Ohio Lawmakers Eying New Laws Against Ohio Car Title Loans

In 2010, Ohio passed very restrictive laws against payday loans, claiming these high cost loans exploit the vulnerable and poor. According to many lawmakers, Ohio car title loans are just an attempt to operate in a loophole of Ohio's lending laws, loaning money to people under the same terms.

The legislation of 2010 enacted very strict rules on lenders, including a maximum interest of 28% on the APR and a minimum payback term of 31 days. This means payday lenders and lenders who provide Cincinnati car title loans must give you at least a month to pay back your balance, not merely two weeks. Still, lenders are able to use other laws in existence in the state to continue charging effective annual percentage rates over 350%.

While they may seem the same on the surface, Ohio car title loans have a few differences from payday loans. Title loans require the use of a car or vehicle's title as security instead of a paycheck. Borrowers also face having their vehicle repossessed if they can't pay the loan back on time.

While it's easy to vilify car title loans in Ohio, it's also important to remember that they are an important service for many people. Consumers in the state who have no savings and no or bad credit have virtually no other options when an emergency strikes and they need money. No traditional lender or bank will give a personal loan to someone with bad credit, and consumers who don't have money saved up will be placed in a very tough situation if their car breaks down, they need to feed their children or keep the electricity on.

When used responsibly, Cincinnati car title loans can even help consumers save money. Consider this example: you've written a few checks to pay the bills, then you realize you don't have nearly enough cash in your checking account to cover them. What happens when all of those checks clear? You will be facing bounced check fees from your bank of at least $30 each. If you obtain a car title loan for $500 to cover the checks, you're total cost for the loan may be less than $45 and you can pay back the balance on payday, potentially saving yourself over $100 in the process.

Title loans can also be used to avoid late payment fees on utilities and credit cards, as well as further damage to your credit if you miss a payment on the mortgage, student loans or a credit card.

While there are absolutely consequences to defaulting on a title loan, and borrowers should be very careful to borrow only what they need and can afford to repay quickly, this does not mean that the service itself should be outlawed. Doing so would only eliminate a much-needed source of emergency cash for thousands of people throughout Ohio.