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The Facts

How did we get to this point, where payday & title loan companies can legally charge in excess of 450% interest?

payday loan Maury County

The History

In the 1970s & 80s,
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Government deregulated banking and repealed usury laws, which ultimately removed controls on interest rates.
Afterwards,
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Due to the new guidelines, lower-income citizens have found it more difficult to secure conventional bank loans and services.
 
Now:
Maury County payday loan business
When extra money is needed for an emergency, businesses such as payday lenders, title companies and check-cashing businesses have stepped in to fill the needs that were previously met by local banks.
 
Without access to conventional bank loans and services, many financial consumers now turn to these predatory companies for quick access to needed cash.
 
The problem, however, is that payday loan and title companies are using predatory lending practices. 
 

WHAT IS PREDATORY LENDING?

Predatory lending is any lending practice that imposes unfair or abusive loan terms on a borrower. It is also any practice that convinces a borrower to accept unfair terms through deceptive, coercive, exploitative or unscrupulous actions for a loan that a borrower doesn't need or ... can't afford. 

Source: https://www.debt.org/credit/predatory-lending/

CITY OF COLUMBIA ISSUES

  • With more than 20+ payday loan and title loan businesses operating in Columbia, the number of lenders is disproportionate to the size of our community.

  • Tennessee is classified as one of the most permissive states in the country, with Columbia being third in the number of predatory lending institutions per capita.

  • Other than a distance requirement, Columbia has no signicant regulations or zoning restrictions for these type of businesses.

LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION

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