By David Pilley on July 13, 2011
.jpg.aspx?width=75&height=75) Recently, I typed the word “faxless” into the Yahoo! search engine. A list of topics immediately popped up underneath, and “faxless payday loans” was at the top of the list. I deleted the search and typed in “faxl”. Still, “faxless payday loans” was the first topic to surface. I pressed the enter button and went to the first site, which happened to have the name "easyonlinepaydayloan.com." Imagine that, four letters, enter, a click of the mouse, and that’s how easy an offer for a faxless payday loan can be. Of course, you also know this is how easy it is to get into more debt, so let’s review the website before you are tempted.
The website has a link at the top of the page explaining how a no-fax payday loan works. You simply fill out the online form and the company matches you with a payday lender. (Note that the site does not offer loans, just lenders from whom you can get a loan.) When you get matched, you then supply information you would typically give for any loan application, such as your monthly income and when your next paycheck is due. Receive your loan, repay your loan, and it sounds so simple, much simpler said than done, of course.
Of course, this and other important information, such as “Tips for Repaying Your Loan” and “Terms of Service” are all in small, hard-to-read, let-me-get-my-glasses print. The first thing your eyes will be drawn to is a blue box for a “requested loan amount” and an orange ellipse with the words “GET CASH.” Scroll down and you will find a map of the United States. You can click on your home state, where you will find the company’s attempt to build a rapport with you. I clicked on my home state of North Carolina, and the first thing I was reading was a paragraph about NASCAR, about how Tar Heels “know about motor racing” and that the NASCAR Hall of Fame is in Charlotte. That’s a nice tidbit of information, but what does that have to do with payday loans? Well, after some basic census information and a few pie charts, the site segues (brilliantly, I might say) into saying how cars are expensive and how you can use a payday loan to get current on your car loan. Click on another state (Georgia, for example) and you’ll find the site telling how you can fund a camping trip with a faxless payday loan. In another state, such as California, you will find information about its numerous vacation spots for the whole family. In the less populated, straight-line border states like North Dakota and Montana, it just goes straight into offering you a payday loan, citing how you shouldn’t have to wait in line!
This combination of flashy graphics and sweet talk is the hallmark behind successful advertising. The seller tries to find common ground with you, and before you know it you’re looking at an amount of interest that is more than the amount of the loan. I’ll end my article pretty much the same way I end every article about payday loans: I’m not saying there is absolutely no situation where you should consider a payday loan. However, you should get a loan only if you can afford it, and you need to see through the glimmer and read the fine print before accepting one.
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