As soon as I saw the sign 'pay day advances', I knew the Cheque Centre was a bad idea. Motherwell isn't exactly an affluent area; many people are unemployed having lost their jobs in the recession,many people are just unemployed through laziness or drink related issues.
This place offers short term loans to 'bridge the gap between pay days'. It sounds so simple: borrow some money, and pay them back when you get paid. Easy. However, in the small print, it tells you about the important factor- the interest.
If you borrow 500 then you pay back 650. Unlikely to be affordable if you are working a regular, minimum wage job!
They also do foreign currency, and cheque cashing, meaning you don't hve to wait on your bank processing the cheque, you get the money straight away, there and then. Again though, it will cost you. They charge a cheque handling fee and a percentage of the cheque. So you may as well wait and get your full amount.
Yet another terrible idea, allowing vulnerable people to spiral into even more debt in hard times. read more