Update on Payday Loan Industry
A few posts ago I talked about the court case in B.C. with respect to payday loans.
A recent article in the London Free Press talked about provinces regulating the indsutry. It appears the federal government has introduced Criminal Code changes that would clear the high-interest, short-term lending issues. The changes would give the provincial governments authority to regulate payday loans.
A lot of people end up constantly borrowing from the pay day loan place as the late charges if they miss a payment and the amount of interest charged make it almost impossible to “catch up” if the payment is missed. The effective rates charged can be up to 1,000 per cent annualized once service charges are included. It is illegal under federal law to charge more than 60 per cent annual.
Payday loans are big business - the London Free Press quoted the number of $2 billion a year to two million Canadian clients.
It will be interesting to see how each province deals with this legislation if it is passed, but in the meantime, if you are one of these 2 million customers experiencing financial problems and need to see someone, please call us at 310-PLAN. You will talk to one of our professionals and start the process to making a plan to deal with your situation.
