As promised, I offer a copy of my cover letter to the NJ Dept. of Banking:
To whom it may concern,
I have just become aware that the practice of Payday Lending is illegal in the state of New Jersey. I have been at the mercy of these lenders for several months, and I admit it was unwise of me to succumb to the barrage of emails and text messages I received from them when we were going through difficult times. My wife has been fighting breast cancer and there were a lot of expenses not covered by insurance.
As a result of all the stress at home I lost focus on my finances. I started with two payday loans, and soon found I needed more of them to pay off the original ones. At the end of July, one of the lenders unexpectedly took all their principal and interest (they had sent me an email two days before, but I was engrossed in a big project at work and missed it.) One again, stupidly, I took out another payday loan. The day after the funds arrived, my bank account was debited for $39.99 for an internet
**** site. I don™t do that! I contacted my bank at once, and the fraud department there put the account on hold. I got a new account, and I do not plan on telling any payday lenders about it. Remaining principals will be paid with money orders.
****Adult term removed - Jason
This was a wake up call. I did some research and found out that Payday loans are illegal in New Jersey. While all of these sites are internet based and claim to operate within the laws of their home state, they are not licensed to lend to New Jersey residents. My research indicated that the correct course of action would be to send all eight remaining lenders a Cease and Desist letter, and to pay off any principal balance remaining on any accounts. Half of the accounts have already been seriously overpaid, while I still owe on the others.
Here is a breakdown of my loans, including the dates in 2008 I began:
3/31 Web Payday Borrowed 500 Paid so far 1050 phone 800-814-5451
3/31 Upfront Payday Borrowed 500 Paid so far 1135 phone 800-474-2909
5/1 USFastCash Borrowed 500 Paid so far 995 phone 800-640-1295.
5/16 Cash Direct GECC Borrowed 300 Paid so far 364 phone 866-432-2562
6/13 OneClickCash Borrowed 300 Paid so far 270 phone 800-230-3266
6/18 NetCashUSA Borrowed 250 Paid so far 245 phone 866-348-6200
6/16 American Consumer Ccredit Borrowed 200 Paid so far 150 phone (866) 443 9968
7/30 EastSideLenders Borrowed 300 Paid so far 0 phone 866-569-6636
The company that took their funds at once was called
my cash now (866-398-CASH). Since they are satisfied, I am not including them in this complaint.
I am enclosing copies of the Cease and Desist letter I am sending to each of these lenders, which includes their mailing addresses. I have a feeling they will not comply. My research has turned up horror stories of horrific threats, exorbitant fines, sherriffs arriving at peoples places of employment, and tactics worthy of loan sharks.
I know now it was a terrible mistake to get involved in this sort of activity. I hope I am taking the proper actions to get out from under this collective thumb. If I am, I hope your office will be my ally in what I expect to be an ugly battle. If I was wrong to send these letters, I look to you for advice on how to handle this matter.
I am thankful that these loans are illegal in New Jersey. I wish I had known before I got involved. My hope is that laws will be enacted to prohibit Payday Lenders from offering loans to New Jersey residents. Barring that, my hope is that citizens become aware of the pitfalls of these loans and, even in dire times, avoid them.
Thank you for any assistance in this matter. I hope I am taking the correct action. If there is any more information you may require, please email me at (address)
Sincerely,
Any thoughts?
Thanks again!
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