Wondering what that film crew’s doing on Alki this morning?

Thanks to everyone who sent word of this film crew working on Alki this morning, wondering what they’re up to. We just went over to check. A crew member told us it’s a commercial for the loan company Moneytree. They were still setting up when we stopped, west of 58th/Alki, with an equipment truck by Pioneer Coffee and a wardrobe RV across the street from Coastal:

They expected to be there till lunchtime. Lending/banking commercials are finding our area increasingly attractive, it seems – including Sterling Bank, which filmed a spot starring Beveridge Place Pub in Morgan Junction (see it here). And Columbia Bank shot one of its “Blue Couch” commercials here this past spring.

JayD July 26, 2012 (10:34 am)

Just moseyed past by accident. They’re filming with a male and female actor on a vespa parked on the sidewalk in front of home front smoothie/ice cream. The couple was enjoying a couple cones (fake?). Interested to see it when it’s finished.

Sean July 26, 2012 (10:42 am)

yuck, monetree. how distasteful.

CB July 26, 2012 (11:15 am)

391% interest rate at Moneytree. What happened to our usury laws?

MJC July 26, 2012 (11:18 am)

Sean, your comment is not appropriate and distasteful. Moneytree is a locally owned and operated company that provides vital services to many in our community. They have excellent benefits, offer cometitive wages and treat thier employees with dignity and respect. They have won the best places to work for in Washington State for three years in a row and give regularly to local charities. They operate to the highest standards and provide better scustomer ervice than any “bank”.

Joey McQueeb July 26, 2012 (11:45 am)

Moneytree? oh great, West Seattle is losing it’s charm!!

Lily July 26, 2012 (12:26 pm)

MJC, no, Sean’s comment is not distasteful and it is appropriate.

391+% APR is distasteful and should be illegal.

The “Best Places in Washington to Work” contest is sponsored by Seattle Business Magazine. Apparently ethics is not part of the criteria for this award.

http://www.moneytreeinc.com/moneytree/media/payday-loans/WA-fee-table.jpg

Why would you want to defend unethical, usurous business practices, MJC?

Diane July 26, 2012 (12:32 pm)

agree with MJC

Younglino July 26, 2012 (12:45 pm)

MJC sounds like u work for them lol… These kind of places prey on low income families… Next thing you’ll probably say is you love the federal reserve who is about as federal as FedEx !! Wake up

whuut July 26, 2012 (12:48 pm)

@MJC Google is awesome!

haha July 26, 2012 (12:48 pm)

Looks like we got some Nuge, Inc. and Seattle Grip and Light trucks there. Have fun crew and enjoy the view. Your producer friends actually do like to see you have fun.

Chris July 26, 2012 (1:10 pm)

I agree the the interest is ridiclous but it’s not as bad as it seems. To borrow $100 you have to pay $115 back within a alotted time. Better than a bank charging a $25.00 overdraft fee. They don’t make people go there, it’s obviously a needed enterprise or they would go out of business. I have never had to use it thank goodness but I don’t think there that bad. I do have a friend that works for them and says it is a great place to work.

Grundle July 26, 2012 (1:23 pm)

The predatory lending industry is absolutely disgusting. They take advantage of those who can least afford to lose money on these services, because the customers either don’t know any better, can’t really do basic math, or they may have privacy concerns related to doing business in a bank.
Moneytree is a disgusting company and not as some are angling here, a strong partner in the community.

Chris July 26, 2012 (1:53 pm)

Grundle – Would you rather have the people that borrow the money have their heat, water or electricity shut off? Would you rather have their kids starve? There are many reasons why someone might need some quick cash and their ain’t a company out there that’s going to lend these people money at 5% for a 2 week loan. It is a for profit business, just like the company you probably work for. You may not like it but to call them disgusting is a little far.

Wayne July 26, 2012 (4:02 pm)

Everyone is forgetting their check cashing services. When I was in my early 20’s, I had screwed up so bad I couldn’t even get a savings account. (This was prior to prepaid debit cards.) I was able to cash my paychecks for only 1.9% at Money Tree. (I no longer have this problem, so I am not aware of their current rates.) I also used them later on to cash checks when working for companies that weren’t financially stable, so I didn’t have to worry about my paycheck bouncing on my personal checking account. Also, while looking at the interest rate alone makes these companies seem horrible, people are really just looking at the wrong part of the math. If you charged only $1 on a 14 day $100.00 loan, you would have an interest rate of 26%. These are loans with a set fee for short periods. By law these fees have to be listed as percentages. Even though the fees are quite reasonable, because of their short duration, the percentages are very high. And the only reason they “prey” on lower income types is because the higher income types are more likely to have savings and credit cards to get them through tough spots. So only the lower income types need these services. And they do “need” them.

haha July 26, 2012 (5:39 pm)

Wasn’t this a post about a film shoot?

Dolly July 26, 2012 (6:06 pm)

So there were two different groups filming this morning. Another blocked the entire path closer to Duwamish. Who were they?

CandrewB July 26, 2012 (7:01 pm)

There will always be a need for this type of service. Yes the rates are less than Christian, but at least the corporations don’t break your legs (yet).

Amy July 26, 2012 (9:26 pm)

Wonder if the crew patronized any local business? Maybe hired some temp workers? This thread is embarrassing.

RJB July 27, 2012 (11:37 am)

LOL….I am w/ Amy.

MAH July 27, 2012 (6:21 pm)

It’s “embarrassing” to discuss the lending practices of scum like Money Tree? Please. It’s a completely appropriate discussion and one which should be had by more people. There used to be another payday lender over off Roxbury that had a sign up which said it all “First Loan Free”. That is because 99.9% of the people who borrow are trapped in a never ending cycle of refinancing each and every loan. Yes, people sometimes need an emergency infusion of cash, but these loans are not really set up for that purpose. They are designed specifically so that it will never end. Take a look at how much they spent on campaign donations when consumer advocates were trying to change state laws to limit their annual interest rate to 36%, and look at how hard they fought those efforts. Really? 36% APR is NOT enough profit? Federally, Congress has capped the interest rates on these loans at 36%, but only for the military, because apparently it’s ok to prey on everyone else. When the Fort Lewis base commander was testifying in front of the WA Legislature a few years ago to try to prevent this sort of lending because it was wreaking havoc on soldiers’ lives and impairing their combat readiness (something which seems should be taken seriously as a commentary about the practices) he was screamed at by various legislators. Again, that speaks volumes too. If those who are not directly impacted by these offensive practices do not also speak up, then those who are least likely to be able to fight back against these monsters just continue to be victimized. We ALL need to speak up about this stuff, demand change and work to get people access to small loans for those true emergencies from credible institutions who charge a reasonable fee and work with the borrower to get them to actually pay it off and get out of the cycle.

haha July 28, 2012 (5:53 pm)

again wasn’t this a post about a film shoot. that hires day labors. who have to work for whatever client hires them? You want to get on a high horse MAH take that up with government. If I hear a peep from you we can talk in person.

Sorry, comment time is over.