According to certain editorial writers and politicians, I'm a predatory lender. Like a vulture, I swoop down on weakened victims and pick their pockets clean. I'm a bad dude, if my critics are right.
But they're dead wrong. I have worked for Advance America in Spartanburg for 11 years and made hundreds of small loans to people who needed the money for emergencies or other circumstances.
I am proud of my company and go to work everyday with confidence that I am making a positive contribution to my community. You've heard about the small minority of customers who borrow more than they can afford. When I find that's the case, I put them on an extended payment plan to help them out. Most use the service responsibly; it's the few who borrow more than they should that you read about.
You don't read about the single mom who came into my store crying. She has three children, one of whom has multiple sclerosis. She had to spend most of her paycheck on medicine for her child and literally did not have the money to feed her children.
She left my office with a $300 loan that allowed her to provide her family the basics until she got paid. She repaid it in two weeks.
A man visited my office recently and told me he and his wife moved to Spartanburg from Tennessee. Both got good jobs, but his wife was let go because her company downsized. They needed help to pay their bills, and I gave them a loan, which was repaid. The wife found a new job.
A woman came to the office. Her husband died the day before and she did not have the money to bury him. She sobbed as she described the helpless feeling of losing her mate unexpectedly and the indignity of her situation. She got her loan. Her husband got a proper burial.
A few days before Christmas, a single mother sat across my desk panic-stricken. She was due in traffic court the next day for a $300 violation and feared she would wind up in jail unless it was paid, leaving her son home alone over Christmas. She got the loan and her son had his mother during Christmas.
These stories are not unusual. In fact, many of my customers come to me as a last resort because life has hit them in the face and there's nowhere else to turn. They've tried the banks and credit unions and have been told no. Many have maxed out their credit cards. If I don't help them, no one will.
Sitting on the sidelines listening to the critics, it strikes me that they are gainfully employed, many by groups that exist to stir controversy. They have not walked a mile in the shoes of my customers yet claim to speak for them even though they do not know them.
Less than 5 percent of Advance America's customers do not repay their loans. Their median household income is more than $42,000 a year, and nearly half own their own homes. To get a loan, they must present proof of income and have an active checking account.
What about hiding the fees, as the critics claim? In every Advance America office there is a 24-by-36 poster on the wall that clearly states our fee is $15 for every $100 loan. Moreover, we are required to review the contract with the customer before the consumer signs it. It is our obligation to make sure every requirement is clearly understood and it is the customers' obligation to understand it before they sign it.
Both North Carolina and Georgia banned payday loans, with bad consequences. A staff study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York concluded the absence of payday loans in those states left consumers without a responsible credit option and forced them to seek alternatives that can lead to long-term financial problems.
Perhaps in response to these facts, few critics admit to wanting a ban in South Carolina. But they would block the loans in such a way that would prohibit me from making loans to those who need it most.
I'm just one of 3,000 people who work in this state's payday industry. Critics don't appreciate me, but that is more than offset by the satisfaction I get from helping people. It's the appreciation from customers that matters.
But they're dead wrong. I have worked for Advance America in Spartanburg for 11 years and made hundreds of small loans to people who needed the money for emergencies or other circumstances.
I am proud of my company and go to work everyday with confidence that I am making a positive contribution to my community. You've heard about the small minority of customers who borrow more than they can afford. When I find that's the case, I put them on an extended payment plan to help them out. Most use the service responsibly; it's the few who borrow more than they should that you read about.
You don't read about the single mom who came into my store crying. She has three children, one of whom has multiple sclerosis. She had to spend most of her paycheck on medicine for her child and literally did not have the money to feed her children.
She left my office with a $300 loan that allowed her to provide her family the basics until she got paid. She repaid it in two weeks.
A man visited my office recently and told me he and his wife moved to Spartanburg from Tennessee. Both got good jobs, but his wife was let go because her company downsized. They needed help to pay their bills, and I gave them a loan, which was repaid. The wife found a new job.
A woman came to the office. Her husband died the day before and she did not have the money to bury him. She sobbed as she described the helpless feeling of losing her mate unexpectedly and the indignity of her situation. She got her loan. Her husband got a proper burial.
A few days before Christmas, a single mother sat across my desk panic-stricken. She was due in traffic court the next day for a $300 violation and feared she would wind up in jail unless it was paid, leaving her son home alone over Christmas. She got the loan and her son had his mother during Christmas.
These stories are not unusual. In fact, many of my customers come to me as a last resort because life has hit them in the face and there's nowhere else to turn. They've tried the banks and credit unions and have been told no. Many have maxed out their credit cards. If I don't help them, no one will.
Sitting on the sidelines listening to the critics, it strikes me that they are gainfully employed, many by groups that exist to stir controversy. They have not walked a mile in the shoes of my customers yet claim to speak for them even though they do not know them.
Less than 5 percent of Advance America's customers do not repay their loans. Their median household income is more than $42,000 a year, and nearly half own their own homes. To get a loan, they must present proof of income and have an active checking account.
What about hiding the fees, as the critics claim? In every Advance America office there is a 24-by-36 poster on the wall that clearly states our fee is $15 for every $100 loan. Moreover, we are required to review the contract with the customer before the consumer signs it. It is our obligation to make sure every requirement is clearly understood and it is the customers' obligation to understand it before they sign it.
Both North Carolina and Georgia banned payday loans, with bad consequences. A staff study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York concluded the absence of payday loans in those states left consumers without a responsible credit option and forced them to seek alternatives that can lead to long-term financial problems.
Perhaps in response to these facts, few critics admit to wanting a ban in South Carolina. But they would block the loans in such a way that would prohibit me from making loans to those who need it most.
I'm just one of 3,000 people who work in this state's payday industry. Critics don't appreciate me, but that is more than offset by the satisfaction I get from helping people. It's the appreciation from customers that matters.
