General

Check ‘n Go aka CNG Financial

I was about to give Malia Rulon props for digging up a good story, but a little hunting around reveals that it was just basically coverage of an anti-payday lending press conference and everyone is in on it. In fact, Out of the Dispatch, PD, and the Enquirer stories, Malia was the only one to not secure a quote from John Rabenold. Ouch.

Nevertheless, Malia does do the best at bringing out the gory details:

At Wednesday’s news conference on the steps of the D.C. City Council, Washington resident Stacey Brown told reporters that he borrowed $500 in a payday loan from Check ‘n Go in 2001. When he finally paid his loan off last week, the fees and interest on the loan and an additional $400 he had borrowed totaled $14,997.

Cameron Blakely, a former Check ‘n Go store manager, apologized to Brown for his role in keeping Brown in debt for so long.

“Stacey meant two things to me in my job. First, keeping him on my customer list added roughly $20 to my quarterly bonus. Second, keeping him on my customer list also meant I could maintain the payroll budget at my store. … I victimized people like Stacey,” Blakely said. “I owe people like Stacey a big apology for taking their trust and their money.”

This is a direct contradiction to what CNG spokesman John Rabenold has been saying:

“The industry started when customers realized banks and credit unions were not offering small loans and when they realized their fees for bounced checks at banks were soaring to $25 and $30,” Check ‘n Go’s Rabenold said. “People will use our service to avoid a bounced-check charge and to avoid having their bounced checks reported to credit-rating services.”

I sure Stacey Brown wishes she had let the check bounce, she would have saved only $14,973. And the article makes it clear that the repeat customer is central to the business model. If it wasn’t, the entire industry could just limit refi’s to one or two times and that would be that.

And back to John Rabenold, who we’ve spoken of before. It’s clear now that he isn’t running as a Republican, but as a representative of the entire payday lending industry

According to Donovan, company executives all were asked to donate at least $200 to Rabenold’s campaign.

“We were told that this was voluntary, but our understanding was that a failure to do so would impact our careers in the company,” Donovan said.

Nice. John Rabenold explains it this way in a quote he gave to the Dispatch:

Rabenold said the company did not pressure employees to give.

“My campaign success is based on people looking on me as an individual and my desire to advance the interests of the community,” he said. “These people who are making contributions are the same ones who want to help me knock on doors, walk in parades and wear my T-shirts.”

But the campaign records show otherwise:

In the first six months of 2007, Rabenold raised more than $90,000 from the payday-lending industry, Ohio records show.

Which explains another email tip I received last week including these little nuggets:

-John Rabenold currently has $200,000 on hand
-Joe Deters endorsed Minamyer
-Some Warren County elements, namely Lori Viars and company, are looking for a third candidate to enter the race

Minamyer is not a Warren County candidate so I sort of understand that. But I would think some sort of alliance could be made between the two groups. I’m in an anyone but Rabenold frame of mind.

UPDATE

Lots of hits today from google searches for “John Rabenold” and this post is on the front page.

Good.

Two further items about check ‘n go.  One is that it apparently needs a smaller staff to run these days, quite possibly due to state legislative action.

A backlash against the payday loan industry in Washington, D.C., could legislate a huge local lender out of one of its major markets.

Check ‘n Go, a Mason-based payday lender, expects to close its 16 Washington, D.C., offices if proposed legislation to place a cap on lending rates goes through. The D.C. Council is scheduled to vote on the measure when it goes back in session Sept. 18.

Which prompts the ultimate question.  Is CNG trying to put John Rabenold in Columbus as a hedge against payday lending legislation?  Considering his funding sources, I’m extremely curious.   I do note that at the WMD symposium Rabenold said he would recuse himself from legislation that would affect his company.  But considering the lack of transparency we have to goings on at the statehouse, we would have to take his word for it, should he be elected.  Plenty of room for backroom maneuvering considering the objective would be the status quo.

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