MSE News: Payday lenders shut up shop after OFT probe

I have worked as a Manager in the payday loan sector for the past 10yrs, for the first 8 with a small independent which was then sold to one of the big boys.
I loved my job with the independent, it was a personal service and was tailored to individual needs, and when people were in trouble we stepped in and did what we could to help. Having worked there for such a long time I knew my customers, and we were always careful when signing people up, by looking at bank statements and checking whether people had loans elsewhere etc, there was an unwritten rule in the early days between lenders where we marked cheque books in a way which we each understood.
From my observation there are only a small percentage of people who use these loans in the right way. The rest are people already in trouble, which in the majority of cases is why they are standing on your doorstep. Their choices have already gone, and we all know what people are like when backed into a corner. A lot were spending next months wages, but were aware and dealt with it accordingly.
And then the big boys took over, and boy was it different!
We were set targets, and pressurised into cross selling payday loans to everyone, whether they were doing a money transfer, (they might need to send more money abroad), cheque cashing, (that cheques not very big, they might need more cash), selling currency, (they might need more spending money, or they might be short of cash when they get back from their holiday), pawn broking, (they must be in need of more cash if their pawning gold).
They don't pay very good wages either, most of the counter staff are on the minimum wage, and the targets mean that employees get a bonus if reached, and most of them are very young.
This meant that two months after they took over I was subjected to a disciplinary action because I refused to do what they asked, citing the fact that I thought that what they were doing was wrong, ie: targeting already vulnerable people, I was told that it was only my opinion, and was issued with a final written warning.
I was very stressed due to the fact that I could not build up a rapport with customers, the personal touch had been taken out of my hands and I was just there to lure people in as I saw it, I also realised that they cared neither for their customers or their staff, both were just a commodity, easily replaced by somebody else.
In the end I could no longer work for a company that I felt utter contempt for, so I resigned.