Daylight Robbery

bringmeshoes

I got home from work today and there was the usual junk mail offering me a loan. I opened it and it was from provident loans offering me a loan for between £50 and £500 for christmas, their 'friendly' staff will even come around to collect your repayment each week...so wots the catch? the typical apr...wait for it.... £183.2%.:eek:

how can this even be allowed, i have a fairly good credit rating but somebody who has say a ccj, how much would they have to pay?
How can they get away with this, its daylight robbery? i would hate to think that somebody feels that desperate that they feel they need to take up this 'offer'. How can interest rates like this not be criminal?

fletch3163

That's the only word I can use for The Provvie. I am lucky to have never dealt with them but my SIL did. She always spoke very highly of the collector. She'd say the collector would let her off paying for a couple of weeks and if she found it hard to pay the back payments she'd let her have a top up loan instead. MY GOD!!!! That collector had a heart of gold eh:mad:

The interest rate is tantamount to legal money lending. Borrow £300, pay it back for a whole year and £9 per week. That's around £500!!!

bringmeshoes

i'm lucky that my financial situation is ok so if i did need a loan i would be able to get one at a much better interest rate.
these people are criminal, they prey on the most vulnerable people and get them trapped in a vicious cycle

kizzykizzywizzy

I used to work in a dept store & people used to use provident cheques, I wanted to scream at them don't use that to buy it! These kind of companies prey on the most vunerable people out there:mad:
Whilst I'm in a ranting mood, I used to be called regularly by MBNA asking if I would like £11,000 deposited in my bank account as I was such a good customer, how nice of them, I used to say yes please as long as you don't want it back:rotfl: awful really as some people may be desperate & take it ( not that I wasn't desperate but even I'm not that daft )

ciarasdreams

kizzykizzywizzy wrote: »

I used to work in a dept store & people used to use provident cheques, I wanted to scream at them don't use that to buy it! These kind of companies prey on the most vunerable people out there:mad:
Whilst I'm in a ranting mood, I used to be called regularly by MBNA asking if I would like £11,000 deposited in my bank account as I was such a good customer, how nice of them, I used to say yes please as long as you don't want it back:rotfl: awful really as some people may be desperate & take it ( not that I wasn't desperate but even I'm not that daft )

Unfortunately I was that stupid and only after I had accepted their very kind offer did I find out that they were really not as kind and friendly and caring as I had first thought. :rolleyes:

TheAble

I think it's a little unfair to be so harsh on the Provvie. Most of the people who use them borrow an amount that they can afford to repay each week, and they're perfectly happy with this. They prefer to deal in cash, and having the collector come round each week helps them budget.

You don't see many people who use the Provvie getting into anywhere near as much trouble as most of the users on this board, if any at all, so I doubt they are as "vunerable" as some people make out.

ciarasdreams

TheAble wrote: »

I think it's a little unfair to be so harsh on the Provvie. Most of the people who use them borrow an amount that they can afford to repay each week, and they're perfectly happy with this. They prefer to deal in cash, and having the collector come round each week helps them budget.

You don't see many people who use the Provvie getting into anywhere near as much trouble as most of the users on this board, if any at all, so I doubt they are as "vunerable" as some people make out.

I understand your point but is the amount of trouble that you are in not all relative to the income that you actually have? I am working in an area right now where many of the families which are both one and two parent ones are barely struggling to stay afloat. For many of these people managing to keep up the finance repayments on basic household items like beds for their children is at times probably equal to that of some of the people here who have far bigger levels of debt but have also got a far higher monthly income. I have unfortunately heard far too many stories out of the mouths of 5 year olds about what exactly the enforcement companies for these high street shops have to say to people who are struggling on benefits or minimum wage with tax top ups and it really does make me feel sick most of the time.

TheAble

I'm not entirely sure what your point was there Ciara. What I am saying is that yes, people who borrow on Provvie are paying back at an extortionately high interest rate - I don't dispute that for a moment. But the cruicial difference is that they tend to borrow small amounts, rarely more than £1000 and usually more in the region of £500 or so, and they budget well.

At the other end of the spectrum, cheap credit and high salaries have brought with them a rash of overspending, usually on rubbish, to the extent where you see people with take-home salaries of £2500 (for one person) up to their eyeballs in debt, grinding out their job from month to month just to service said debts.

Having a low APR is all very well, but it's not much good if you're going to get yourself into a hefty bad debt with little to show for it other than a new kitchen and a bulging shoe-rack. I'd rather take a £500 debt at 200% APR any day, thanks.

mandi

TheAble wrote: »

I think it's a little unfair to be so harsh on the Provvie. Most of the people who use them borrow an amount that they can afford to repay each week, and they're perfectly happy with this. They prefer to deal in cash, and having the collector come round each week helps them budget.

You don't see many people who use the Provvie getting into anywhere near as much trouble as most of the users on this board, if any at all, so I doubt they are as "vunerable" as some people make out.

Thats okay then .. Lets charge the poor nearly 200% intrest .. I mean they can afford it ......:mad: :T


Do you work for them BTW

ciarasdreams

TheAble wrote: »

I'm not entirely sure what your point was there Ciara. What I am saying is that yes, people who borrow on Provvie are paying back at an extortionately high interest rate - I don't dispute that for a moment. But the cruicial difference is that they tend to borrow small amounts, rarely more than £1000 and usually more in the region of £500 or so, and they budget well.

At the other end of the spectrum, cheap credit and high salaries have brought with them a rash of overspending, usually on rubbish, to the extent where you see people with take-home salaries of £2500 (for one person) up to their eyeballs in debt, grinding out their job from month to month just to service said debts.

Having a low APR is all very well, but it's not much good if you're going to get yourself into a hefty bad debt with little to show for it other than a new kitchen and a bulging shoe-rack. I'd rather take a £500 debt at 200% APR any day, thanks.

If you really did not get my point then no amount of explanation either from myself or any of the others who doubtlessly fully understood it is ever going to clarify the situation for you. Instead go and ask your local MP about the amount of families that she/he is currently dealing with who have been told that their washing machine or even their children's beds or any other item essential for daily living that these companies can manage due to desperation to sell with 30% rates of APR would be seized within 48 hours if the arrears were not settled immediately. Only these people are never nearly anywhere nearly so politely and this is usually done within earshot of their dependent children who are quite understandably left very shaken and distressed by the whole experience.