Comment by fake-name | Hacker News Reader

Comment by fake-name | Hacker News Reader

> “We like niches where we’re dealing with emotional borrowers,” Wunderlich said.

Jesus Christ, what an exploitative asshole.

This is the canonical definition of a predatory scumbag. He's deliberately targeting people at a highly emotional point, to rope them into a exploitative contract. Plus, who has even heard of "renting" a dog?

I'd bet the great majority of the people involved assumed the paperwork was just for vet bills and such relating to the dog. By targeting a niche where such a loan practice is rare/nonexistant, they probably expect much less scrutiny of the underlying contracts.

I bet his buisness would vanish if they forced him to put "Dog Lease Contract" or something similar in 70 point text on the paperwork people have to sign.

> He’s drawn to the rugged individualism expressed in the novels of Ayn Rand and the blog Cowboy Ethics

Surprise level: zero.

> He is, he writes in a mission statement on his personal website, “living in a Postmodern culture while maintaining my old American West roots and Christian values.”

"Christian", but apparently having never read the bible at any point (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleansing_of_the_Temple).

What a thoroughly unpleasant person.

Sociopath. The word you're looking for is sociopath.

> "he struck up a golf-course friendship with a financier named Alfred Villalobos ... Villalobos took Wunderlich under his wing, hired him in 2006, and sent him around the globe in search of investors for deals in the new energy sector ... Villalobos later was criminally charged with bribing the former head of CalPERS and pleaded not guilty. He committed suicide in 2015."

> “We like niches where we’re dealing with emotional borrowers,” Wunderlich said.

Next: coffin leasing sold to relatives at funeral homes.

Funeral leases were literally in the article. It was a throwaway line of something that he tried that didn't work, but the guy ACTUALLY TRIED THAT.

Calling him disgusting is an insult to disgusting people..

Heh, touché. Point taken.

> He's deliberately targeting people at a highly emotional point, to rope them into a exploitative contract.

I assume you mean it's exploitative on the customer? If two parties voluntarily enter an exchange, who are you to say that it's exploitative? I'm genuinely curious.

If one party leaves the store not realizing they'd signed a lease agreement, then two parties have not voluntarily entered an exchange.

If one party has to make monthly payments, then what else do they think it is? And how can adults in this world not understand how interest rates work.

And what kind of adult doesn't read a contract before they sign? Isn't that just common knowledge now?

A loan. That's that standard way you'd get a loan. And a loan would make more sense too since it's (theoretically) a good you keep forever.

Sorry, my bad. For some reason I thought these were loans and not actually renting.

One party is at the pet store buying a dog. The puppy is so cute!

The other party has a team of lawyers drafting 20 page contracts and working out how skirt laws on predatory lending (i.e, structure it as a lease).

It's basically "ambush finance".

I can think of a few voluntary exchanges that are exploitative. For instance, if I offer someone a life-saving drug if they give me their house - they can voluntarily enter the agreement, or not.

I think we can safely say that in at least in some cases we can clearly judge that a voluntary exchange is exploitative. Do you feel like this is not one of those cases? Why?

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