Wonga sponsors football club

[Tawnyowl]

I cant stand payday loans ,the trouble they cause, obviously targeting people with limited funds, and must really enjoy when people miss the payment days. I get visions of them celebrating at the end of the month by ringing bells and throwing partys when the charges and ripoff interest kicks in. Imagine my horror when Blackpool football club team suddenly paraded their team shirts with xxxxxy Wonga all over them .Sickening. due to limited funds i only listen to the matches on radio.Certainly could not watch footballers,my favorate team running round with that load of xxxx written on their shirts.Blood pressure could not stand it.My opinion only and dont mean to offend or upset anyone.

[rebel11]

Hi tawn

 

Have to agree, I can't see that sponsorship lasting long.

[Spainish_Inquisition]

Hi tawn

 

Have to agree, I can't see that sponsorship lasting long.

 

Unfortunately I disagree. Modern day football is just as soulless as the companies they parade on the front of their shirts.

 

As long as Wonga keep paying the sponsorship then Blackpool won't have any complaints in having them on their shirts.

 

I did read somewhere though that it was only a one-season Sponsorship so here's hoping they don't renew, eh?!

[sillygirl1]

Maybe the clued up supporters will vote with their feet and Blackpool will realise the error of their ways.

[rebel11]

I disagree, because football is to do with supporters and the huge profile. Football knows it needs to be seen as cleaner then clean. It's a billion pound industry, if

a sponsor is found to be at fault, that sponsorship would end like yesterday. Thats a fact.

 

Unfortunately I disagree. Modern day football is just as soulless as the companies they parade on the front of their shirts.

 

As long as Wonga keep paying the sponsorship then Blackpool won't have any complaints in having them on their shirts.

 

I did read somewhere though that it was only a one-season Sponsorship so here's hoping they don't renew, eh?!

[Tawnyowl]

Their annual percentage rate charged is 2,689 per cent,explain that away.Goverment action needed .Bit rusty after being off the forums for a while.In America i thought these firms had their rates capped.Will check.

 

 

[sillygirl1]

Canada has banned this type of loan entirely, I believe the cap on them is only valid in some US states but is 25%.... snag is there are 13 different ways to calculate an annual APR.

[Tawnyowl]

Going to go on a mission and find out more about these firms and write my usual letters to downing street etc.Bit of info here.Got to try something,there is something of the night about these firms.Reminds me of the sub prime racket that swept most of america and the uk albeit on a smaller scale. Causing misery for many. Bit of info here Payday loan firms come under fire for targeting the poor

 

 

• 
  

 

 

• Online cash lender Wonga.com charges a massive 2689% APR.
  

 

 

 

10 Oct 2010

The poor and unemployed are being targeted by credit companies offering loans of more than 2500% APR.

Campaigners are warning that “payday loans” – which provide cash until payday – online loans and logbook loans (taken out using a customer’s car as collateral) are potentially ruinous.

Lenders are now promoting their loans on Facebook, some offering cash within an hour at huge interest rates.

Citizens Advice Scotland has seen a 10% increase in clients reporting problems with consumer debt in the past year, with the average debt now around £20,000. Kevin Dryburgh, of CAB Scotland, said: “Since the credit crunch more people are ... increasingly turning to high cost credit to meet their needs.”

The UK consumer credit market is huge, with £7.5 billion loaned in 2008. And according to Consumer Focus, the number of people taking out payday loans has quadrupled in four years.

Payday loans originated in the US, where many states have now effectively banned them by placing caps on the interest rates that lenders can charge. This has led to some firms expanding into the UK – five of the seven biggest UK operators are US-owned.

High street lenders Cheque Centre and The Money Shop are both owned by American firms; The Money Shop by Dollar Financial Corp. According to Consumer Focus, Dollar Financial Corp supplied 25% of all payday loans in the UK in 2009. Online lender QuickQuid is owned by CashEuroNet, a subsidiary of CashUSANet based in Delaware.

One firm, Wonga.com, has an iPhone app for instant loans – at 2689% APR. The firm is owned by holding company Quickbridge (UK) Limited. Its shareholders include Accel Investments, a venture capital group from Silicon Valley.

Damon Gibbons, from the Centre for Responsible Credit, said: “It is absurd that these US companies should be able to market their products at low-income consumers in the UK with less regulation than in the States.”

Peter Kelly, director of the Poverty Alliance, says loan companies and credit providers are targeting the poor: “These companies often target disadvantaged areas, they will operate in areas associated with poverty.”

