Online Lenders Alliance Commends FTC's Action Against Industry Bad Actors

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Lisa McGreevy, President and CEO of the Online Lenders Alliance (OLA), today issued the following statement commending the Federal Trade Commission's request to halt the operations of a network of bad actors.  OLA aided the FTC in its case as a declarant providing details of industry best practices and how the defendants' actions flouted them.

"We applaud FTC's actions today against these scammers who deceived consumers by using their personal information to debit their bank accounts without authorization. We are outraged as an industry that these companies would take advantage of consumers who are in need of credit," said Lisa McGreevy, President and CEO of the Online Lenders Alliance. "Scammers who pose as legitimate lenders or loan marketers solely to defraud consumers should be prosecuted vigorously and punished severely."

At the request of the FTC, a U.S. district court has halted a Tampa, Florida-based operation that promised to help consumers get payday loans.  The defendants used consumers' personal financial information to debit their bank accounts in increments of $30 without their authorization, the FTC alleged. The defendants obtained other consumers' financial information by paying more than $500,000 to third parties, and debited those consumers' accounts without authorization as well, according to documents filed with the court.  The court order freezes the defendants' assets to ensure the availability of redress to consumers.

You can view the full FTC release here.

The Online Lenders Alliance is a professional trade organization representing the growing industry of companies offering consumers small, short-term loans online. OLA member companies abide by a list of Best Practices and Code of Conduct to ensure that customers are fully informed and fairly treated. 

Contact:

Peter Barden
O: 703.567.0327
M: 917.763.7352
pbarden@onlinelendersalliance.org

SOURCE Online Lenders Alliance