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Lawsuits by payday lenders swamp courts

I like the fact that 99% of these loans are paid without the need to litigate, but that point was buried. But then again positives doesn't sell newspapers.
Sorry these 1% of borrowers took out loans and the companies had to sue to get their money back. Doesn't any person or business in this country have the right to litigate for what is rightfully theirs?
I understand the members of the media wanting to inform people about issues, but Davidson harps and harps on this issue again and again. There is no objectivity to his payday lending or legislative stories anymore.

Numbers are actually worse. Most borrowers have taken out many loans and rolled them over before they finally can't afford or choose not to pay them.

If we assume a low number like 10 loans taken out and either repaid or rolled over, before becoming delinquent, this 1% then equates to 10% of customers eventually having the loan repayment pursued in small claims court.

This is disgusting and anyone who defends an industry that preys on the poor in this manner needs to turn in their humanity cards.

These loan sharks should be thrown out of court as criminals. All their loans should be invalidated as criminal also and the stores shut down. Loan sharking has moved from the streets to permenant buildings. Has the definition of loan shark been and that practice been legalized? How can they stay in business and practice as loan sharks? Like all loan sharks, they know that their customers cannot repay these loans without using an enforcer and that enforcer is now our courts. Throw the bums out of court, they deserve to lose, contract or no contract does not legalize this practice. These companies are criminal in their practices and contracts they write and its time for legal action to put them out of business, first by throwing their claims out of court as illegal lending and lending to known risks in the first place. They should suffer some of their own failures to properly screen borrowers. We need some judges with the cahonas to throw them out and classify them as illegal financial businesses.

Payday lenders are a cancer to our society. they enrich themselves by exploiting the poor and financially uneducated. I've contacted my republican legislator from Provo about this issue multiple times only to be told that there is nothing he can do about it because the "banks won't let them"... give me a break. the fact of the matter is our legislature is bought out by these buffoons. It is a shame that they don't have the backbone to stand up to such a immoral group of thugs. many states have enacted common sense legislation to restrict outrageous fees and interest rates... but not Utah. I look forward to the day when someone courageous in the legislature will finally stand up against the payday lenders.

lobbyist(bribers)bribe the lawmakers.the lawmakers give the bribers any law or regulation they want.is this news to anyone?????THROW THE BUMS OUT!!!!!!

The fact that people sign an agreement for 521% interest indicates that even though he harps and harps people do not yet understand. Rightfully theirs???? 521% interest is a bit high don't you think? The word "usury" comes to mind.

I believe that the 99% figure is misleading. What happens is that the debtors start rolling them over and getting in a "debt trap". That goes on for a while before the debtor just gives up because they can't keep up. Every time that happens, it counts as a "paid loan". In addition, the debtor often signs to have their paychecks garnished without the need for a judgment. That also counts as a "paid loan".
I'm as much for deregulation as the next guy, but something needs to be done. I see far too many of these in the cases I handle.

The article clearly states that without aggregate data from the payday loan indsutry, we can't know if that 1% figure is correct or not. Given the huge number of small claims cases, the implication is clearly not.

What is it with Utah and payday lenders? We seem to have them on every corner. In all my travels out of state I have yet to see another place have so many as Utah.

If the nearly 27,000 lawsuits represents the other 1%, that means there are about 2,700,000 of these loans processed a year. So pretty much everyone in Utah is getting one of these a year... including the kids.
I'm a little more likely to trust the newspaper than companies who prey on customers in need of a "quick fix."

I understood the article to say 99% to be an industry claim, not substantiated as fact. I don't see the positive of a predatory lender staing an unsubstantiated number that defelcts the attention from the havoc they create/

The most telling part of this entire story was told in the first couple of paragraphs...."only a few years ago was completely illegal (before interest rate caps were erased)"

Who was the genius who determined that those caps should be erased? Has anyone investigated for the almost inevitable conflict of interest (no pun intended) with the "legislator/s" and the loan sharks?

You should have revealed your real Identifty. Mr.Leach! This is a industry that preys on the the most needy of our society and hurt us all more in the long run. Mr. Davidson excellent job.

I am sorry to inform you but as a former manager of a small loan company the 99% is false. On avergage 20% are more then a month late and 12% are taken to court or written off as bad debt. But hey the loan companys are running scared. Because for years people have been trying to change the laws and cap the rates. In fact that is why I left my job, I made great money and had wonderful bennis. But I was also selling my soul for them. Nothing is quite as sweet as being told that you have to sue a family whose 2 children just died in a car crash. Because hey we need to get our money......bottom line!!!

The point was made, but there was no data to back it up. The 1% claim would be more persuasive if they opened their books to verify it.

I like the fact that the Payday loan people can't do math. Less than 1% of one million would less than 10,000, not almost 27,000.

If they really are giving out one million loans in Utah, given our population, that means something like one out of every two adults had to get a loan from them. Do all of you remember doing that?

Or it means a lot of people who takes out a Payday loan really does have to take out another, and another, and another - until he or she goes broke, gets sued, and loses everything he or she owns. That final court case only represents the last in a series of loans.

Or it means the 1% failure number they cite isn't accurate. Remember, we don't know because they haven't shown us any data. It's like a magician who blindfolds his audience and then tells them to believe that he can make an elephant fly.

What we really need to ask is why don't the Payday loan people want the state of Utah to take off its blindfold?

Part of the problem is with the Banks. It is nearly impossible for a young person who does not have a bank account to cash their paycheck. I am often needed to assist my kids in the cashing of their paychecks. When I was young you could cash your paycheck almost anywhere.

The root of every evil act is the desire for more money, says Paul. Maybe we should outlaw fractional banking and interest on loans at all? Isn't interest the foundation of debt?

These places are taking advantage of the poor and/or financially uneducated. Charging a 500% APR is ridiculous. They are taking money from those who are struggling the most. If I could make $10 million a year by opening some Pay Day Loan "service" locations, I would never do it. This is robbing from the poor to feed the rich. This is pretty much unethical in my book. Just because someone is willing to pay the fees doesn't make it ok. A suicide bomber is willing to take his own life but that doesn't mean those orchestrating the act aren't evil.
There are other ways to make ends meet without paying exorbiant fees. Get creative and learn the time value of money. These places need to go out of business so the owners can find a productive way to make money and contribute to society rather than riding on the backs of the poor.

Litigation is part of doing business but forcing people that are low income to travel to Provo to dispute sounds like convenience for the company and a shady way for them to get a disproportionate amount of default judgments. I think that point is a valid piece of journalism and the legislature should do something about it.