Wonga said the firm declined around four out of five first-time applicants, if staff believed they couldn’t “comfortably afford our service”. A spokesperson said: “APR is the wrong measure for a loan of a few days or weeks and it bears no relation to actual interest charged. That’s why we always show the full cost of repayment very clearly.”

A spokesman for The Money Shop said it is regulated by the Office of Fair Trading and that it is “a professional and fully regulated lender”.

Alex King, vice-president of UK operations for QuickQuid, said: “QuickQuid actively works with those customers who default on repayments to find a fair resolution.”

Cheque Centre did not respond to a request for comment.

 

The vicious circle of loan and repayment

 

 

Allison Primus, 38, started using payday loans when her husband lost his job in 2008. She initially took out a loan of £200 from QuickQuid.

Allison said: “The total amount repayable from the first loan was £260, but that still left me £60 short, so I took another loan of £500. My whole salary was going to pay the debt but I still kept applying for more loans because I had no money. After six months I had paid over £1000 in interest without reducing the balance, so I said this has to stop … in the end they agreed to me paying £50 per month. I still have six months to go.

Edited November 19, 2010 by tawnyowl

[Tawnyowl]

I remember while looking at the subprime problem in Detroit where a subprime firm hired a church mission in the poorest area i have ever seen offering the minister a fee for every subprime loan taken out.Well Blackpool football club using poor peoples money,where most of Wongas money comes from is no advert for a great football club.Take them off now and bin them but dont upset wonga,or they will have the shirt off your backs in the blink of a eye saving you the trouble.

[rebel11]

Just to illustrate how concerned companys are to protect their image. Barclaycard tell customers they've transfered the account to a DCA for collection i.e.

Mercers etc. however Mercers is a part of Barclaycard, offices next door. By doing this they can distance themselves from the DCA's conduct. Barclays sponsor the Premiership, viewed in 130 counties around the world.

[Tawnyowl]

Bit of info on the american side----nov3rd 2010 ----

In one American poll you may have missed yesterday, the good people of Montana voted to slam the door on payday lenders.

These are the legal loan sharks who pile eye-watering interest rates on short-term loans to working people who struggle from one month to the next.

Montana is now the 16th US state where payday lending is effectively banned thanks to a 36% limit on the annual interest rate lenders can charge.

Here in the UK, it's pretty much a free-for-all. Lenders charge up to 4,400% annual interest in a booming market that has *quadrupled in size since the credit crunch. Bit of info on the uk side -----

New MP Stella Creasy yesterday launched a bill aimed at limiting the total amount lenders can charge, a measure already in place of half of EU countries.

"We can't stop people borrowing money," she told us. "But we can do things to protect them."

She's also hoping for *government support in her crusade to give lenders like these a much tougher time.Will try to get some more info.

[rebel11]

Whats needed are fixed fee loans. Borrow £500 pay £35 = In total £535.

[ihateyes]

I agree/disagree. We dont care about the interest when we apply. we are desparate for cash, the bank other instutions wont give cos we are high risk (defaulted on something previously-in most case). We only complain when it goes wrong. Cos its a short term loan a apr of 25% would not make the companies money.

 

Im sure these companies end of writing a large number of loans off a year,

 

 

Im not backing them up, but we need to wear specs from both sides. I have fallen foul of these companies before, ie wonga. I think their methods of how they decide to tea leaf from bank accounts should be out lawed.

[Tawnyowl]

I agree/disagree. We dont care about the interest when we apply. we are desparate for cash, the bank other instutions wont give cos we are high risk (defaulted on something previously-in most case). We only complain when it goes wrong. Cos its a short term loan a apr of 25% would not make the companies money.

 

Im sure these companies end of writing a large number of loans off a year,

 

 

Im not backing them up, but we need to wear specs from both sides. I have fallen foul of these companies before, ie wonga. I think their methods of how they decide to tea leaf from bank accounts should be out lawed.

Hi i hateyes,i understand the desperate for cash and banks etc not willing to lend.So the vultures arrive and pick the bones, whats left clean.Capping rates will finish these firms, good (my view only).I cant see many options for people trapped when no other credit is available.Perhaps http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_union will power up and more people climb on board,i dont know.There are many credit unions in your area good luck Tawnyowl

[Tawnyowl]

Latest on Wongas sponsorship deals.:-xLondon mayor Boris Johnson allows Wonga to sponsor free transport on New Years Eve.Why,mmm,everyone half cut on their mobiles getting top ups.MP Stella Creasy says "I hope the mayor will change his mind on taking their cash and profiting from their exorbitant fees".Boris tell them to stuff their sponsorship do you really want to be involved with these kind of firms.Whats next i wonder.Any one got any ideas.

