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Predatory Lending

 

What's New

Ohio PIRG is working with U.S. PIRG to push for success similar to that we had in Oregon in Ohio and around the country.

This June Gov. Ted Kulongoski of Oregon signed four bills into law to protect consumers from predatory financial services, and put an end to payday and title loans’ triple-digit percent interest rates. The passage of these bills is especially critical to protecting consumers because it reinstates caps on consumer loans that were repealed in the 1980s, a move that contributed to the spread of high-interest payday loan and title loan outfits across Oregon.

 

Overview

Borrowers at “payday lending“ outfits are often middle- or low-income families who need a small boost to make ends meet. These families think they’re getting a short-term loan, but most will end up with serious, long-term debt. In New Mexico, for instance, where predatory lenders operate freely, the average borrower faces such high interest rates that they have to roll over the loan 6 times on average. A two-week loan turns into a three-month loan, and with interest rates of up to 500 percent, the borrower is quickly paying more in interest than the original amount of the loan.



Ohio PIRG fights to regulate the industry’s misleading promises and triple-digit interest rates, and to educate consumers on how to protect themselves.

 

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Ohio Public Interest Research Group: 203 E. Broad St., Suite 3, Columbus, Ohio 43215