General / Off-Topic Disgusted by loan shark ads

SlackR

Banned
SlackR
So I don't get to see much UK tv as I live abroad but am currently on holiday and settling down to watch a movie, when I am bombarded by short term loan ads. At first I thought I had misheard ... a 1325% APR over six months, but I checked and it was true! These are companies targeting people who are clearly already in dire financial straits and they shouldn't be allowed to get away with it! It is simply disgusting! :mad:

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You can see from the calculations that somebody who borrows the max amount (1500£) would pay that back and then some EACH MONTH for the next six months... totalling a whopping 10k!

Seriously UK that's messed up!
 
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Arry

Arry
Yep! It used to be illegal to advertise loans, ambulance chasers and gambling on UK TV. However: Now they are a major part of UK TV advertising and our government (the coalition) did mention that they would put a stop to the ambulance chasers and the high interest loan companies. As always, just talk.
 
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xondk

X
SlackR said:
So I don't get to see much UK tv as I live abroad but am currently on holiday and settling down to watch a movie, when I am bombarded by short term loan ads. At first I though I had misheard ... a 1325% APR over six months, but I checked and it was true! These are companies targeting people who are clearly already in dire financial straits and they shouldn't be allowed to get away with it! It is simply disgusting! :mad:

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You can see from the calculations that somebody who borrows the max amount (1500£) would pay that back and then some EACH MONTH for the next six months... totalling a whopping 10k!

Seriously UK that's messed up!
Click to expand...

Wow that's messed up, thought those were something long past world wide, I recall ages ago now seeing one around 2000 APR, I can only imagine what kind of debt those people are still in if any did it.
 

FrogsFriend

FrogsFriend
Loan sharks and online gambling ads seem to make up pretty much 75% of all TV adds in the UK now. Added to that, the gambling companies also 'sponser' every other program so they can push more advertising at the start, end and every break... before you even get to the regular gambling ads in between. It's a very sad sight.
 

VR StarLightPL

VR StarLightPL
"Ambulance chasing"? well TIL :)

Also, its a trend. Here in Poland loans are also on "offensive". Its disgusting and the victims are often gullible elder people not brought up in this bloodsucking culture. Pension often doesn't cover the bills, and they're in need of medication etc... It ends in heart strokes when they realise what they have done.
 

AkenBosch

AkenBosch
1325% :eek:

But, really? And it's considered legal?

And I thought we had much to complain about loans in Italy...

Here, the equivalent of the APR (we call it TAEG, but more or less it's always the total cost of the loan, comprised of additional fees and stuff) can't go higher than 23-25% for the more "exposed" types of loan. Any more than this and it's considered a felony with penal consequences for financial exploitation.

About gambling ads instead, sadly it's the same situation: out of 10 advertisings (annoyingly interrupted by 5 minutes of movie from time to time), 12 are for cars (of those 12, 19 are SUV's and the rest other types) and the other 24 are about gambling sites or lotteries.

Pretty sad times indeed.
 

SlackR

Banned
SlackR
It just a shame it's legal. You can say what you want about Saudi (believe me I do) but gambling and interest loans are illegal in Islamic law. Although much is lost in translation and in the actions of over zealous fanatics, believe it or not there are aspects of living in an Islamic society that are much more civilised that their western equivalents!

*Please don't turn this into a religious or freedom of choice discussion... I was simply raising the point that certain protections are afforded people over there that aren't here (UK). The assumption is always that people should be free to make their own mistakes and choices (including bad ones) but when there are companies dedicated to cashing in on those mistakes, you get the feeling those mistakes are actually encouraged- to me that's messed up.

The entire economy in the UK is based on people borrowing money they don't have to buy things they don't need! Then when they can't afford to pay for them they are enslaved with debt!
 
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space pilot

space pilot
When I watch UK ads, the minor differences from US ads emphasize to me how we're seen as herd animals to be taken advantage of. I think I'm so used to US ads that I don't notice it as much. It probably works the other way too (UK native watching US ads); you tell me.
 

JonnyC0mbat

JonnyC0mbat
That's nothing. The original Wonga ads advertised it (in the small print) as 3000 + percent. They also won money lender of the year.

In all fairness though, they are short term loans and their website calculators make it explicitly clear what the final amount would be. High steet banks aren't that transparent.
 
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CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead
While i don't agree with these companies charging insane interest rates, it's also up to the customer to not be an idiot, as all the information is provided for them. Lol

3000% is stupid, when you can get a credit card with 19% or less interest.

It's like store cards, like Argos, next, new look, they all have 25+% interest, and lure you in with 10% off your first order.

Money and finance is one of those things that needs to be taught in schools from a young age, instead of some of the utterly useless stuff they teach now.
 

SlackR

Banned
SlackR
CMDR_Cosmicspacehead said:
While i don't agree with these companies charging insane interest rates, it's also up to the customer to not be an idiot, as all the information is provided for them. Lol

3000% is stupid, when you can get a credit card with 19% or less interest.

It's like store cards, like Argos, next, new look, they all have 25+% interest, and lure you in with 10% off your first order.

Money and finance is one of those things that needs to be taught in schools from a young age, instead of some of the utterly useless stuff they teach now.
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The biggest problem for people taking these loans is that they can't (for reasons) get the 19% APR card. These companies are preying on the desperate.
 

Arry

Arry
SlackR said:
It just a shame it's legal. You can say what you want about Saudi (believe me I do) but gambling and interest loans are illegal in Islamic law. Although much is lost in translation and in the actions of over zealous fanatics, believe it or not there are aspects of living in an Islamic society that are much more civilised that their western equivalents!

*Please don't turn this into a religious or freedom of choice discussion... I was simply raising the point that certain protections are afforded people over there that aren't here (UK). The assumption is always that people should be free to make their own mistakes and choices (including bad ones) but when there are companies dedicated to cashing in on those mistakes, you get the feeling those mistakes are actually encouraged- to me that's messed up.

The entire economy in the UK is based on people borrowing money they don't have to buy things they don't need! Then when they can't afford to pay for them they are enslaved with debt!
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It was the church that was the greatest opposition to such things as gambling being advertised on UK TV.
 

Manticore

Manticore
Arry said:
Yep! It used to be illegal to advertise loans, ambulance chasers and gambling on UK TV.
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I can't speak to the unlawfulness (or lawfulness) of that (I don't live in the UK). But we call them "payday lenders" here and they are scum preying upon the under-privileged and financially vulnerable.

Don't get me started in ambulance chasers; more scum there too.
 

Arry

Arry
Manticore said:
I can't speak to the unlawfulness (or lawfulness) of that (I don't live in the UK). But we call them "payday lenders" here and they are scum preying upon the under-privileged and financially vulnerable.

Don't get me started in ambulance chasers; more scum there too.
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The same here; 100%
 
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