POLITICAL
Conservative ministers agreed to hold meetings with the controversial payday loans company Wonga in exchange for payments to the party.
Wonga was censured for employing “aggressive and misleading” debt collection practices by the Office of Fair Trading earlier this year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/loans/9613729/Loan-firms-wonga-buys-the-ears-of-ministers.html
ECONMIC
Ed Miliband attacked Britain’s “Wonga economy” on Tuesday as he seized on payday lenders as the latest target in his crusade against the cost of living.
The Labour leader said payday lenders were responsible for a “quiet crisis” that left thousands of families trapped in debt.
The truth is, [Wonga] wants us to stay silent about a company where in one year alone their bad debts reached £120m,” he said. “An industry where seven out of 10 customers said they regretted taking out a loan, with half saying they couldn’t pay it back.
http://news.sky.com/story/1164167/ed-miliband-takes-on-the-wonga-economy
SOCIAL
Wonga prides itself on being quick and simple to apply, however this accessibility has perhaps opened the door to criminality. This was highlighted in a BBC Watchdog programme investigating fraudulent withdrawals from bank accounts across the country. More than 800 posts mentioned fraudulent activity in relation to Wonga during the past three months.
Wonga has a long history of attracting bad publicity. In early 2012 it was branded ‘morally offensive’ for targeting students. This led to a campaign by Money Saving Expert’s Martin Lewis.
Wonga has Facebook profiles featuring cartoons, competitions and weekly cash giveaways.
http://www.mediameasurement.com/wonga-pay-day-loan/
TECHNOLOGICAL
Wonga's technology filters out applicants who are thought to be too risky, and about 66% of them are currently turned down for not being credit-worthy.
Errol Damelin said his computers use artificial-intelligence software to collect