520 percent interest?THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S office last week asked a judge to order a Jonesboro payday lender to cease business, claiming in a lawsuit that the company charged interest rates as high as 520 percent. The news release from Attorney General Mike Beebe's office used the same word that Arkansas Business has used in the past--"unconscionable Unusually harsh and shocking to the conscience; that which is so grossly unfair that a court will proscribe it. When a court uses the word unconscionable to describe conduct, it means that the conduct does not conform to the dictates of conscience. ." Not to mention that it's illegal to charge such interest rates, no matter how tardy tar·dy adj. tar·di·er, tar·di·est 1. Occurring, arriving, acting, or done after the scheduled, expected, or usual time; late. 2. Moving slowly; sluggish. the state Supreme Court is in making that clear. The suit alleges that Money in a Flash.net of Arkansas LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control is not an Internet service provider Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. but rather offers cash loans at exorbitant interest rates. Owners Dwight Blake, Elaine Blake, Robert Blake, Robert, 1599–1657, English admiral. A merchant, he sat in the Short Parliament (1640) and joined the parliamentary side in the civil war. He defended Bristol, Lyme, and Taunton against royalist attacks (1643–45). Blake and Yvonne C. Clark also are named as defendants in the lawsuit. "This company not only charged outlandish out·land·ish adj. 1. Conspicuously unconventional; bizarre. See Synonyms at strange. 2. Strikingly unfamiliar. 3. Located far from civilized areas. 4. Archaic Of foreign origin; not native. interest rates to customers who received these rebates, but they also withdrew the money directly from their bank accounts if they did not pay in cash on schedule," Beebe said. "We will not allow this in Arkansas." We've been saying that for years, but they're still around, pretending to offer a helping hand while stomping on the throats of struggling Arkansans The lawsuit seeks to stop the loans and revoke the company's charter and calls for civil penalties and for the owners to make restitution. This kind of sham operation makes a mockery of laws that should protect Arkansans, not exploit them. Not only is Beebe right to go after it, he also should pursue legislation that would stop this kind of stuff from ever happening again. |
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