Some providers of short term loans have been singled out for criticism after offering cash to students in lieu of student loans backed by the Government, instant cash loan experts recently reported.
Consumer bodies, student groups, and debt charities have all come down hard on the payday advance providers who offer their services as an alternative, calling suggestions that payday lending should be part of the everyday financial planning of students ‘irresponsible.’ Others, such as National Union of Students welfare vice-president, Pete Mercer, have leveled accusations of ‘predatory marketing’ tactics against the lenders.
The furore began when one consumer expert used social networking site Twitter to spread the news, calling companies that offer these loans to students a ‘moral disgrace.’ Others re-tweeted the original post and commented on it, with some referring to practices of this nature both misleading and exploitative.
In the wake of the incident, one major payday lender removed any mentions of the offer from its website, remarking that the information that had caused sparked the media frenzy was several years out of date, which led to the misunderstanding. The lender remarked that it is not its policy to actively target students as prospective borrowers.
This particular lender is usually quite responsible in its lending adverts, the consumer expert that initially blew the whistle remarked. However, regardless of whether the information was out of date or not, the expert added that the lender had ‘overstepped the line’ by comparing its services to official Government-backed loans.
The lender said that students were only a very small percentage of the company’s customers, though it did add that adult students that have a steady job should not be excluded from popular credit options.