Payday lenders use courts to create modern debtors' prison

``If the debtor doesn't show, the creditor asks the court for a "body attachment." That's an order to arrest the debtor and hold him or her until a court hearing, or until the debtor posts bond. The practice draws fire from legal aid attorneys and some politicians. They call it modern-day debtors prison, a way to squeeze money out of people with little legal knowledge. Debtors are sometimes summoned to court repeatedly, increasing chances that they'll miss a date and be arrested. Critics note that judges often set the debtor's release bond at the amount of the debt and turn the bond money over to the creditor -- essentially turning publicly financed police and court employees into private debt collectors for predatory lenders.''