Payday loans are always in the news for some high interest cost. It could be a report about an abusive lender being prosecuted or state governments trying to regulate the industry more. The pricing schemes for the high risk loans have some customers complaining when there loans are not paid on time. It is always good practice to understand the costs before signing on for a loan. Online payday loans are not the only business in which customers are complaining about prices.
Price complaints from customers which go beyond payday loan lenders.
Customers are tired of “rebates” which are interpreted as inflated prices for an item with tedious work and long waiting periods to get their money back. The price on the shelf looks great as you see a half-decent cost, after rebate. How does a rebate work? It is a form you need to fill out either in paper form or done online. This form needs to be filled out correctly in order to make it through the processing department. Model numbers, makes, date of purchase, certain parts of a receipt, personal mailing information are all example of what you will be filling in. Making any errors could possibly get your rebate voided. Then of course, there is the wait for it all to happen. There is so much room for error, between the person filling it out, the delivery person, the processor for the company and then back through the mail system to deliver your money. Many customers refuse to purchase items with rebates. That is a long time to wait for any savings. The companies are trying to be smart though. They know that receipts get lost; offers are forgotten or sent in past the due date. This interprets into company profit and customer frustration. If it is not an item you need right away, wait for it to go on sale in a regular way, cost taken off at the register without immediate savings.
Customers are also fighting mad about “gotcha fees”. Advertisements for cell phone plans and cable packages are known for these. You call the number looking for the $39.99 deal and after listening to how awesome the package is, you hear the final cost which in now much more than just additional sales tax. Businesses do well at trying to hide additional costs, to get a customer in the door. This practice can be seen as deceptive, but businesses are relaying overhead costs back on to the customer. Reality for customers is the “bottom line” cost and these hidden fees are very frustrating for those who are trying to budget productively.
Having too many choices for the same item can lead a customer to confusions and ultimately not able to decide. Limit the options and more people will be able to choose the item needed. A good example here would be trying to choose a computer printer. One company alone could have eight different models on display which do similar jobs, but one may do a certain task that another. The prices vary within a certain range and can be comparable to the other four or five companies with printers for sale. If you are not an expert in this department, it can get quite frustrating to decide which one will be purchased. When there are rebates attached to that sale price, one more reason for a customer to walk away.
Online payday loans are required to have all possible fees presented up front; other businesses should be the same. Bottom line to a budget is bottom line, don’t make customer’s wait for their discounted price.
