MSE News: Wonga launches new TV ad, which it says won't be shown on kids' TV

CHR15

Clive_Woody wrote: »

Then who will the poor, vulnerable and stupid borrow from?

You mean the sort of person who managed to pile up £23,410 worth of debt?

andyfromotley

CHR15 wrote: »

You mean the sort of person who managed to pile up £23,410 worth of debt?

Oh i see what you did there! Nice one. If your point was i was financially stupid, guilty as charged. Have i ever had a pay day loan, nope. Do any of these things affect ones right to have an opinion on the subject, no.

Thrugelmir

andyfromotley wrote: »

Vile company. Morally repugnant, eithically bankrupt, corporate greed preying on the poor, vulnerable and stupid. The sooner they are closed down, regulated out of business or preferably, locked up the better.

So none of your problems were of you own making? I have to ask. As I've often found there to be two sides to the story.

andyfromotley

Clive_Woody wrote: »

Then who will the poor, vulnerable and stupid borrow from?

The thing is Clive, there comes a point when people shouldn't be allowed to borrow, as their position is so hopeless or the terms so punitive that for society to enable them to do is wrong. There is a point which people have to be forced to use other remedies.

I think this and similar companies, with their horrific interest rates, their appalling record of business practices, their dreadful and deliberate targeting of those who they almost certain would have delinquent accounts and trap them into a cycle of rolling over and charges are that step too far.

No doubt people will say, 'oh well if PDL companies dont lend to them they will turn to loan sharks'. Well some will, As they have always done. The fact that criminals will also prey on these people doesn't make what they are doing right. But equally some wont. Most will simply see their debt balancing act collapse and deal with the consequences, which imo would be infinitely preferable to getting involved with these companies.

Their existence and state sanction to operate is shameful and a stain on modern Britain. Other people hold different views. Thats fine, but i politely disagree.

Alfie0611

I hate them. I might struggle to get a mortgage as they are on my credit file (settled) not even defaulted. Makes me feel like I've got a shady past when I just had a tough time supporting kids with no maintenance and low paid job.

Red-Squirrel_2

tonycottee wrote: »

It always makes me wonder if somebody is willing to borrow from a payday company, that if they didn't exist, who would they be willing to turn to? My guess is that there are far worse people to borrow money from than Wonga.

There are, of course, but I'd also guess that many (most) of the people who got into trouble with Wonga would not have turned to illegal/doorstep loan sharks.

The fact that they were so easy to get hold of, and seemed so legitimate, is what made them such a danger.

enfield_freddy

well can I make a comment ,


Wonga go after people with lowe incomes , unemployed , disabled or even those on ESA


I asked a question on another forum , about budgeting loans whilst on a low income (jsa/esa etc)


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5242255


this is the sort of person that needs a budgeting loan , but was turned down!


so instead of paying back £150 with no intrest to the benefits agency , he might have to go to Wonga and pay 1509% apr


no bank will give him an overdraft , etc etc ,


seems that when they move people around on benefits , they change the funding from contribution based to income based or visa versa.


so now with all the adverse publicity , he might even get turned down by Wonga.


if the state looked after its genuine claimants , maybe Wonga would not be needed?

tonycottee

andyfromotley wrote: »

I think this and similar companies, with their horrific interest rates,

Are they horrific though? What kind of interest rate would you think is suitable?
If I borrowed £100 for 2 weeks from Wonga, I would have to pay back £111. If I borrowed that from a friend I would happily pay them a tenner extra.
Personally I think the answer is in education, whether in school or outside.

Herzlos

The risk is that whilst it's pretty reasonable if you pay back on time (they still have overheads) and on a 2 week scale the APR is pretty meaningless, many people keep rolling them over and paying the huge APR over a long term.

Sunny seems worse, because they offer loans over 12-24 months at something crazy like 199% APR. So borrow £100 over a year and pay £100 in interest.

andyfromotley

tonycottee wrote: »

Are they horrific though? What kind of interest rate would you think is suitable?
If I borrowed £100 for 2 weeks from Wonga, I would have to pay back £111. If I borrowed that from a friend I would happily pay them a tenner extra.
Personally I think the answer is in education, whether in school or outside.

And if you were unable to pay your friend back because you are useless with money/lose your job/a drug addict/ got burgled or robbed/ fell ill or are just absolutely skint i'm guessing whilst that would be embarrassing your friend wouldnt charge you 1509% apr until you did? (or until you now reach the limit that the govt has forced on these companies) He wouldnt load on charges? he wouldnt keep lending you more, with more charges and more APR?

Thats where your analogy falls down, you are not borrowing from a friend. You are borrowing from a company that lent to you pretty much precisely because they think you will be unable to pay them back. You will become one of their most profitable customers, in fact their whole business model was built on doing precisely that. Thats what makes what they did (and will no doubt continue to try and do) so morally reprehensible. Yuk Yuk Yuk.

I appreciate the views that others hold and in an ideal world people either wouldnt feel forced to use them or they would use them and pay them back like your friend. No one would think that unreasonable, (a little expensive maybe but not outrageous) But that isnt what we are talking about. We live in a world where bad things happen to people, people are dumb or irresponsible. These companies exist solely to exploit that. Thats why i cannot support their existence at all.