Rupert_Baehr Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Ban usury! And I-Pads! (That photo you showed of people queueing around the block ... were they queueing to buy food, or to buy the latest I-Prat?) Ban usury! - and enforce the ban by requiring people to pay cash! A total ban on credit sales in the UK would reduce personal indebtedness dramatically. Go for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem1st Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 A total ban on credit sales in the UK would reduce personal indebtedness dramatically. Go for it! I see what your implying, but you should remember that; I never said that the current currency monopoly should continue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Then define usury. If you want to ban it, do you not think it would be a good idea to define it first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isabelle Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I would never lend money from one of these payday loan companies. I hate their adverts, they make it seem like they're offering a good service when they're really just leading desperate people into a spiral of debt. Some people on here are saying don't give food aid to people in debt, but once you're in the situation, you can't reverse it overnight. I myself am in debt and struggling at the moment, most of the time I find myself with no money to even buy food or pay for the bus to get to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L00b Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Then define usury. If you want to ban it, do you not think it would be a good idea to define it first? The French Gvt defines usury by its rate and sets/revises it quarterly (usury rate = 133% of average rate marketed by credit providers in the previous quarter. So if average rate in last quarter has been e.g. 15%, then usury rate for this quarter is 19.95%). Has been doing so for decades and decades. Currently in the 20s (% APR), and it's always been around that. You charge higher than the rate (for whatever: payday loan, consumer finance, credit card, etc.) = criminal offence, with mandatory clink time. Regardless of who 'you' are (banks, mobile phone operators, car finance houses, retailers, etc, etc.) I've always liked that particular aspect of French legislation, and long advocated for its adoption over here. If people are not money-smart enough (and that's not a criticism), then this at least limits the damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Indeed. And until the French government defined usury, the Brits had to rely on Shakespeare. {or the judge}"You may indeed have your pound of flesh, but spill not one drop of blood," Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dvp82 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 What people seem to forget is that payday loans are designed as very short term loans. That's why I think the APR rate should be taken with a pinch of salt, these type of loans are not designed to be payed back over along period of time, but people still bang on about ARP APR APR. Borrow £200 from Wonga and pay it back in a weeks time, it will cost you less than £20 in intrest and fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S10mainly Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I once had a payday loan a few years ago from one of those shops that converts things into cash.... On the Tuesday i gave them a post-dated guaranteed cheque for £100, they gave me £94 in cash and presuambly cashed the cheque on my payday which was the Thursday. I thought paying £6 was acceptable in that situation but I dread to think what the APR would be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 The French Gvt defines usury by its rate and sets/revises it quarterly (usury rate = 133% of average rate marketed by credit providers in the previous quarter. So if average rate in last quarter has been e.g. 15%, then usury rate for this quarter is 19.95%). Has been doing so for decades and decades. Currently in the 20s (% APR), and it's always been around that. You charge higher than the rate (for whatever: payday loan, consumer finance, credit card, etc.) = criminal offence, with mandatory clink time. Regardless of who 'you' are (banks, mobile phone operators, car finance houses, retailers, etc, etc.) I've always liked that particular aspect of French legislation, and long advocated for its adoption over here. If people are not money-smart enough (and that's not a criticism), then this at least limits the damage. Presumably this means that those with a poor credit rating are simply denied credit outright much more often in France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L00b Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Presumably this means that those with a poor credit rating are simply denied credit outright much more often in France.Correct, in part. Credit rating over there is not the (scarily ubiquitous) automated "computer says no/yes" that it is here (in good part due to their own Data Protection/Privacy laws), it is still done pretty much ad hoc on the basis of comprehensive-enough documentary evidence (payslips, utility bills, bank account ins/outs profiling). Benefits are better 'organised' than over here, and in most situations permit a reasonably soft landing, e.g. for those losing their jobs (JSA in France is your full salary for the 1st 3 months, then it goes down and down over time, but it would take a loooong time for it go down to the £57 or so that it is here). The downside of course, is that their welfare deficit is way more screwed up than ours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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