MSE News: Anger at Newcastle United's Wonga sponsorship deal

JamesK10

I'm sick and tired of the fake moralising that goes on with this and football in general. One UK company that already sponsored two clubs in England and Scotland is taking over for another one and putting money into the grass roots of an English club. Neither firm is all that popular but Virgin's been around a lot longer so they seem to be tolerated. I'd rather the money went there than to sponsor CSI on Channel 5.

Given that JJB have gone into administration, if Sportsdirect are still going as a British business then good luck to Ashley. The day he says "I've had it" and flogs the club to some rich foreigner, or an American who dumps all the debt from their American non-football clubs into your club, fans will regret that even more.

Fallenwiccan has the right idea, Investec sponsor my lot, Spurs, and they have another sponsor depending on the competition, if they're getting money in from a South African bank why spend £40 of your own cash on the shirt, I'm not going to.

Nath4n

To be honest, what's significantly worse about this sponsorship as opposed to the string of gambling (betting and casino) firms which sponsor large clubs around the world?

Both pay day lending and gambling require financial awareness and responsibility but both can equally lead to financial ruin if used irresponsibly.

I don't think it is right to demonise one for a sponsorship deal, but not the other.

Taiko

Newcastle fan, and couldn't care less about who sponsors the team. Support the team, not the finance behind it.

rdwarr

So it's wrong to be sponsored by Wonga who offer a service to those in need (unless you abuse it) but OK to be sponsored by the major banks who brought the World economy to its knees with their dodgy dealings?

A.Jones

I hope Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle City Council, would also fight against Wonga if they, for example, wanted to relocate to Newcastle bringing jobs to the area.

Twopints

Could be worse, could be sponsored by a really dodgy financial institution like Northern Rock.

Brian_Steele

If you can't get a loan elsewhere - and the banks certainly aren't interested - then people like Wonga are a lifeline.

Their fees are high, because they are dealing in sub-prime and will have a lot of defaulters. Most people who use them are glad to be able to get anything from anyone.

Anyway, the APR they choose is a red herring. Several thousand percent just means it costs you £25 to borrow a few hundred quid for a few days, extrapolated to a full year. It's just a charge for the service and reflecting that as an APR is only done because the law demands it.

Percy1983

Brian_Steele wrote: »

If you can't get a loan elsewhere - and the banks certainly aren't interested - then people like Wonga are a lifeline.

Their fees are high, because they are dealing in sub-prime and will have a lot of defaulters. Most people who use them are glad to be able to get anything from anyone.

Anyway, the APR they choose is a red herring. Several thousand percent just means it costs you £25 to borrow a few hundred quid for a few days, extrapolated to a full year. It's just a charge for the service and reflecting that as an APR is only done because the law demands it.

I do agree the APR's don't mean much, If they charged 15% the interest over a week or month wouldn't cover the admin costs to actually give out the loan.

I will say I ahve never just them myself but if it game to a one off situation I would rather give them £20 than have direct debts bouncing all over and ending up with more than £20 worth of fees.

whatmichaelsays

So there is outrage at Newcastle's new sponsor, a business that asks people who borrow £100 for a week to pay £112.78 back.

Where was the outrage at their previous sponsor, Northern Rock - a bank that tied thousands into 125% mortgages and years of negative equity? A bank that gambled everything (and lost) on the wholesale money markets rather than acting like a responsible bank and growing through acquiring deposits.

Why are local MPs, who were happy for Britain to rack up trillions in personal debt, suddenly decrying this deal?

Where's the anger at Barclay's the sponsor of the Premier League, who charge £44 for exceeding an overdraft for three days (in effect, making them more expensive than a pay-day lender)?

PDL Co-bashing should be a sport in itself.

Dirk_Gently_2

Ah, the usual round of smug people glibly saying "ah, well people should know what they're getting into, it's all in the small print."

That's true, but all of the PDL companies target their marketing at the more desperate and/or stupid people in the extremes of society, with an aim to hook these people in so they're tied week after week, revolving or extending the same loan every week and paying more and more interest. Wonga can rest safe safe in the knowledge that if people screw up (and 16% of their customers do!) then the resulting interest and payment charges are horrendous - and that's where the bulk of their money comes from.

PDL companies do have a role - but they need to be properly regulated, because at the moment they get away with targeting their adverts at the vulnerable and making their financial position much, much worse.