Utah senator fights to protect payday loans

Students are not only stressed about the finals, but also about how they will pay for the coming semester. Tuition for the winter semester is due on December 24, and students are rushing for money just to pay it.

Many parents advise against using payday loans, but a senator from Utah is protecting them.

While it may seem surprising, Senator Curtis Bramble R-Provo sponsored several bills that were passed keeping payday loans in the state.

“For all of those who oppose the breakdown industry, what’s the alternative? If we were to just make payday loans illegal in the state of Utah, pass a law that removes them all, it won’t stop people from going online, ”Bramble said. “That doesn’t stop people from finding loan sharks, I mean the kind of loan sharks you see in Hollywood who break their knees if you don’t pay back.”

One of those bills requires payday lenders to have a large, bold font to disclose their interest rates in the hope of preventing financial abuse.

“We don’t protect payday lenders, in fact, we sue, our statutes sue bad actors,” Bramble said.

Utah is one of the only states to require rigorous loan disclosure in addition to preventing pyramid schemes. The state is strict on how payday lenders can refinance a loan.

“I am not sympathetic to payday lenders. I sympathize with the citizen who works paycheck to paycheck and maybe had something in mind, ”Bramble said.

Even though the law protects people who use payday loans, it is up to the individuals to make a plan to come out of their financial crisis.

“As a financial advisor, I’d rather work with individuals, help them understand budgeting, help them understand, you know, saving for a rainy day, living within your means, that sort of thing. But that’s not the role of government, ”Bramble said.

Bramble said Utah is ahead of the law and making sure people don’t throw their money out the window.

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