this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2024
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It is exactly that....exploitation. I hope that I see this come to pass. While they're at it, they could give the Payday/Title loan industry a public spanking for good measure.
Overdraft fees only exploit people that don't know you can turn the "feature" off with a phone call. We should be shouting this to the rooftops. "You don't have to pay the fucking fee!"
As to payday loans, they really came in handy when my ex and I bought this house. We didn't have good credit due to medical bills and had landed a Habitat for Humanity mortgage. Suddenly we needed loads of things a renter doesn't need. Lawn mower, weed eater string, misc. tools, on and on and on. Plus, we had a brand-new baby. Took us about 3-months to get on our feet, break the cycle. Never been back.
If you're truly in a pinch, you can get $200 or $300 on the fly for $20 or $30 bucks. As long as you're well aware that's coming out of your next check, and plan accordingly, it works in the short term. <- Key word there: short term.
Yeah, they rape ya on interest, no doubt. But what do you expect? They're in a high-risk game with the riskiest of clients. For all those they profit from, like me, they gotta cover for the people that don't pay.
It's a fundamentally predatory industry.
Just because some people are using it as advertised and getting benefit from it doesn't change that fact.
It deserves to be cracked down on.
There's perfectly legitimate reasons to be making and selling fentanyl, but that industry too needs to have tight regulatory control because of how it inherently generates victims for profit. So too with payday lenders.
Slightly unrelated: several states have made it illegal for medical debt to adversely affect your credit score. Check if yours is one and write your state reps if it isn't.
I think the fundamental problem is that this "feature" is on by default. It should be opt-in, not opt-out. Yes, people are responsible for handling their own finances, but it's also not difficult to fall into an overdraft accidentally.