Payday Loan Lead Generators Settle FTC Charges

Two payday loan lead generators have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that their Internet advertising stated payday loan costs and repayment periods without disclosing annual percentage rate (APR) information as federal law requires. The settlements require the respondents to disclose APR information in similar payday loan ads in the future and to comply in all other respects with the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and its implementing Regulation Z. APR information helps consumers compare the costs of these payday loans with others and with alternative forms of short-term credit.

In typical payday loan transactions, consumers receive cash in exchange for their personal checks or authorization to debit their bank accounts, and lenders and consumers agree that consumers’ checks will not be cashed or their accounts debited until a designated future date. Payday loans have high fees and short repayment periods, which translate to high annual rates, and they often are due on the borrower’s next payday, usually about every two weeks. For more information about payday loans, see the FTC’s consumer education publication, “Payday Loans = Costly Cash,” available at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt060.shtm.

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