SC internet payday loans - HELP!

I live in SC. After researching your site yesterday, I realized I was way in over my head. I had enough sense to stop all ACH debits at my bank yesterday afternoon until I could get some more information from this site.

I have 8 internet payday loans currently open (9 including ChecknGo, but I don't have an issue with them as they follow the guidelines of my state). 2 of these were closed, but I re-opened (borrowing from Peter to pay Paul). None of them take full payment each payday - only fees are deducted. Most of these call this "renewing" the loan, but after reading here, I realized that's not legal in my state. I hope someone can give me some guidance as I'm ready to go to war with whomever to get this taken care of. They are:

CashDirect (GECC) - $400 loan; repaid $530 in fees only
Ameriloan - $200 loan; repaid $240 in fees only
PayDay Max (original) - $500 loan; repaid $1039.98 total
PayDay Max (renewed) -- $550 loan; repaid $380.38 in fees only
UpFrontCash - $300 loan; repaid $180 in fees only
IntegrityAdvance (original) - $500 loan; repaid total of $1370
IntegrityAdvance (renewed) - $250 loan; repaid $0
AAAPayDay - $300 loan; repaid $225 in fees only
PanAmFinancial - $375 loan; repaid $225 in fees only
StarCashProcessing - $200 loan; repaid $120 in fees only

Because I was getting behind, my husband got the following:

UnitedCash - $300 loan; repaid $0 so far
StarCashProcessing - $200 loan; repaid $60 in fees only so far
FBD Loans - $500 loan; 6 payments of $151.73; $0 repaid so far

We will gladly pay what we owe, but I suspect that some of these aren’t even legal. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.

I am moving this to the payday laon section so more people will see it.

Click the link below to read your state pdl laws. Keep in mind that South Carolina requires internet based pdl's to be licensed by your state.
http://www.paydayloaninfo.org/state_detail.cfm?id=SC

I have searched for the licensee data base at the South Carolina Depatment OF Consumer Affairs and could not locate it. You can do a search yourself on this site by typing the name of the lender in the search box located in the upper right hand corner of this forum. I know for certain the folling lenders are not legal.

UnitedCash
CashDirect (GECC)
PayDay Max
UpFrontCash
IntegrityAdvance

CLICK HERE to find out how to deal with illegal lenders.

UPDATE:

I just sent out e-mails to all my loans. I received the following reply (within an hour, I might add) from Star Cash Processing:

Your account has been sent to collections for non-payment on the loan you freely entered into in a legally binding document when you provided your electronic signature agreeing to all terms and conditions, as well as the fees incurred, including the two service charge payments you have already made. Do not contact customer service any longer as your account has been sent to collections, our compliance department and our legal team. No one in our customer service department will be able to disclose any information to you as your account. To avoid situations like this in the future, please read the fine print and do your research before you enter into legally binding contracts.

I will continue to stand firm. I conveyed in my letter I was willing to pay the remaining principal if they'd send me their mailing address. Guess that wasn't good enough.

I'll keep you guys updated. After realizing all them except FBDLoans were illegal, I felt so much better. We only owe $885 in principal aside from the FBDLoan. This is MUCH better than the hopelessness I felt when I logged on here last week. I even demanded refunds totalling $1366.18. Though I doubt I'll see them, it never hurts to ask.

Thanks, again, for the help and for having so much information available!

please keep us updating with star cash. i am having an awful time with them and i never even recieved money from them! at first i thought it was from a loan from last year but now i am not so sure, i have not applied for a loan in over a year
but please keep us posted..

Here we go with CashDirect-GECC. They just sent me the following:
-------------------------------------
Thank you for your recent inquiry.

Please be advised that Cash direct express is governed under Delaware law. For your convenience, we’ve attached a copy of your loan agreement and pasted the section regarding our governing laws below.

GOVERNING LAW, ASSIGNMENT AND EXECUTION: This Loan Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, as it is the State in which Your Application is received, the Loan Agreement is entered into, the Loan is approved and funded and where payment is received by Us in fulfillment of Your obligations under the Loan Agreement. We may assign or transfer this Loan Agreement or any of Our rights hereunder. If this Loan Agreement is approved by Us, then You agree that the electronically signed Loan Agreement We receive from You will be considered the original executed Loan Agreement, which is binding and enforceable as to both parties.

We hope this answers any of your concerns regarding the laws Cash Direct Express is governed under. In reviewing your account, it appears that we have forwarded your information to a collection agency. In order to set up a payment arrangement, or settle this outstanding balance, we request that you contact Alliance Asset Management at: 1 (800) 399-8584. If you should have any additional questions or concerns please email us at customerservice@cashdirectexpress.com or contact us at 1 (866) 432-2562 Mon-Fri from 8:30am to 5:00pm.

Thank you,
Customer Relations
Cash Direct Express
-------------------------------------------------------

Anyone have suggestions on how to reply, other than I live in SC and I am bound by the laws of my state, not DE? I have paid $530 on a $400 loan. I'll stand firm with them. Just wanted to get opinions on what to say.

just like you said.your state law prevails.do not back down.let them know you won't be intimitated.

