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Payday loans usurious

Robert R. Tiernan, Denver

Published March 20, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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When I was in Boston College Law School in the late 1950s the maximum interest rate that could be charged in Massachusetts was 6 percent.

Anything over that was considered "usury." Usurious loans resulted in loss of both interest and principal to the lender and gave the borrower the right to sue for civil damages of three times the amount of the loan.

Banks and lenders did perfectly well in those days so why do we listen to those who object to the payday loan legislation now before the Colorado legislature? Do we really want to support loan sharks who charge 100 percent, 200 percent and 300 percent?

Comments

  • March 20, 2008

    11:38 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    TroyJGrice writes:

    Hey Rob, do you want to live in a free country or not? If you do not want to pay their high interest rates then don't use their service.

    Where will these people get their cash if our Nannyslature shuts them down? Rob, will they be able go to your house and ask YOU for a 6% loan? I didn't think so.

  • March 21, 2008

    11:31 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    anderson writes:

    There are numerous ways to get cash in a pinch without going to a payday lender. Most of us have been broke at one time or another and figured out something. Of course, there's always the obvious solution: don't spend more than you have.

    Earl, you can call it a service. I call it theft. You guys should be billing these payday lenders for spouting their rhetoric on their behalf.

    All the payday lender defenders deny/ignore/obfuscate the fact they're doing harm. We regulate businesses that do harm to the public. Hence the letter writer's reference to usury.

    Usury has for hundreds of years been a sin in the Christian world. It's only recently that people defend this practice.

  • March 25, 2008

    9:29 a.m.

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    putput writes:

    The payday loan industry provides a helpful service to individuals. All fees are posted in a clear location. With this information, consumers can take the responsibilty for their decisions based upon their individual circumstances. Have you looked at your credit card interest rates, and a LOT of car loans have a high interest fee...