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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:32 pm Subject: Tips on dealing with Payday loans

When you are dealing with a payday loan company and signing a contract with them, they are making you do the following things:

The payday loan company is insisting you to sign a post dated check on the date when you are entering into a contract with them.
In the contract, you might have authorized them to take out money from your checking account by giving them the account details and some other personal information.
You might have allowed them to do a wage assignment which allows the company to take out 15% of your wages out of your paycheck.

A payday loan company is allowed to take only the interests from you. They can't charge any other fees except a $25 fee if an electronic debit or a check does not clear.

You can't be sent to jail or threatened to use criminal processes for defaulting on the loan amount. In case, there is a bad check, the lender can't file a criminal complaint against you.

If you are not able to pay the loan amount within the due date, you can opt for a repayment plan offered by most of the lenders. This plan allows you to stop the interests from building up after 35 days of being in default. You can request for a repayment plan from your lender who will give you 55 days to pay back the loan without any interest charges or any other late payment fees. You might even be able to extend this repayment plan up to a period of 90 days. If you are still unable to pay back the debt with the available options, you will have to look for some professional help.

Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 4:04 pm Subject:

Thanks John for this post.

Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:18 pm Subject: Wage Assignment

I had a valid and legal Wage Garnishment from a past debt. Not a payday loan - had nothing to do with payday loans. It was from a past credit card.

I learned quit a bit going through the legalities with a payroll rep at my company. He explained to me how there has to be a court order complete with a Judges signature and full details of the creditor who sued for it.

Going through that I can tell you that checking a box in an online application is not going to cut it. Its all completely voluntary and if the payday place does contact your employer then they legally cannot deduct your salary without your written permission authorizing it. And you can revoke it at any time. Voluntary means just that - voluntary. You did not legally commit to anything by checking that box.

Check the laws in your state but I am sure they are pretty much all the same.

Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 5:31 pm Subject:

Hi Stanley!

I am having a hard time myself trying to find a list of the states tha ban payday loans altogether, but I am still looking!

~Mary

Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 5:03 am Subject:

Payday lenders will try anything to collect on a defaulted loan. I know because I am currently going through this experience. My loans are listed with a debt consolidation company but they still try to pursue other avenues. You must learn your state and federal laws, your rights, and not be a victim to these loan sharks anymore. I would suggest contacting your payroll department to see what their rules are, let them know what is going on. When I was having problems with Sonic, I just stated that I enrolled in debt consolidation and that the lender was listed on there. You don't have to go into the full story. I know this situation can be embarassing but the more you talk about it, the stronger that you become. I'm not afraid to fight back against those lenders who are try to take advantage of me. I'm not trying to run away from the debt but I'm not going to pay anymore illegal fees that they try to assess on top of what I already owe. Keep everything documented on letters, phone calls, messages etc. You may need this information to file a formal complaint against the company down the road. There are places that you can do this because you DO have rights. Don't let them tell you otherwise. You can revoke the wage assigment as stated in the previous posts. I find it to be a good idea even though it is voluntary. These companies are sneaky so you have to be on your toes.

Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 6:07 pm Subject:

After going through few online articles and browsing net vigorously, I have prepared the list of states that have banned payday loans. Check it-

Arkansas
Connecticut
Georgia
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
New York
New Jersey
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Vermont
West Virginia

Texas has set some limit of payday loans. It has capped APR and loan amount too.

However, payday lenders are still operating in these states as a partner of some out-of-state financial institutes. Few states have started working on these lenders specifically.

If anyone knows something more on this, please post it here. Thanks.

Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 6:18 pm Subject:

[quote]The payday loan company is insisting you to sign a post dated check on the date when you are entering into a contract with them.
In the contract, you might have authorized them to take out money from your checking account by giving them the account details and some other personal information.
You might have allowed them to do a wage assignment which allows the company to take out 15% of your wages out of your paycheck.

Alright everybody, if the aforementioned information is not proof positive that these people are a bunch of charlatans, what is? Hats off to my homestate of Massachusetts for banning them! Just waiting for Florida to follow suit..

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 6:56 pm Subject:

There nmay be some issues with Utah and Colorado as well. In the not too distant past, I had loans for a while with a "Quickpayday" out of Utah, loaning to me in Colorado.

Many months went by since I finally paid off with them, and I got a check in the mail from them (written on Wells Fargo) for the amout of interest I paid over the months...almost 2 grand.

I'm still not sure what happened, but they no longer operate in Colorado.

egw

Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:26 am Subject:

That's great Eric. They were sued by the AG's office there I believe because they overcharged customers. So it's a step in the right direction in fighting these loan sharks.

Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:30 pm Subject:

Thank you so much for posting this information. It was very helpful on my part!!! Laughing

Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:38 pm Subject:

Also, there's something called universalcashadvance.com that is no longer issuing loans at all...they are probably also in some sort of litigation.

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:19 am Subject:

I have a loan with universal cash advance that is listed with my debt consolidation company. Where did you find this information?

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:45 am Subject:

If you go to their website, it claims that they are no longer issuing "new" loans. Either they ran out of money, or someone has them on legal ropes!

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 2:38 pm Subject:

This is worth checking into further. Thanks for the heads up! I know I received a letter from a CA from them but that's all the responsed I've had from them in over two months. They used to go by another name too and I can't remember what it was.