Loan company requires soul as collateral

A loan company in Latvia is requiring customers to sign their immortal soul as collateral.

Clients have to sign a contract, with the words "Agreement" in bold letters at the top. The client agrees to the collateral, "that is, my immortal soul."

Mirosiichenko said his company would not employ debt collectors to get its money back if people refused to repay, and promised no physical violence. Signatories only have to give their first name and do not show any documents.

"If they don't give it back, what can you do? They won't have a soul, that's all," he told Reuters in a basement office, with one desk, a computer and three chairs.

Wearing sunglasses, a black suit and a white shirt with the words "Kontora" (office) emblazoned on it, he reaches into his pocket and lays out a sheaf of notes on the table to show that the business is serious and not a joke.

Latvia has been the EU nation worst hit by economic crisis.

Unemployment is soaring and banks have sharply reduced their lending, meaning that small companies offering easy loans in small amounts have become more popular.

Mirosiichenko said his company was basically trusting people to repay the small amounts they borrowed, which has so far been up to 250 lats ($500) for between 1 and 90 days at a hefty interest rate.

He said about 200 people had taken out loans over the two months the business was in operation.

Loosing your immortal soul is bad. I know because I read lots of supernatural novels. Better to not risk it.

Forger declared not guilty because his work was terrible

An Argentinian who was on trial for forged money was declared not guilty because his forgery work was so bad.

The federal court in Buenos Aires dismissed all charges against Marcos Ribles because of the poor-quality paper and printing of his forging attempts, The AP reports.

The 65-year-old had tried to spend a fake 100 Argentine peso (£16) note and a forged $50 (£30) bill.

The court ruled that the notes were "so clumsy and crude [that] they could not be accepted by most people".

Sometimes not doing your best work pays off.

It pays to attend this church

The Covenant Presbyterian Church in Nebraska used a secret shopper like program and paying individuals for their opinions on the service and take a survey.

"I was just beside myself. I thought what church would pay you to come and do an assessment. And I thought, well, I'm retired, I need a little money, I'll do it -- so I called," said West.

The survey asked questions like does the church convey a meaningful message?The senior pastor told KETV NewsWatch 7 that there's always room for improvement.

"We come here every week, and we're used to this congregation and the way it operates, how does someone else see this?" said Jeremy Grant.

I suppose if they need the service and people are willing to provide it for a fee then it works out for everyone. I was paid to sing in a church choir when I was in college.

Teen racks up 12,000 phone bill!

An Australian teenager has racked up a cell phone bill higher than the annual wages of some adults.

A spokesman for the Telstra telecommunications company said the unidentified teen enjoyed 384 Internet sessions at a total cost of $10,686, while also amassing other charges through 373 calls and more than 500 text messages, the Melbourne Herald Sun said in its Friday edition.

Julie Wentworth, an Anglicare financial counselor, called the teen's phone bill "ridiculous" and called for enhanced bill monitoring of users' accounts.

"We are dealing with a generation who feel they can't get by without a mobile phone," Wentworth said.

"Some don't have enough self-control, but it was ridiculous the bill got to that point."

Wentworth told the Herald Sun the teen somehow managed to convince Telstra staff to revive his phone account after being disconnected when his bill reached $2,000.

I think this kid needs a mother that supervises him. Who lets their kid do that? Take the phone away!