Would you borrow $5K to be on the hook for paying back ... $40K?

[joshuagraham]

This is amazing. Evidently this is a bank associated with a Native American nation (i.e., Indian), so I suppose that state usury laws don't apply.

http://boingboing.net/2012/02/17/5075-loan-from-western-sky-f.html

Western Sky Loans boasts that it's "not a Payday Loan!" Whatever it is, a 116.73% APR on a $5,075 loan seems a bit steep. After 84 monthly payments you'll have spent $40,872.72 paying it back.

[LadyInTheRed]

Or you can borrow $850 for 12 months and pay 342.86%!

[bcohen]

I have seen those ads on late night TV, but I haven't seen them recently. Maybe the state attorney general cracked down on them? Anyways, the thing that amazed me about those ads was the way that the Truth In Lending disclosures were flashed on the screen so quickly that it was not humanly possible to read them. Most TV ads for finance products (credit cards, car loans/leases, etc.) put the disclosures in small print, but these people not only do that, but they show it for only a split second. I am not sure of the legality of that.

[SMinGA2]

Even if you don't see the disclosures and take a loan without understanding the terms, most people have common sense enough to know the old adage: if it seems to good to be true...

Often 'life happens' but sometimes we do stupid stuff and then can't wait to place the blame elsewhere.

[kornellred]

One of many reasons why I do not own or watch television.