The dreaded payday loans and filing Bankruptcy

Bastoops: Were any of your current PDL's on an automatic withdrawl system with your checking account? We have 2 that automatically take the interest payment out of our account when my husband gets paid, how do you get them to stop?

I'm wondering if this is where I am headed. My husband and I just got married in July, and he has a bad credit history due to some credit cards he had back when so everything was put in my name. We also went to get a loan from Citifinancial to consolidate some of them. We owe them $6,800 and most of our payments go to interest. We cannot buy a house without a huge amount down or better credit and I don't see that happening anytime soon. I have some current credit cards that we are defaulted on because we got stuck in the payday mess, getting one to pay off another, or getting one because we coiuld not make rent or the vehicle payment that month. My question is, when you file bankruptcy do they take your vehicle lease also. I am still paying on my vehicle through my bank and owe for two more years. We share our vehicle, my husband and I, and this is all we have. I don't want us to lose our jobs because we cannot get to work? That in turn will make us loose our home also even if we are renting. What would you suggest. My payday is this coming Thursday so I need to know whether I try to go talk to the payday people and close my bank account, or if I need to go talk to an attorney. Please give me any advice you may have.

I also have the same question, How do you get the online payday loans to not take money out of my account? They are due tomorrow so I have to call tonight and see if there is some way I can cancel the online business, or even postpone it so I can withdraw the funds from my account. My and my husbands paychecks are direct deposit, so It's going to be difficult. Please give me some advice.....Thanks

Kristi,

My attorney suggested that we CLOSE our bank account - but FIRST OPEN A NEW ONE. We are in a bit of a different situation - ready to file BK, BUT, the only way to stop them is to switch bank accounts. Go to a bank that you don't owe any money to for any reason. Then you can work with the PDLs on YOUR terms. If you end up filing a BK, you WILL be able to buy a home eventually. And NO, your car does not need to be included in the BK. You can keep your cars. Get a really good lawyer, and I suggest not a "commercial" one that you find on TV ads in the middle of the night. I searched for "debt negotation attorney" and found a wonderful one. Good luck!

You need to close your bank account, but FIRST open one at a bank where you do not owe any money. Many of the "interest only" or "rollover" PD loans are ILLEGAL in many states. Check with Shazzers - she will give you great advice on this. If illegal in your state, my understanding is that you are only liable for the principle - no interest. So, for example, if the loan was $300, and you've already had interest deducted in this amount or more, you are finished paying them. Ask the companies for their lending license in your state. Bet they won't be able to produce one!

Thanks for the info. I do however have one more question. The only vehicle my husband and I have is through a loan at the bank where I have my checking account. I have already closed out the old account and got a new account number with the same bank. There is no way for anyone to get that info and withdraw cash, so I am good there. But, our paychecks are both direct deposit into this account. Would it be best to cancel our direct deposit for now until this whole thing blows over. Will bankruptcy effect my checking account? We are going to continue paying the car loan off, but I want to make sure I have all the details so I can atleast act like I know what I am doing to some point. I really want to keep in good standing with this bank because they will be my only life line once this is all done.

hey. sorry it took me so long to reply. you did good by closing your bank account. they will not stop hitting it until its closed or destroyed. you shouldnt have a problem with your direct deposit going into your new account. as far as the vehicle you really need to speak with an attorney. from what i understand all they care about is the equity you have in the vehicle. and if you are filing joint with your spouse then you are allowed a little more for a vehicle. chances are if you are still paying on it then you dont have alot of equity built up in it. we have 2 vehicles, one paid for and the other one we are still paying for, but since the one we own is under the "value" we are allowed, we get to keep it, and the vehicle we are paying for has no equity so we get to keep that one too. bankruptcy wont affect your checking account. although i do remember my attorney telling me that when they acually file my case we are only allowed to have 300 balance in our checking account. i'm getting ready to pay the rest of my retainer soon, i am just getting all the paperwork together to turn into my attorney, they have to have 6 months worth of pay stubs, tax returns, bank statmens, titles to vehicles. there is a whole bunch of stuff you have to give them and i put it off to the last minute. if you have any other questions i am glad to help with what i can. i will keep you updated on the whole process as it unfolds as well, because i've never been in this situation before either.