[Tawnyowl]

Meanwhile, buskers are complaining that they have been inexplicably banned from performing on the network after 6pm on the same night, usually their busiest of the year.

It amounts to a peculiar New Year message for London. Debt good. Live music bad. You know, I think I'll stay home.

http://www.workingforwalthamstow.org/2010/12/press_release_walthamstow_mp_c.html

Would be a shame if the posters that are probably appearing on tube and buses were sprayed over with the slogan Wonga Is Wronga with a nice message from Boris saying "I beat Wonga".Would then be a hero,having been the only person to have beaten one of the legal, mmm loansharks. My view only of course,but sooner or later they will be beaten.Then it will be all eyes on the next rip off merchants appearing. http://www.workingforwalthamstow.org/2010/12/my_letter_to_boris_asking_him.html

Anyone know where the deal was set up and when, rumours have it that the deal is worth 500-700 thousand.Many people will have paid towards this with their fees.As someone said "There is no such thing as free travel"

Edited December 27, 2010 by tawnyowl

[Tawnyowl]

Just in case you find yourself unable to pay due to all sorts of reasons.,this maybe some advice to think about. - They set up their system to automatically try and collect money every day until they get what they want - if the whole amount doesn't go through when they try for it, they then try £50.00 at a time. If you read around the Payday loans forum you will see this has happened to lots of other people. The only way to outwit them is to report your card lost to the bank before you let them know you can't pay or before the date they are due to take the payment. You can then negotiate a repayment plan that suits you and pay via bank transfer.Raided from another thread,thanks again, Ell-enn.I have a feeling we are becoming unpopular with the Payday loansharks.Good.More advice on repayment plans and free help available here. http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/debt_solutions/debt_repayment.php

Edited January 2, 2011 by tawnyowl

[Tawnyowl]

Do i sense a bit of a rebellion coming.Are some fans getting sick of the legalloansharks involvement with football clubs.I will not say to much because i do not want anyone to think i am biassed.

We want Wonga off our clubs' websites

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/mar/27/wonga-off-club-websites

[ihateyes]

Do i sense a bit of a rebellion coming.Are some fans getting sick of the legalloansharks involvement with football clubs.I will not say to much because i do not want anyone to think i am biassed.

We want Wonga off our clubs' websites

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/mar/27/wonga-off-club-websites

 

As i posted on another thread, web ads are generally targeted at your web browsing, so if your seaching payday companies, then thats what the banner ads will be.

[sillygirl1]

I get ads for payday loans when I log onto my local newspaper site and I have now found a link there to turn off that option.... just because I answer PDL queries on here does NOT mean I am looking for a loan - learnt my lesson a long long time ago and stay on here as part of the 'therapy' to stay off.

 

I should also like to report my fruit machine addiction is beaten, haven't played them in a year now, instead I put a £1 in the pub quiz machine, the other day I got £10 back, I frequently get £3 or £5 back for my £1 so a better result - and I also put a £1 stamp on my card when I shop in a particular store, got £15 so far saved for Xmas, I occasionally put a £1 on the lottery but haven't won in a while. So my £5 I use for 'fun' gets to go a much longer way.

 

There should be an option to choose your 'targetted' advertising. I don't want nor need nor can afford loans, but I would like advertising on other things (I also don't need body parts enlarged or shrunk either!).

[Iloveathens]

Football cleaner than clean, you are having a laugh aren't you. It is full of racism, sexism and homophobia so why should someone like Wonga worry them. Don't misunderstand me, I hate wonga and all PDL companies, they are evil and pray on the weak and vulnerable. And it is not just an issue of this current government, the so called government of the working man let them happen. Sorry not a political statement, just a comment

I disagree, because football is to do with supporters and the huge profile. Football knows it needs to be seen as cleaner then clean. It's a billion pound industry, if

a sponsor is found to be at fault, that sponsorship would end like yesterday. Thats a fact.

[Tawnyowl]

#SaveBianca! Ask Your MP to help end legal loan sharking on Tuesday 22 May 2012!

 

Hello!

The vote for proposals to tackle legal loan sharking will take place on Tuesday 22 May 2012. Please ask your MP to vote for amendment 40 of the Financial Services Bill and help give British consumers the same protection from payday loan companies other consumers across the world enjoy!

