We are continuing to report on flex loans. Have you been sued by Advance Financial, Harpeth Financial or another flex loan lender? To share your experience, call or text reporter Adam Friedman (@friedmanadam5.bsky.social) at 615-249-8509.

Predatory lenders have the backing of right wing Nazi’s! They should be outlawed and consumers should be protected but the gop kills any bills that protect consumers from these massive scams

These predatory lenders should be banned. That interest rate is a criminal offence in itself. People, beware of scams like this. They are intended to trap you into paying off your debt forever.

Flex loans...PREDATORY LOANS

And without the CFPB these people have no options for recourse.

so naturally they exploit poor people mercilessly, then donate money to gop campaigns.

It is a criminal enterprise. Mobsters at best.

Elizabeth Warren had it right.

Welcome to modern day slavery and serfdom.

Predatory Capitalism is the American standard of business ethics. Taking advantage of people, squeezing every bit of wealth from them regardless of how much damage you do— makes you a successful and admired business person in this country. “Greed is good!”

280% interest rate should be criminal. Nothing like preying on people in vulnerable financial situations.

This is horrific! Thank you @propublica.org for continuing to shine a light on egregious abuses of power. How is this practice not illegal? Advance Financial is basically the mob with legal status. Are there any states who have good protections for the consumers?

Republicans consistently accept money from these companies as payoffs for legislative actions to facilitate their high interest scams…. In China they would be executed

Of course, they operate in the poorest regions of America, like Tennessee, the same ones run by the extremist Republicans who are tools of the loan industry, where the law is a cudgel to punish poor people. All those poor white people need to vote those cretins out.

In Europe we have consumerprotection

Legalized loan-sharking. In any decent society it would not be legal. Yet another sign that American Exceptionalism is dead.

In 2024, Payday predatory lenders spent $4,970,000 lobbying politicians to keep regulations out and uncapped interest rates in.

This is a criminal enterprise, the kind you see running s**thole countries. Who's the CEO, and where does he live?

If only there were some sort of… consumer finance protection

It's worse than loan sharks on the streets.

Most of these loans are made in bad faith.

Horrifying.

Wow! How insidious!

…..and a good guess is most of those individuals getting such loans are MAGAs…their dear leader is trying to shutter the consumer protection agency of the government…if successful these types of loan office will grow and their rates will be astronomical…

These predatory loan places are often times owned and operated by large mainstream banks. They know exactly what they're doing. For the life of me, I can't understand why poor people vote for a party (Republican) that cuts red tape and paves the way for billion dollar companies to rob people blind.

Advanced way to take advantage of desperate people, to ensure maximum profit. Trump's ethos of greed is good but very greedy is better and screw anyone to get it.🙄

Hey didn’t we create an agency to protect Americans from this stuff? What happened to it? Oh yeah…🤦‍♂️

It's a good thing you guys have effective financial regulators and consumer protection agencies. Oh wait, those are all "socialist" inventions.. Ha ha ha! SUFFER!

Predatory lending should be illegal.

I wonder what percentage of those 110,000 Tennesseeans being sued voted for Trump or didn't vote at all. I will panhandle before I ever do a Payday loan.

This used to be illegal. They interest rate is a racket.

Please get on the phone or e-mail and tell your reps in DC to get rid of these type of loans. It only takes a few minutes and it doesn't cost any money. We don't need money in politics. We just need people to participate. www.nationalfinancialplan.co

Working off of a *wild* hunch, I looked to see if the insidious Advance Financial bribed Donald Trump to make sure they could continue to shakedown people by charging 279.5% interest rates. What do you know, they were one of the biggest contributors to his "inaugural" (that is, slush) fund.

Damn there’s some really stupid people out there

Loan Sharks

Predatory lenders who helped collapse the global markets in 2008 Canada cracked down on these loan sharks The criminal interest rate is now capped at 35% APR, and payday loan costs are limited to $14 per $100 borrowed in provinces with approved payday loan regimes

I just saw a commercial where a Black woman was telling a (Hispanic?) young man that he didn't have to put back groceries bc he didn't have enough cash. So, he's going to pay 280% on those chips and sodas??? That's so fucked!

Oh people please don’t take loans from sharks! Even those with fancy names and and robust advertising! Read the fine print!

This is legalized loan-sharking, plain and simple.

Just like payday loan scams. Do companies ever get sick of ripping off the working class?

Republicans: Oh, look, Trans people

I used to live in Tennessee. This shit is ABSOLUTELY quid pro quo: key members of the TN legislature get a lot of campaign contributions from payday lenders.

This is the era of easy pray.

Strange, when people expect from capitalism some sort of financial mercyfullness. Very naive.

What's sad is that many Tennesseans most likely voted for GOP/MAGA and, as such, voted against their best interests. Case in point.

And thanks to Trump we have no agencies protecting consumers from these predators.

Brought to you by the GOP!

🤬🤬🤬

Only in America eh? You get the government you deserve.

And Trump is dismantling the Consumer Fraud Protection Agency. Wonder which billionaire he's supporting now?

Part of the Poverty Industrial Complex that preys upon the vulnerable.

What ,giving loans to people who can't afford to pay it back, looks like loan sharks are stealing from the people who are the poorest, just like trumps government getting rich off the poor idiots that voted for the lump

This should be fucking illegal. I cannot believe this.

Let's call it what it is "loansharking". 😡 Government needs to implement max interest rate laws. I know it won't happen with this admin but I'm hoping the future will address this

It helps them into indentured servitude - predatory lending was in its way out - then Chump came back…

Surprise on my profile🥴🥴

Follow my bunnies🥴🥴

But it's worth it to own the libs and stomp on minorities right?

And yet people in that state keep voting overwhelmingly for republicans to look out for their best interests.

Since the currant administration is doing the same thing I doubt they’ll go after them.

Sick. I've never understood someone who can sleep at night while doing this to people every day.

I thought usury was against the law.

🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

This is legal loan sharking. Tell your friends.

There's a special place in hell for people who prey on the desperate and needy.

This is the rich mentality. Trump and his evil empire support taking from the poor, even the ignorant MAGA. I bet many of the victims are MAGA and voted for Trump think he would save and protect them. Its stupid is as stupid does. Rich see it as every $ of yours is a $ of mine

Republicans want to see more of these

The Mafia must be so jealous that this is legal. Seriously, you have to be a psychopath to run a business like this.

We need to put an end to predatory loans!

Must be maga using them. No one else is dumb enough to sign a 279.5% interest loan.

It's legal loansharking. I would look closely at the politicians who approved the law for it to operate under. Betting their pockets are heavy...

great reporting, It is a sin what these predator lenders are allowed to get way with.

Preying on the poor. This type of scam should be renamed predator loan.

There is a suite - not merely a spot - in Hell for usurer rackets, like this garbage company Financial’s Flex Loan, knowingly preying on the perilous finances of the poor.

😡☹️☠️

File bankruptcy.. it’s not worth it ….