Oportun nearly 40% APR loans. Why do people sign up for such crap?

[Anonymous]

So Oportun decdied to send me a pre-qualified offer for a $2,000 loan at 38.4% APR. This is worse then even some of the worst credit cards! 

WHY do people sign up for such crap and insane APRs? Are people really that unknowledge to know what that means? Simple math and you can see how much it's going to cost you.

Yes, There is worse like payday loans but this isn't exactly great.

If you need money that badly taking out a high interst rate APR loan is just going to dig a bigger hole for yourself. 

I love their slogan "loans for a better future" yeah sure. 

Perhaps I need to stop letting such things upset me and ranting here but I just don't understand at all why people do this to themselves.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Because they don't have any other choice.

They target sub-prime borrowers, ones that don't have the minimum score of 640 to qualify for most loans. People with new credit may be targeted as well because of their lack of knowledge or experience. Regardless, neither would probably qualify for a signature loan. At least a thin file has a chance if they're patient, but that goes out the window if they need the money.

[Anonymous]

40%? compared to the APRs from payday loan lenders, 40% is a bargain to me! 

[FinStar]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So Oportun decdied to send me a pre-qualified offer for a $2,000 loan at 38.4% APR. This is worse then even some of the worst credit cards! 

WHY do people sign up for such crap and insane APRs? Are people really that unknowledge to know what that means? Simple math and you can see how much it's going to cost you.

Yes, There is worse like payday loans but this isn't exactly great.

If you need money that badly taking out a high interst rate APR loan is just going to dig a bigger hole for yourself. 

I love their slogan "loans for a better future" yeah sure. 

Perhaps I need to stop letting such things upset me and ranting here but I just don't understand at all why people do this to themselves.

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Sometimes taking a break from here or any credit related items isn't a bad thing OP.

As mentioned upthread, there can be numerous reasons or economic situations that may drive an individual to sign up for these types of products.  You'd have to put yourself in their shoes to understand the reasons behind it where traditional lending products may be out of reach. 

[Remedios]

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@FinStar wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

So Oportun decdied to send me a pre-qualified offer for a $2,000 loan at 38.4% APR. This is worse then even some of the worst credit cards! 

WHY do people sign up for such crap and insane APRs? Are people really that unknowledge to know what that means? Simple math and you can see how much it's going to cost you.

Yes, There is worse like payday loans but this isn't exactly great.

If you need money that badly taking out a high interst rate APR loan is just going to dig a bigger hole for yourself. 

I love their slogan "loans for a better future" yeah sure. 

Perhaps I need to stop letting such things upset me and ranting here but I just don't understand at all why people do this to themselves.

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Sometimes taking a break from here or any credit related items isn't a bad thing OP.

As mentioned upthread, there can be numerous reasons or economic situations that may drive an individual to sign up for these types of products.  You'd have to put yourself in their shoes to understand the reasons behind it where traditional lending products may be out of reach. 

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Perfectly stated. Thank you @FinStar 

[RSX]

I didn't have a 40%, but I did have a pretty high apr loan once post separation.  (New to the country as well). CC util was high due to low overall CL.  

paid off CC's with it.  Scores went up.  Refinanced the loan to a more reasonable APR in 5 months

so it can also be used strategically.