we just test IQ at say 12 years old and those who dont make the cut, put them in prison and throw away the key?

Not everyone is blessed with intelligence, it isnt fair for those who have been blessed with a higher intellect to put protocols in place that mean that those more stupid than them are not allowed the privelage of lending. The mere suggestion is one step away from fascism

MyRubyRed

Apples2 wrote: »

Agree, it's the idiots who are unable to grasp the concept of apr who should be targetted (like the OP)

Appreciate that you have been involved in the forums longer than the OP but I don't think that gives you the right to call someone an idiot. Perhaps you could have been more helpful and explained how the short term loan/payday thing works to them.

loobytoo

Gosh! I see some of you might benefit from reading the forum motto about 'be nice...' and all that!

RobertoMoir

missk_ensington wrote: »

Yes but where does this arguement end? "Ban people from taking out loans if they're too stupids to understand them" What next? "Ban people from having kids if they're too stupid to look after them?". Sterilisation at birth? How about we just test IQ at say 12 years old and those who dont make the cut, put them in prison and throw away the key?

Nice straw-man argument you've got there. Make it yourself?

If you can't why the situation I suggested and the analogies you made are different then I really don't know what to say. If you think I don't understand the difference myself then frankly I'm offended.

missk_ensington wrote: »

Not everyone is blessed with intelligence, it isnt fair for those who have been blessed with a higher intellect to put protocols in place that mean that those more stupid than them are not allowed the privelage of lending. The mere suggestion is one step away from fascism

My suggestion is "one step away from fascism". Right. Again with the histrionics, eh?

I wouldn't like to see people banned from any lending at all for any reason, but at the same time I think the whole principle of having people sign up to an agreement / contract that they simply do not understand is a crock.

You only need to read the forums here to see people who have got into trouble because they have made choices based on not understanding the implications of their decisions and the consequences of things going wrong.

You only need to have had a job like the bailiff one I've done in the past to see the absolute misery that these kinds of mistakes causes people.

If that makes me some kind of "fascist" in your eyes then you know what - I disagree with you but so be it because I'm not backing down on this: Letting people make bad decisions for themselves when they don't understand the consequences of those decisions is bad for them and I think bad for business and the country.

You talk about being fair. Well I don't think its fair to stand idly by and let people get themselves into a situation they're unable to sort out for themselves. Sorry if that makes me sound elitist. Sorry if that makes me a "fascist" somehow.

I'd love to debate the issue more reasonably but frankly I don't see why I should bother trying to have a reasonable discussion with someone who throws words like "fascist" at me.

Enfieldian

loobytoo wrote: »

Gosh! I see some of you might benefit from reading the forum motto about 'be nice...' and all that!

You might benefit from reading some of the hundreds of other threads on the same subject as yours, too.....

Snakeeyes21

I guess some people cant grasp the irrelevance of an APR on a loan thats taken over a month.

MyRubyRed

Snakeeyes21 wrote: »

I guess some people cant grasp the irrelevance of an APR on a loan thats taken over a month.

That is probably why they come here looking for help but I'm obviously wrong