Petition Circulators Peddling Lies

Ohio Public Radio reporter Bill Cohen found two more petition circulators peddling lies outside the Ohio Statehouse. You can listen to his report "Payday Loan Petitions Doubted" and his interviews with petitioners on the WCPN website: http://www.wcpn.org/index.php/WCPN/news/13623/.

From WCPN.org: Ohio's payday loan stores are working to overturn a new law that limits the interest rate they can charge for short-term loans. Storeowners are paying for a petition drive. They want to collect enough signatures to force a statewide vote on the new limits in November, hoping that voters will reject the law. Some petition circulators, though, are using a misleading sales pitch to convince people on the street to sign their names. Ohio Public Radio's Bill Cohen has the story.

The industry's response at this point: "Ohioans for Financial Freedom Take Petitioner Training Seriously." With 30 examples of untruths and outright lies told by petitioners, the payday lobby clearly doesn't take their training seriously enough. We expect Ohioans for Financial Freedom to be responsive to those voters who want their names removed from petitions and responsible to the voting public by telling the truth about what the referendum will mean for them: that they will be able to continue charging 391% interest!

If you believe a payday lobby petition circulator has misled you, please call 614-477-5042 to have your name removed. If you have trouble getting through, call our hotline number at 1-866-966-8727.