Relief program to offer quick loans for troops in a pinch

[unhappycamper]

The Navy Marine Corps Relief Society will be taking their Quick Assist Loan program to all full-service offices Jan. 23. This means active-duty Navy and Marine Corps personnel can get a $300 loan with no interest, no questions asked in an effort to provide servicemembers an alternative to predatory lenders.



Relief program to offer quick loans for troops in a pinch
By Allison Batdorff, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, January 9, 2008

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A $300 loan with no interest and no questions asked.

No, it’s not free money — you have to pay it back in 10 months — but the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society’s new Quick Assist Loan program offers servicemembers a quick financial fix and an alternative to predatory lenders.

QAL cuts the usual paperwork and aims to get the $300 in the hands of active-duty Navy or Marine Corps personnel within 15 minutes from the time they walk in the door, NMCRS Yokosuka branch director Andrea Bowen said Monday.

Sure, it’s a small amount, Bowen said, but even small amounts can add up — especially if they end up in the hands of predatory lenders that charge exorbitant interest rates.

“That $300 will cost them $1,000 after a year with a payday lender,” Bowen said. “We want people to come to us before they get in trouble, rather than after.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51478



uhc comment: Guess who's one of the worst predatory lenders? --> http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=9162