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Friday, March 9, 2012

How Is That Even Legal?

The Mrs. was watching television recently and came across this commercial. She paused it using the DVR and called me into the room. What I saw shocked me so much, that I decided to take a photo of it to share with you all. Click on the photo to the right and read the fine print. For those of you too lazy to do so, let me tell you what it says: "The APR for a typical loan of $5,000 is 116.73% with 84 monthly payments of $486.58."

Allow me to do the math for those of you too lazy to click on your calculator application: 84 payments of $486.58 is $40,872.72 that you will pay back for that $5,000 loan.

How is that even legal? If I get a loan from this company, I have to pay over $40k over the next seven years? Now do you see why voting matters in our country? Because we have a Congress who cares so little about their constituents that they would allow something like this to even exist?

Whoops! Maybe I just jumped the gun on that statement. I just read a little further on the fine print and it says that "Western Sky Financial, LLC, is a 100% Native American-owned business operating on a Native American Reservation." I guess that means they're untouchable to Congress then.

Looks like the Native Americans are getting their money back after having their land stolen, huh? :)

17 comments:

  1. That is craziness! Math just blew my mind... I guess when they say "Yes, the money is expensive but it's better than...." they must really assume people are in some deep sh*t by the time they resort to this scam.

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    1. Yeah, I hope I never get this desperate for fast cash. This is absolutely ridiculous and should be illegal.

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  2. Dammit! They were doing alright until someone went and read the fine print!

    Terrifyingly, they get away with it because desperate people never do the math on short term loans.

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    1. Absolutely right. They never do the math! If someone gave them a total of how much they paid in just a year, they would refuse the deal.

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  3. There is also another similar commercial where you can get a computer that you will spend close to 5 grand for BUT no credit check required

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    1. 5 grand for a PC? LOL! Does it come with 4 grand in the box? At least you can avoid that credit check, huh? :)

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  4. Some states are beginning to look at this issue's legality, Wisconsin for one. It is so wrong and something needs to be done to regulate this.

    http://lacrossetribune.com/news/article_7cfb17f0-e8be-11e0-8306-001cc4c002e0.html

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    1. I read the link and that was absolutely ridiculous of what they were charging that lady! Something definitely needs to be done. How this is not usury is beyond me.

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  5. Not sure if it is but that's cool!

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  6. Yep...me and the hubs get our minds blown every time that commercial comes on...and it comes on A LOT!

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    1. I've only seen it once (since I tend to skip commercials via DVR). I wonder how many people call the # not knowing what they're getting into?

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  7. But people who need money immediately will certainly do it, assuming they can pay back soon after.

    Craziness.

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    1. There are scams like this all over the country. You would think it would be outlawed. If I did it, I'd be convicted as a loan shark.

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  8. It's about time my people (okay so I'm only like 15% Native American but still) got our money back. Those casinos weren't doing so great anymore...Fucking Atlantic City!

    Alright...really though...anyone who doesn't read the fine print when working with financial institutions almost deserves to get taken. Nobody gives away anything for free! If it seems too good to be true then it is.

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    1. Get your money back, Jewels! LOL! Yeah, but a lot of people hate to read, so that's why they can get taken advantage of, I guess. They wouldn't scam a blogger though! We read everything! :)

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  9. I had a family member who got a payday loan once. I asked her what the interest rate was. Not only did she not know what it was, she didn't know what an interest rate was. A few months later, they ended up taking her car as collateral. People just see an easy way to make a quick buck and figure they'll worry about the terms later. So sad but so common.

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    1. Wow. That is so sad, Tiffany. She really had no clue what she was even doing. All she knew is that she was getting money.

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