Will Martin Lewis Now Become A Short Term Lender?

This one is a long standing joke for us, it goes back to when Martin replied to us when we pulled out of the short term lending market last year and laid some blame to him and people like him.

Again we ask - will Martin now lend to subprime customers at the rates he recommends others do?

Martin has reportedly sold some of his shares in a price comparison site. Don’t get us started on those things, they are a tax on the poor and have done far more financial damage to the poor than the pay lending industry ever did. No matter which provider I use for my gas and electric I (and you reading this) have to pay the comparison tax. It’s about £40 a year on each bill if you listen to experts that study the commission these people cream off when someone switches.

We approach this with some humour these days. I have long since stopped shaking my head at the celebrity finance warriors who tell others they should lend at cheap rates whilst keeping their own cash safely tucked away, Martin is just one – there are others of course.

Last time Martin said that he was a lender on sites like Zopa, he also said that he loaned money through Credit Unions. As we pointed out at the time, Zopa is a prime lender and risk is extremely low. Credit Unions are backed by the Financial Services compensation scheme so his cash is well and truly safe.

That’s not lending to the subprime market, it’s almost like a Go-Kart driver claiming to be a Formula one driver. If people don’t want the risk of lending at the risky edge of finance then fair enough and I won’t criticise anyone for not getting involved, but they shouldn’t claim to be doing it with clever wording.

I’d love to see Martin lend to someone who laughs down the phone at him when he asks for his money back. I beg for him to record the call and release it to YouTube for us all to laugh at. It will happen on a daily basis so he won’t have to wait long.

Anyway the point is that Martin should now start lending and put payday lenders out of business by undercutting us all. I’d be the first to apologise if he is still in business after a year when he charges an APR that he himself says we should lend at. This is what I call the Unicorn rate, it is only available from the Bank of Hypocrisy which meets every month to discuss what rates others should lend at.

I don’t have a problem with anything Martin – or people like him – do in their own businesses or with their own money. I’m not criticising him for that, although he tries to tell me what to do with mine. I just wish he wouldn’t portray himself as a financial angel and at the same time portray people like us as devils when the truth is far different.

Not holding my breath – but still smiling.

Graeme Wingate

Soon to be retiring Owner of QuickLoans.co.uk