In a House of Commons debate in April the Government Minister responsible for this bill Mark Hoban agreed the Financial Conduct Authority should be able to regulate the cost of the credit, but refused to back this amendment which would explicitly authorise the FCA to do this. They plan to tell their MPs to vote against it and so stop this proposal becoming law.

Independent consumer legal advisers are clear – without explicit authority to do this the regulator will struggle to use new powers as these companies will contest any such action in the courts. The Office of Fair Trading has also admitted the involvement of ‘expensive lawyers’ in cases has influenced their ability to act, highlighting the need to address this problem.

This amendment is a key tool in the fight to tackle legal loan sharking - Fines will only have a limited impact on an industry which is making millions lending money at astronomical rates of interest to British families. On the otherhand, capping their charges could send a strong signal about what costs of credit will be tolerated in the UK. Its the first step towards securing industry wide caps on the total costs of credit, and so giving British consumers the same protection from these loans that others around the world enjoy.

Below is a sample text to use to email your MP to ask them to vote for this amendment - you can find the contact details of your MP here. You can also help by tweeting about the campaign using the #savebianca hashtag in reference to the recent Eastenders storyline on this subject!

Help me make a difference to the families in our communities struggling financially because of these companies by taking action- let's together end legal loan sharking in Britain!

 

 

Stella Creasy

Labour and Co-operative MP for Walthamstow

p.s. Please also

share this email with your family and friends to ask them to defy the Government and support this amendment on Tuesday!

Suggested text to send to your local MP

Dear XXX

As one of your constituents I'd like to ask you to vote on Tuesday 22 May for an amendment 40 to Clause 22 of the Financial Services Bill to help tackle legal loan sharking.

In an industry making so much money from lending to people at excessive rates of interest, fines will do little to curb their behaviour-

one firm posted a pre-tax profit of £162m last year, and another paid its chief executive £1.6m. On the otherhand, giving the new regulator explicit powers to cap the charges they can set would send a strong message to this industry about the costs for loans that should be considered acceptable and the way they can treat British consumers. It could make a real difference to the millions across our country now struggling financially who are borrowing from these companies to make ends meet by encouraging firms to reduce their charges.

Ministers claim they support the spirit of the amendment but refuse to vote for it- legal advisors are clear that without explicit powers to act, these companies will be able to challenge action in the courts. Don't let the fight against legal loan sharking become a fee generating opportunity for lawyers- please vote for this amendment on Tuesday and join the fight to end legal loan sharking in Britain.

I look forward to reading that you voted for this amendment,

[Lorna2010]

Hi

 

For anyone dealing with Wonga debts, I have a story for you. I used wonga regularly with no problems, every time I borrowed and paid back, my agreed amount went up.................. you know the rest. Anyway I got into difficulty, contacted them to no avail and they cleaned out my bank account and left me penniless. Once my tears had stopped and I had gained some strength, I decided to fight back. So I used the internet to get all the people associated with wonga, both here and abroad, got all the CEO names, and everyone connected with Blackpool Football Club. I wrote my letter outlining what had happened, copied one to each person and sent them off recorded delivery with a mention that I would be contacting the local blackpool radio station with my story also, I could not have cared less at that time of the embarrassment to myself. Within a couple of days the money they had taken was back in my account. I arranged a payback and have since got rid of this debt, never to use them again EVER!!

[renegadeimp]

Hi

 

For anyone dealing with Wonga debts, I have a story for you. I used wonga regularly with no problems, every time I borrowed and paid back, my agreed amount went up.................. you know the rest. Anyway I got into difficulty, contacted them to no avail and they cleaned out my bank account and left me penniless. Once my tears had stopped and I had gained some strength, I decided to fight back. So I used the internet to get all the people associated with wonga, both here and abroad, got all the CEO names, and everyone connected with Blackpool Football Club. I wrote my letter outlining what had happened, copied one to each person and sent them off recorded delivery with a mention that I would be contacting the local blackpool radio station with my story also, I could not have cared less at that time of the embarrassment to myself. Within a couple of days the money they had taken was back in my account. I arranged a payback and have since got rid of this debt, never to use them again EVER!!

 

Now you know why we call them "legal loan sharks".

[sillygirl1]

Nice one! I bet they were not happy about the story going to all the senior people it could. I think part of the problem with PDL companies is staff are low paid (if they are paid) and possibly have a high commission basis contract. They were probably after the commission to bump their salary up to a decent wage.