A guy I went to high school with stopped by last night. That was odd, because I hadn't seen him since we graduated. "In the neighborhood, you know." Yeah, right. He was up to something.

After half an hour, I finally figured it out. He said, "You work for that payday loan place, right? Could you bring the paper-work over here to apply for a loan, and I'll come by tomorrow evening and fill it out? Because I can't get off work in the daytime and it's hard to get across town on the weekend, and blah blah blah."

Catching up on old times was just a front. He was embarrassed to walk into a local payday loan place and apply for a loan, where people knew him.

Okay, I can see that. If you walk into a pawn shop, you can act like you're just looking for something cheap to buy. If you walk into a bank, nobody knows you're taking out a loan. But when you walk into a check cashing store or a payday loan place, everybody knows why you're there: you're short on money.

There's nothing wrong with that. If Donald Trump can go bankrupt, anybody can run into money trouble. But sharing the details of your financial life with your friends and neighbors isn't something that everybody's comfortable with. And heck, it really isn't any of their business.

I said to him, "Here's my computer. Sit down and get a loan." Not that I wouldn't love to bring my boss another customer, but sheesh, not if I have to carry everything around and keep it all hush hush.

He was skeptical at first. "Online? Is that safe?"

I told him the same thing I'll say here. If you've got enough sense to figure out in person which businesses are sleazy and which are honest, you're smart enough to do it online. Because it's easier.

Just search for online loans, or payday loans, or quick cash loans, or anything like that, and you'll find dozens of companies that want your business and will walk you through the steps. If you're worried about running into a scam, here are some things to check:

• If you find a company you want to do business with, search consumer websites like Ripoff Report, or just search the company's name along with the word "scam" or "ripoff." You'll see some crazy stuff--people complaining because OMG! the company actually expected me to pay the loan back! But then sometimes there's not-so-crazy stuff like a company making people pay fees for a loan up front, then disappearing and never providing the loan money. You can tell pretty quick when there's a pattern of bad business and when there's just a few disgruntled customers.

• Don't pay fees up front. Seriously, that's a scam. Online payday loan places are just like store-front loans, you give them your information, they give you money, you pay it back along with the fees when it's due. No up-front cost.
• At an online loan company's website, look for a link to the "privacy policy" or "FAQ." If you have questions, there are probably answers there. They may also have a phone number you can call to talk to a live person.
• If you're worried about receiving spam, sign up for a new free email address from Gmail, Yahoo mail, or any of the free email places. Use it for the online loan, and if you get a bunch of spam, so what? Just let the email account die after the loan is over.
• Whenever you type in any personal information, look for the "lock" symbol on your screen and check that the address starts with "https" instead of "http." That means your online loan application is being sent over a secure connection that's coded so nobody can steal it. Which isn't always true in person. Remind me to tell you about the time somebody left a stack of customers loan documents in his car that was broken into.
• See if they're licensed to do business in your state, if your state requires it. Also check to see if they're a member of the CFSA or another organization which can help you if you have problems. Your state attorney general's office can probably answer questions about licensing where you live, since every state is different.
• If they want your "electronic signature" on something, treat it just like a real signature, and read carefully before you sign, er, I mean, type.

Another nice thing about online payday loans is that you can compare prices quickly, without running all over town. One's just as easy to do business with as the next, but their prices and terms are all there with a quick click, and you can pick the best.

Some folks like doing all their business face to face, and I'm glad for people like that. But doing some things online really makes sense, and getting loans is one of them, if you like privacy and being able to shop around, and do things on your own time. Your computer--good for more than just Facebook and p0rn. Who would have suspected?

Similar posts:

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• How to Get Out of the Payday Loan Trap
• Erase Half Your Debt with Credit Card Debt Settlement
• Bad Credit, Auto Loans, and First Things First
• Installment Loans, Even With Bad Credit

9 Comments

manx1
8:45 p.m. February 5
Don't you think if someone is embarrassed that people will see them doing something, they shouldn't do it? That's their conscience telling them it's wrong and they know it. You should encourage them to listen to their conscience, not help them do it in secret.

dogger123
9:32 p.m. February 5
do you poo?

Anonymous
9:55 p.m. February 5
LOL

greendragon
10:16 p.m. February 5
Only when people are watching

dogger123
10:44 p.m. February 5
it be wrong otherwise

greendragon
10:49 p.m. February 5
How about being fruitful and multiplying. Out in the open for that too?

ghw
10:57 p.m. February 5
You get public woohoo points for that.

SirFox
11:02 p.m. February 5
What about reticulating splines.

PaydayLoner
11:49 p.m. February 5
Settle down with the Sims, guys. But yes, that makes the point. There's no need to let your neighbors watch everything you do.

Comments are closed for this post.

About Paydayloner's Blog
Welcome to this website. You might run across information here about payday loans, getting quick cash with bad credit, how to avoid loan scams and what to do if you don't, maybe even how to get out of debt for good. Though if you figure out that last one, let me know. The rest is just useless musings and pointless stuff.