Truth in Payday Lending: Ayde’s Story

Bank overdraft fees. Harassing phone calls. Falling behind on bills. Bankruptcy. Having to deal with just one of these issues is hard enough. In Ayde Saavedra’s case, she dealt with all of them at once. The Idaho mother of three originally took out loans—ranging between $700 and $1,000—from several payday lenders to fix her car.

Since taking out the original loan, Saaveedra says she has no idea how many times she’s had to take out others in order to pay back the initial amount.

“It was difficult to survive and also provide for my family while also paying back the loan, especially with the high interest rates,” Saavedra said.

The average payday loan comes with interest rates as high as 400%.

Her lenders, FastBucks, Check Into Cash, and Moneytree were all too happy to give Saaveedra the loan without any regard for her financial situation and what a loan with such interest rates might mean for her and her family.

In describing her experience using payday loans, Saavedra says it was extremely difficult.

“It was very frustrating because there was no way to afford it. It was highly stressful, and emotional as well,” said Saavedra.

Since receiving the loan, and trying to pay it back, Saavedra has had to endure harassing phone calls to her home at least twice a day. She has had to choose between paying off the loan and paying for her living expenses. The exorbitant interest fees and the debt trap she’s in has even resulted in bankruptcy, which has forced Saavedra to look for food at local food banks. Her personal appeals to her church have gone unanswered, too, and she says that she has asked her mother for help.

Though she still has loans out, Saveedra says she will not take out another one. Unfortunately, the damage has been done.

You can help fight back against these shady lenders and make sure that stories like Saavedra’s stop happening. Lend your support for a rule the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is considering that would curb predatory lending practices. Also, visit nclr.us/paydayloans to learn more about what we’re doing to keep payday lenders from further harming our communities.