[mom-from-missouri]

I think they are also scary. Used to have co-workers who used them. I worked nights then, and it was not uncommon for those places to come to our workplace and bang on the door at 2 a.m. yelling that they wanted their money and giving out threats. Numerous times we called the cops. Needless to say, I work for a major major telecommunications company with a security department that works round the clock. Finally my company ended up putting a restraining order against the payday loan places to prevent them from coming on to company property. We could see these guys on the monitor thru the security camera on the door and needless to say they were...UGLY dirty mean looking types.
On the flip side, we do have one place in town that is owned and operated by a christian family, charges a much much lower interest fee, works with people, and will even give people who are really out of luck excess produce from their farm, diapers and clothing. The local paper did a write up about them after they helped a family with no insurance who lost everything in a fire-they gave the people a loan, then when found out they had no address from the fire, paid for a hotel & meals for them for a week out of their own pockets until the red cross could find them housing. Quite the opposite don't you think?? So, I guess its just a matter of principals and values.