'Unlawful' fees still charged by payday lender

Consumer Protection BC has imposed new penalties on a payday loan company for alleged failure to meet the requirements of a compliance order handed down in March.

Cash Store Financial, which operates branches under the names The Cash Store and Instaloans, was ordered to pay a $25,000 administrative penalty after the company was found to have been overcharging customers.

The penalty has not been paid and an extra payment on top of the original penalty has now been imposed. 

In addition to a 23-per-cent annual interest rate — the maximum allowable — Consumer Protection BC found that customers had to pay extra fees, which the watchdog said were unlawful and that overcharged customers had to be repaid.

But despite the official reprimands, orders and fines, the payday lender is still charging the extra fees, as the CBC’s Eric Rankin reports.