Received the following this morning and researched here. They must be responding for PaydayMax:

----------------------------------------------
CREDIT PROTECTION DEPOT
1-866-645-1661



AUTHORIZATION REVOKED WARNING

dear customer:

We have received information from your bank that you have revoked our authorization to debit funds from your checking account in order to repay your legally binding loan obligation. Most banks require that you sign an affidavit stating that you did not give authorization to perform such transaction. But, if you recall, in your loan agreement, you DID an authorization for debits to the account in order to repay your loan obligation. Therefore, we may deem it necessary to contact your bank, fax them a copy of the signed agreement (which gives us the authorization), and have the revocation reversed.

We may also initiate other action, which may include, but not be limited to, outside representation (which would create additional charges to you), if we determine that a request be made for service or for a court appearance for a possible judgment. Therefore, we must require that you render your payment in the amount of $721.30 via western union quick collect or moneygram immediately. This payment reflects your balance as of July 2nd 2009.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding how you obtained the loan, we may also initiate internal investigation to ensure all information submitted on the loan application was accurate and not done fraudulently in order to attempt to obtain a loan under false pretenses.

You need to go to Western Union and get the BLUE QUICK COLLECT FORM (or go to ..... and choose the quick collection option)

1. COMPANY NAME: CREDIT PROTECTION DEPOT
2. CODE CITY: OFFER (ONE WORD NO SPACES).
3. STATE: NEVADA
4. ACCOUNT #: Your Social Security Number
5. The reference # is Your Telephone Number


You can also use your debit card or various charge cards at .....

OR you can go to Moneygram and get the BLUE EXPRESSPAYMENT FORM
1. The Company name is: CPD-OFFER
2. The Receive Code is: 4243
3. The City is: Las Vegas
4. The State is: Nevada
5. The Account Number is: 1432330970

If you are unable to pay $721.30 for the entire balance on the loan, then we must require a minimum payment of $240.43 to place the account on legal hold.

If this account is referred for further review and action to our outside firm for additional collection efforts, it will commence activity on the account to be done to the fullest extent of the law in order to protect our interest in this matter. At that point, you will be responsible for all additional fees associated with costs involved for the collection of this debt.

Please call us immediately with the Control Number of your wire in order to update your account and to avoid other action and charges to you.

I would highly suggest you call 1-866-645-1661 to resolve this matter immediately. This is the only way for you to resolve this very serious situation which you have initiated. Your failure to do so will result in the above mentioned action being taken.

Thank you,

CREDIT PROTECTION DEPOT

**Please Do Not Reply To This Email**
You can contact us at our toll free number 1-866-645-1661.
------------------------------------------------------

Suggestions as to a response?

Delete the above please!!!! I forgot to remove my name and wasn't logged in.

done,but that is another BS e-mail.respond if you can that they are illegal,and if you do owe you will send it.keep responding thar way,or if you overpaid tell them you will pay no more.repeat those responses everytime they give you one of those form e-mails.

Thanks for the help!

I have, in fact, overpaid by over $500 on a combined 3 loans. I feel like I've done something wrong by not paying them anymore. I'm sticking with the advice I get from this site, though, and appreciate the support.

do not feel that way.these places would debit forever if allowed.they act illegaly in every way.they took advantage of you.not the other way around.

Thanks for the encouragement. I feel morally obligated to pay what I owe. I just didn't realize how much I had overpaid until I found your site while looking for a payday loan consolidation plan. I'm glad I found you.

So far, I've sent the letters via e-mail and have stopped all ACH drafts on my checking account. My bank, who has been very understanding in helping me deal with this, asked why I wanted to stop the drafts and I explained that these loans were actually illegal in SC and I could revoke their ACH privileges if I wanted to. I will be closing my current account as soon as all legitimate outstanding debits/checks clear to stop any future attempts to debit my account by these vultures.

Keep up the good work and keep us posted!

How does this sound for a reply to Cash Direct (though they said I should call that CA, I wanted to reiterate my stance):

Thank you for the prompt response. However, I disagree with your assessment. I reside in SC - not Delaware - and am governed by the laws of my state, not the state where your company is located. Again, the laws for SC are:

South Carolina State Information

Citation:
S.C. Code Ann. 34-39-110 et seq.

Loan Terms:
Maximum Loan Amount: $300
Loan Term: Max: 31 days
Maximum Finance Rate and Fees: 15%
Finance Charge for 14-day $100 loan: $15
APR for 14-day $100 loan: 390%

Debt Limits:
Maximum Number of Outstanding Loans at One Time: Not Specified
Rollovers Permitted: None
Collection Limits:
Collection Fees: Lesser of: NSF fee of $10 or actual charge
Criminal Action: Prohibited

Where to Complain, Get Information:
Regulator: South Carolina State Board of Financial Institutions
Address: Consumer Finance Division, P.O. Box 11905 Columbia SC 29211
Phone: (803) 734-2020
Fax: (803) 734-2025
Regulatory Contact: C. Dean Bratton,, Commissioner of Consumer Finance
Regulator Website


As stated previously, I have paid $530 on a $400 loan. Legally, I am only obligated to pay the original principal amount of $400 because you are not licensed in SC. I, therefore, demand this account be marked Paid In Full, a letter stating such be sent, and my account closed. I further demand a refund of $130 in illegal fees charged for the loan.

I would like to work out this situation in an amicable manner and am willing to negotiate. However, I must again insist that any contact be made through US Postal mail or email only. I prohibit you or your affiliates to contact me via telephone at my place of employment or any other phone number you have on file for me. I also prohibit you from calling my references listed on my loan. Continuing to do so will result in complaints filed with the BBB, my state Attorney General's office, and the FTC.