"Slush funds" in the military to the old gangster loan sharks that charged 100 per cent interest on every cash advance is common knowledge. Borrow 500 dollars and pay back 1,000 dollars was typical on a short term loan. Harrassment and at times physical mistreatment was utilized to insure payment in full at the due date. Payday Lending companies now charge average interest rates of 444.61 per cent in Missouri which does not have a legislative cap on predatory loans. The loan companies don't " break bones" but certainly exceed in harrasssing their clientel and collecting cash crops.
A visitor to Missouri, Michael Odell from Arizona,recently had a run-in with a Quik Cash Service in Tucson. Prior to his vacation, a small short term loan was taken out with an auto title held as collateral . Payment in full was rendered by a cashier's check mailed from Missouri to Arizona on the due date. The check was not accepted.
Cash only transactions must be presented in person, apparently because this particular company wanted no paper trails. Mr. Odell was told by phone that he did not have permission to leave the state and must return to Arizona to pay the bill plus daily interest charges.
Payday lending is illegal in Arizona with a cap of 36 per cent on consumer loans. Catch 22 are loans secured by auto titles which can still reach 204 per cent annually. On 12/05/2009 Quik Cash was ordered to pay $170,000 in restitution for deceptive practises by Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne. Many payday lenders charging outrageous interest fees left the state for greener pastures. It seems Quik Cash is still pushing fiancial hardships on customers that sign contracts before reading the high interest clauses.
Consumer complaints in Arizona www.azag.gov Atttorney General's Office (602) 542-5763.
In Missouri, the Consumer Fraud Task Force considers payday lender's as today's loan sharks who trap people into cycles of debt and despair. The task force is comprised of local, state, federal agencies as well non-profit business and consumer groups in Missouri and Illinois. Their purpose is to protect consumers and guard against fraud and scams.
For information or if a victim, members of the task force can be contacted at the numbers listed.
Better Business Bureau serving eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois-(314) 645-3300 www.bbb.org
Federal Trade Commission-(877) FTC-HELP (382-4357) www.ftc.gov
Illinois Attorney General -(800) 243-0618 www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
Missouri Attorney General- (800)392-8222 www.ago.mo.gov
U.S. Attorney, Eastern District, Missouri (314) 539-2200 www.usdoj.gov/usao/moe
U.S. Postal Inspection Service (877)876-2455 http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov
U.S. Secret Service (314) 539-2238 www.secretservice.gov
*sources BBB.org
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