Beltway Area Indymedia

Audio: 3 min 30 sec
On August 29th, the campaign against DC's payday lending loan sharks visited the Check 'n Go outlet on 4011 S Capitol st in Anacostia. THis is a place where a loan of $400 can cost a borrower over $2,200 to pay back, at an interest rate of 550%!

As people gathered outside with signs protraying sharks and yelling through bullhorns, Check 'n Go emptied out. People were asked to call Marion Barry, the City Councilmember for Ward 8, asking him to vote for bill 17-132, the Payday Loan Consumer Protection Act of 2007.

This bill would close the loophole that exempts payday lenders from caps in interest rates charged by institutions such as banks. Although payday lenders whine that this would put them out of business, I'm sure someone would find a way to make money at 24%-capitalism abhors a vacuum.

These protests are starting to really hurt payday lenders. The Check 'n Go outlet in Bladensburg whines about losing $70,000 in business during two days of protest. Not only that, they even tried to blame protesters for an incident several weeks later where the manager got his ass kicked by someone yelling over and over about "Loan Sharks!"