The Ontario government’s long-running battle with payday lender The Cash Store is heating up.
The province’s Registrar of Payday Loans said Thursday it has issued a proposal to refuse licences to The Cash Store and Instaloans. Both locations are operated by Edmonton-based The Cash Store Financial Services Inc.
The company’s application could be refused if its past conduct suggests it will not carry on business “in accordance with law and with integrity and honesty,” the Ministry of Consumer Services said in a release.
It cited past conduct that includes November 2013 convictions for operating as unlicensed payday lenders; charging more than the legal maximum of $21 for every $100 borrowed; and not providing consumers with their loans immediately.
The Cash Store will ask for a hearing before the License Appeal Tribunal, it said in a release issued separately on Thursday.
For now, the company is not permitted to offer any payday loan or line of credit products in Ontario.
The Star contacted five Cash Store locations in the Greater Toronto Area on Thursday. Staff who answered the phones said the stores are open but not offering any loans because of changes to the computer system. All said lending would resume on Tuesday.
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