In March 2010, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation that will enact reforms to car title lending that helps protect consumers from the car title lending trap. The legislation was not perfect due to the high interest rates permitted, but is considered a major victory because it includes time limits on the loans, interest rate caps, notices before cars can be repossessed, more information provided to borrowers and licensing requirements for lenders.

For four years Virginia Organizing has joined with many other organizations in urging the members of the Virginia General Assembly to stop payday lenders and the trap they set for people in dire financial straights. While the 2008 bill fell far short of what we wanted at the time, it helped stop some abusive financial practices of payday lenders.

Our efforts to end predatory lending continue because predatory car title loans simply took over where payday loans left off.