BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) – Religion and expensive payday loans collided at the Louisiana State Capitol on Tuesday.

The fight to reform payday loans is shaping up to be a real fight. A rally was organized Tuesday on the steps of the Capitol by religious and legislative leaders.

Penny Fisher and others were among those who spoke at the rally. She told her story of unhappiness about dealing with the payday industry. Penny explained that it cost her $ 4,980.50 to borrow $ 300. She said it took her years to get out of debt.

“I’m doing this because I don’t want anyone else to be caught in this trap, because it’s a trap. If I had known then what I know now, I would have done a lot of things. differently, ”Penny said.

Industry executives say the information being sent is really misinformation and just plain bogus.

Troy McCullen, owner of a payday loan company, is said to be the state’s largest payday lender. He attended the rally.

“Our fees are 20% of what you borrow. [A] Fixed fee – 20 percent of what you borrow. [If] you borrow $ 100, the fee is $ 20, and by law you can’t take out another loan until that loan is paid off, ”he said.

“You can always do a better job. There are probably things that could be changed, but throwing out an entire industry is just a bit extreme for me,” he added.

This is not what the author of law reform says.

Senator Ben Nevers, (D) Bogalusa, says intense lobbying is taking place on the industry side. He pointed to the “horror stories our people in the state” have been talking about. “We certainly want loan opportunities for our people in our state, but we don’t want people to prey on people who are less fortunate than you and me,” he said.

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