Big Case Against Payday Lender

Washington's Department of Financial Institutions has filed a Statement of Charges against a payday lender, Check 'N Go of Washington, Inc. The company allegedly made borrowers write multiple checks for individual loans (often resulting in multiple NSF charges -- in violation of state law) and unlawfully collected borrowers' PINs.

This is an administrative proceeding "to revoke Check 'N Go's license, impose fines, order restitution, and charge for the cost of the investigation." With fines that could add up to $333,000, this is the biggest case in the agency's history. DFI press release: State Files Largest Case Against Payday Lender, Aug. 15, 2006.

For more on payday loans, see:

• Borrower Beware: The High Cost of Small Loans, Pawnbrokers and Rent-To-Own Stores, from the National Consumer Law Center.
• Smart Borrowing TV: How to Make Wise Borrowing Decisions. These are web videos from Consumer Education and Training Center (CENTS). I viewed the payday loan video and was pleasantly surprised by the humor the producers threw in.
• Payday Lending: Do the Costs Justify the Price?, FDIC Center for Financial Research Working Paper, June 2005. This one's at the opposite end of the spectrum from the video -- no chicken costumes, no goofy jokes -- just economics and policy analysis.

Thanks to Michele Storms for the lead.

Filed in: payday-loans, Department-of-Financial-Institutions, Storms