Has anyone tried Wonga?

Peelerfart

maximi1 wrote: »

Agreed if you use them correctly and manage the service as it states then they are a valuable source of quick cash in an emergency

Surely a better source of "quick cash in an emergency" is a savings account.

If you can afford the horrendous interest rate then why can't you afford to save?

Or have I missed something ?

skintandscared_2

ihateyes wrote: »

rubbish..... you have have went ovedawn a cpl of times, therefore your bank may not increase u o/draft, they may give you a c/card, but from applying to get ur card is a couple of days...

ccar breaks down in morning,,, whats your solution (need car for work)

wonga can have the money in your account within 15 minutes..... as long as its used responsibilty, then there are no problems

its high APR. they dont hide that fact, but its fast and efficient as long as it used correctly

I look forward to being proved wrong then. If someone who has been refused loans from other places and is forced to use Wonga could please let me know how quickly they were given a 0% credit card I'd love to hear from you.

As poster above say, emergencies are what savings are for.

Letfromspain

Peelerfart wrote: »

Surely a better source of "quick cash in an emergency" is a savings account.

If you can afford the horrendous interest rate then why can't you afford to save?

Or have I missed something ?

You've missed something quite LARGE. Not everyone has savings, so in an emergency they are excellent. I've used them a couple of times and the money was in my account within 20 minutes or so. I paid them back within a few days and the charge was the same as a few pints of beer. Cheers WONGA - have a few beers on me for your wonderful service!!:beer:

edinburgher

If you can afford the horrendous interest rate then why can't you afford to save?

Or have I missed something ?

People can't afford to save for lots of reasons, but usually because they're not sticking to a budget and because the mentality of 'I can always lose a tenner of interest on payday' is appeals more than 'I'll save a fiver a week, even if it means going without somewhere else'.

I'm not judging, lived in this state myself for years before I sorted out my debts and got a decent job

Anecdotally, those with least are often those who can't be bothered budgeting, because they don't see what they have to gain from keeping very small amounts. Having eaten 6p Asda noodles for 8 week stretches, I am living proof that even small savings can make life a lot more bareable!

Credit Unions are a wonderful place to start saving when you're starting small and most of them will allow you to squirrel away small amounts starting at a few quid a month.

dtsazza

edinburgher wrote: »

People can't afford to save for lots of reasons, but usually because they're not sticking to a budget and because the mentality of 'I can always lose a tenner of interest on payday' is appeals more than 'I'll save a fiver a week, even if it means going without somewhere else'.

Yep, it's fundamentally a mentality thing. When you're making payments on a loan, you're forced to "save" that amount of money from your outgoings - but when it's all yours, you can change your mind and splurge it without any immediate repercussions. Judging by many posts on this forum, it seems that a lot of people need that "pay or else you'll ultimately end up in court" stick to keep the direct debits flowing out - and correspondingly pay for the privilege.

Letfromspain wrote: »

You've missed something quite LARGE. Not everyone has savings

No, but everyone should. And I know you'll say that people can't afford them, but that's just not true - it's the matter of perspective again. Regardless of whether you save or not, your car will break down at some point, costing you, say, £500.

• If you don't save, you'll take out some sort of loan for the money, pay it back out of future earnings, and so end up paying something like £550-800 (depending on interest rate and duration).
• If you do save, not only do you end up spending less overall (£450-490 depending on interest rate and how long the emergency fund goes unused), but you also have the relative luxury of contributing to the emergency fund when it's convenient (within reason) - if you absolutely have to postpone a contribution for a week or two, there's no immediate consequence or cost. (Of course, postponing indefinitely is the same as not saving and then you're back to the first situation. It takes some discipline.)

What I'm saying is that it's not a matter of affordability, since you'll find some way to make the loan payments (presumably). Putting together some emergency savings means you'll pay less overall, and you don't have to rush around filling out application forms or wondering about your credit status when you do need to draw on the money - it's already there, waiting. You can think of this as forcing the emergency to happen early (hypothetically) - so you imagine your car really has broken down and you need the £500, but thankfully you're allowed to pay over 6 months (or whatever) at a negative interest rate. That's basically what happens in the saving situation.

Essentially, the less well-off can't afford not to save.

edinburgher

Essentially, the less well-off can't afford not to save.

Absolutely. Saving (even tiny amounts) is vital for keeping household expenses ticking over, but also (in my biased opinion), for self esteem. I'd far rather save a tenner a month than hand over a tenner a month to a payday lender, because they can call time on you whenever they like (or stick you on a bigger debt 'hook').

As you say, the money will be there waiting, giving you the opportunity to be your own bank

KingElvis

I'd always rather have a few k saved than rely on the likes of Wonga and their ilk.

Letfromspain

KingElvis wrote: »

I'd always rather have a few k saved than rely on the likes of Wonga and their ilk.

Tell me about it. BUT, the majority haven't because of either affordability, mentality or discipline. I should have colossal savings based on what I earn but because of a live for today attitude I haven't. When you have squandered stacks on non necessities, paying over the odds for a cash injection doesn't seems so bad. Wrong attitude I know but we ain't all got the discipline.

edinburgher

Wrong attitude I know but we ain't all got the discipline.

But surely you have the discipline for some things? You say you have a high income - unless you were very lucky, surely this took some effort? I think most people can muster up some discipline, the problem lies in channelling it (or 'selling' saving to them).

KingElvis

Not only that, with no savings, what happens when you borrow from shysters like Wonga and then loose your job or as so many people on here whine "I found myself unable to pay it back due to an unexpected change in circumstances"?