CheckSmart

Jim, the manager is completely unprofessional. He freaked out when asked a simple question regarding services. His fellow employees were embarrassed for him, he seems pretty miserable to begin with. Never going to Checksmart again!

Thank God I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve had to take out a payday loan. Just reading about the terms on the wall is frightening. It’s hard to argue that these places are predatory– but that’s a political debate I have no need to get into here.
No, what I used Checksmart for was check cashing. For awhile before I found out about share branching at federal credit unions, I was without a bank account in town and in no position to open a new one– in these dark times, I relied on Checksmart to cash my paychecks so I could survive.
The cut they take is a percentage and is borderline ridiculous. But the truth is sometimes the horrible option is the only option.
And of course because this is a business that deals with disadvantaged people, they have all sorts of depersonalizing details to make the whole experience all the more horrible. An uncomfortable waiting room. Bulletproof glass. Cameras out the wazoo. Ad nauseum.
You know when you’re in a bad enough situation that you need the services of a payday lender. I hope you never have that realization.