Back in August, when I first blogged about Western Sky Financial, whose ads feature Native Americans explaining that the loans offered by the company are “expensive,” but promise to get large amounts of money into your bank account overnight, I didn’t expect the response I’ve received. After about a hundred blog entries, I’m surprised to see that this single article has gained more responses than the other entries combined. Clearly, unsecured loans in general and Western Sky Financial in specific are hot buttons for blog readers. You can check out the entry by clicking here.
Be sure to leave a comment, but before you do, you might want to read what others have written before you.
Most comments question how something like this can be legal, a few question the limits of the loan agreement – particularly that any disputes would be handled by a Tribal Court, since the website states that the owner of Western Sky is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. A few thanked me for doing the math for them.
Since there were so many comments to the blog, I thought it was time to revisit the Western Skies and address some of the more typical thoughts. Wait…that’s not quite true. I’ve played with the idea of tapping out a sequel article for a while, it was one comment that threw me over the edge. It showed up in this morning’s e-mail, and it was exceptionally brief. “I notice you don’t recommend any alternatives,” the reader sent. I e-mailed a reply directly, but it bares repeating to the full audience. If a writer was scribbling about what a bad idea suicide is — if that author’s intent was to point out that suicide is bad, that it ends discussions of future alternatives, that it affects more than just the victim, and that one needs to carefully consider one’s place in the universe before committing the act — that’s enough. I don’t think there’s an implicit obligation for that writer to explore whether it’s better to use a rope over a gun or pills over a razor. Same kind of discussion here. Just because I intend to demonstrate just how expensive Western Sky’s loans are doesn’t mean I owe you fifty other ways to commit financial suicide. Critically speaking, an alternative for those hard up for cash and considering a loan through Western Sky or any other online sub-prime unsecured lender might be sticking up a gas station or bank, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
This article is idiotic. For that matter, any form of borrow is financial suicide right? Let’s consider that someone who has been blacklisted by the Federal Reserve Cartel and cannot get credit via that means has a rapidly wasting opportunity to which they are willing to trade of alot of money for. Such as, a loved one is dying and they only have one last opportunity to see them but need to travel across the country and would be willing to trade one months salary for that opportunity. After all, you can always make money, but you can’t get back lost time. Or perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity shows up and if you don’t take it on the spot it will be gone forever.
To compare a high interest loan to suicide is illogical and fails to consider there is a continuum of interest rates available. Perhaps your reader was asking if there is something between the 120% APR of Western Sky and the 9% a bank would loan. Saying don’t borrow money ever is worthless to everyone, you might as well not even have written the article.
Plain green loans apparently will let you qualify up to $3000 at 59%. Still high, but no where near the ‘markup’ a credit card that creates money from nothing and charges a 20% interest rate is. The problem with the monopoly system is that you can’t get credit even if you are an able and trustworthy borrower. You can know the guy sitting at you local bank and him know you have the ability to pay, but if the computer rejects you because your CC debt ratio is high and you have to many recent open account, your done. I don’t understand the need for loan officers today since it’s all electronic anyways.
Perhaps you can point out someone that is between Plain green 59% and local bank 9%?
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I think what the author was trying to make people understand is that these types of loans are very expensive and will only get you into worse financial problems due to the high interest rate. No where in his reponse did he say about never borrowing from any lender (ie. bank, etc).
I just received an offer in the mail from Plain Green Loans, and don’t understand where you got the information of 59% interest. On this offer it clearly states 159.58% and that is for $2,000. I believe the interest is different depending on the amount you apply for.
I certainly get what you are saying about having a less than perfect credit score, but since most of these high interest, unsecured lenders aren’t backed by the BBB, I for one would be suspicious. Not to mention, you are putting, your SS # and bank information on the application on-line. That is another scary situation.
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