We have stopped paying everyone and the calls are outragious. But, we go on the 13th to pay the total fee and I guess file the paperwork. I have already gathered all my info, and showed our lawyer everything at the consultation. I didn't have 6 months worth of paystubs, but just faxed them to her yesterday. I'm just terrified of getting into trouble for hot checks or something for all the payday loans we have. They have tried to send them in, but they all got returned due to account closed. My bank is being really nice about it. So, I guess if there is a maximum amount of money you can have in your checking, I will need to go withdraw my funds shortly after the direct deposit goes in the bank. Thanks for the info, and yes let me know how things go for you, and of course, I will keep you updated on how the process goes for us. Take care.

Hi Kristi,

Sorry it took me so long to reply. We have two car loans, and our attorney tells us that we will be able to keep both - as long as we make the payments by "reaffirming" them after the BK.

As for the direct deposit, we STOPPED all DD and carry live checks into our new bank. Seems to be fine. We, too, have a car loan at the bank where we closed the account, and they've been great. They did tell us to file BK asap, so that if the PDL companies try to sue, they won't be able to garnish any bank accounts. Once you have a BK filed, the bank/credit union should be 100% supportive.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

We have since filed our Chapter 13 and no one has attempted to contact me since this has happened. I was told that if we ever wanted to get any new credit we would have to pay a fee to our Trustee though. It's a pretty hefty one of $300 something. My question is does this fee apply to something like a home phone. We only have cell phones, and I really want to get rid of the texting etc, and just have basic cell phones, and get a home phone. But, in order for you to get a home phone they usually check your credit. Will I have to pay the fee to get a home phone? Surely since it is a utility I wouldn't. Does anyone know anything about this???

Thanks
Kristi

Okay here is what you need to do, first get a new bank account while your credit is good. Next cancel your bank account with all of your payday loans then just don't pay them. These payday clowns can't do anything nor did the BofA, because the account was closed. The payday places will call like crazy and also send letters but they can't do anything I had 15. Now I can say that I paid them and they couldn't find my check, or a family member got a hold of my check book and I didn't want to turn them into the police. Or you may tell the truth and say they were ripping me off and I'm not going to pay them, also do be scared to turn pdl to the better busines bureau. You can say things like they tried to charge me with two loans and I only had one, they raised the fees and what ever non honest stuff they did to you. Best thing to do is let your boss know you got in a little trouble, like I had to bail my mother out of jail, or I lost money on a bet or my car blew a engine or my kid in college had to come up with a few grand in a hurry or the would be kicked out of college and that is why I took out 15 payday loans.

I am trying to file bankruptcy on my online payday loans,but the one attorney I have seen says he must have their physical adress to contact them.I have no idea where they are located,and they wont give me a adress....help!!!!

Try doing a search here at the forum, type in the name of the company in the search box located in the upper right hand corner of this forum. Or, go to the BBB, sometimes online lenders addresses are listed at the BBB site.

i agree, the BBB has most of the addresses here.. a problem i faced was with lenders who had overseas addresses.

hey everyone its been awhile so i just wanted to give a quick update. we hit a little snag in the road but are now back on track. we will have our attorney paid in full within the next few weeks. they said after that they will have my case ready in two weeks, then i review everything and once i turn it in they will have it filed. its been about 9 months since we decided to go this route so we are definetly ready to get it over with. i'll let you guys know what happens during the process, its the first time we've had to go through this and i know there is alot more people out there who are in the same boat as me but not sure what to do. so hopfully my experiance can be used to help people.

finally got it done. my attorney is paid in full and my paperwork is turned in. the hard part is over. they will be contacting me in the next week or two to go over my petition so we can file it. it should go pretty fast from this point on considering how slow the last few years seemed to go. thanks everyone for your support and i'll keep the process updated.