A payday loan company has explained it is not seeking to open its Dundee city centre shop longer each day to lend more money.
Instant Cash Loans issued a statement to clarify a misunderstanding it believed had circulated with its application at the city’s licensing committee.
Broughty Ferry councillor Laurie Bidwell was stirred by the bid to lengthen the opening hours of the Money Shop in Reform Street to 8am to 8pm every day.
The current hours are 9am to 5.30pm, and Mr Bidwell objected to the increase.
“Instant cash loans might seem to be the answer to the financial problems of those with debts, but their rates of interest are such that they often lead to compounding rather than relieving the financial problems of their customers,” he stated.
The firm’s latest instant cash loans offer looked attractive but, he said, it came with potentially massive interest rates.
He continued: “I don’t think, therefore, that approving this application would be in the interests of our citizens.”
He proposed that the application be turned down.
After a brief discussion, the application was deferred for more information from the company about the reasons for the extension in opening hours.
A spokesman for the company said it appeared their motives had become lost in translation.
“The application is to clarify the hours that we can open the pawnbroker side of our business as it was a request for a variation and renewal of our second-hand trader’s licence,” he said. “It had nothing to do with the part of our business that grants loans.
“We are simply trying to define the hours of trading for a part of our business that have never been defined before. We note the councillor’s comments and it would appear there has been a misunderstanding of what our application was for.”