Payday loans can be a lifesaver when you have a sudden emergency and need a cash advance fast, but there can be a serious downside to this type of borrowing if you are not careful about who you borrow money from. The danger comes from excessive penalties that are charged on late payments by some of the less scrupulous payday lenders.
Payday loans are quite different to any other type of borrowing. They are a way of accessing extra cash extremely quickly and usually without any kind of credit check. The reason credit checks are not necessary is that payday loans are always for very short periods of time and for relatively small amounts of money. Provided you can demonstrate that you have a job and a bank account, the lender can be pretty sure of getting their money back.
The cost of a payday loan is usually a fixed amount, which will vary with the size of the loan. This charge in itself is perhaps not unreasonable for the service provided, but it is only appropriate as a one-off fee over that short time period. If you were to work out what that charge represented as an annual percentage rate (APR), you would see that it then became astronomical, perhaps a hundred times higher than a typical personal loan. This is because that charge is not meant to be applied over a period of time like the interest on a personal loan would be.
If you don't pay a payday loan back on the due date, you are leaving it open for the lender to apply extra interest or penalty charges. It has to be said that this is what happens all too frequently, and this is where many payday lenders really make their money, and is what they hope for and depend on. Once this process starts, the extra charges can very quickly amount to more than the original amount you borrowed. This leads to a cycle that is impossible to break out of, because the debt is for more that you are ever going to have spare in any month.
It must be said that there are still plenty of responsible lenders that have fair and reasonable systems, so if you don't pay a payday loan back when you are meant to, you can extend the period of borrowing without ridiculous charges. The important thing is to check this kind of information before entering into a loan agreement with a company. Many people focus too much on who can give the money the fastest at the expense of who is the fairest lender who will be reasonable if you are unable to stick to your original agreement.
If you don't pay a payday loan back and you do find yourself in a situation where you have mounting debts from extra charges, there are some important things to bear in mind with regard to how you get out of that situation. First and foremost, do not take out any more payday loans. They are strictly for covering exceptional expenditure, which can be paid back the following month. They are never, ever a suitable way to deal with a debt problem or ongoing shortage of cash.
As debts mount up extremely quickly with payday loans, you need to seek help quickly. Once you know you have a problem that you cannot see a way out of, do not delay in taking action. A debt management company will be a good place to start and you can apply quickly and easily online. What happens next is that they will contact you to go through your finances and advise you on your best course of action.
You can avoid the nightmare of a payday loan debt cycle by choosing your lender carefully in the first place. You should avoid any bad situations if you stick to well established and reputable companies that have a long record of successful business, and lots of satisfied customers who have already used them. It is perfectly possible to find lenders who are both responsible and trustworthy as well as having fast and simple application processes.
The best approach is to use payday loan companies that are recommended following research and reviews, to come up with a list of a few that you know to be reputable and well established. You then have a few safe ones to apply to in case any reject your application
