Have you seen some of the stuff they come out with in the ads? I can see the point of them for a tide-you-over loan of a couple of hundred quid for a very short period (for those incapable of phoning their bank and arranging an overdraft), but the "satisfied customers" who claim "My bank wouldn't lend me the money to start my own business (Wonder why? There's normally a good enough reason, like being too bad a risk...) but Payday Loans lent me the money and now I run my own company..." This is plainly absurd, unless the business could ramp up immediately and have a massive turnover in no time at all - there aren't many legal activities that can do that :-? How much does someone normally borrow to set up a business? Surely it has to be in the thousands, and it's normal not to expect to turn a profit for a couple of years at least, so borrowing a few grand at 2000% APR over a couple of years would be more than a little pricey and would surely consign a fledgling business to struggle for years...