sonic payday loan

Hi Cindy

Welcome to the forums. Please make yourself well aware of your consumer rights as per the fdcpa law. If the representative threatens you with a breach of contract, then they need to provide you the agreement letter which mentions that the contract has been violated.

The FDCPA law does not restrict you from making payment arrangements with your debt collectors and thus it is not a violation of the law. Further, they are not allowed to harass consumers while recovering the debt. Please inform them that imposing harassments is a violation of the FDCPA law and you have the legal right to take action against them.

Before you start making payment to your debt collectors, please ask them to validate the debt as it is your legal right to know the complete details of the said account. They need to provide all the necessary information about your accounts which will cover the following points:

• The details of the account.
  
  
• All the calculation should be shown of the amount that is owed.
  
  
• Any copies of the papers to be furnished that shows the payment agreement.
  
  
• Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable
  
  
• The original creditor needs to be identified.
  
  
• The Statute of Limitation needs to be proven for the collection of the debt.
  
  
• The license of the collection agency applicable in the state is to be furnished along with the license numbers and Registered Agent
  
  
• Proof of the agreement that the debt collector has purchased the debt or has been hired by the creditor to collect the debt from the debtor as this is the basic contract law.
  
  
• Complete payment history showing the details of the creditors, payment history, amount of the debt, break up of fees/interest should be provided in paper.
  
  
• A copy of the original signed loan agreement between the debtor and the original creditor establishing the debt between both the parties also has to be produced.
  

I too am dealing with a Sonic/Coastline Credit nightmare. My husband defaulted on his loan and we were given until Monday to pay in full or they will assign his wages for the total amount. I did some research. The paper he signed claimed that the wage assignment was "irrevocable". However the FTC banned irrevocable wage assignments with the Credit Practioes Rule in March of 1985. Please check out the FTC website To quote the Credit Practice Rule "Under the Rule's prohibition against "wage assignments", your consumer contracts MAY NOT provide for the irrevocable advance assignment to you of any money due consumers because of their personal services if they do not pay as agreed." You must send a certified letter revoking the wage assignment. I realize this part may be tricky as Sonic is not exactly forthcoming with their mailing address. I myself used the DE address that is listed with the BBB. It remains to be seen if they actually sign for it. The most important part is to talk with your payroll deptmartment. Inform them that you have revoked the wage assignment and give them a copy of letter and certified receipt. If necessary also supply them with a print out of Credit Practice Rule. The wage assignment is NOT court ordered and they are therefore not obligated to comply. In fact, if revoked they are not permitted to comply. Tell them if contacted by Sonic to let you know. I would also advise hiring an attorney or credit counselor to negotiate a settlement. I was lucky that my bank worked with me - of course this was after Coastline Credit attempted to withdraw 4578 out of our bank account for a loan that was only 1500. I signed affadavits of unauthorised withdrawals and closed the account. We have a new account and Sonic/Coastline does not and will not have access to those numbers. Finally, to everyone having a bad experience with this company - lets fight back a little. I have filed a complaint with the FTC for the "irrevocable wage assignment". I also filed a complaint with the BBB for not being supplied with a physical address when requested. I will continue to research and find out who else I can let know about their business practices. But the more people who complain, the more likely it will get attention. Best of luck to all.

Here's some links
ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/complcred.htm
illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=3714
illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=2009

mbishop - thanks for this information. It will really help the community members.

I hope it helps. Quite frankly we all learned the hard way that Payday loans are not a good option for help. It just starts a vicious cycle. While I don't advocate not paying back what one owes, no one deserves to be terrorized. This "wage assignment" threat has actually turned into a blessing as I have learned so much about credit laws. Again I encourage everyone who has been treated unfairly to know their rights and file complaints.

Payday loan companies are willing to loan out money for the ???fees' that really amounts to a very huge profit at the debtor's expense.

The root problem is that the consumers are strangled by their debt related problems. Credit cards, store accounts, installment payments and such can eat up the income quickly. debt reduction plans are really helpful during such times.

It is also possible that a person is spending more than he makes. A proper budgeting will help to recover and one should spare a few minutes every week and plan things out. You can categorize and total them to see what the actual spending is. Then, income should also be ascertained for the same time period and it is necessary to make sure that you are not spending more than you earn.

It is possible that we all sometimes fall behind in our payments. But proper budgeting helps to accommodate the "budget busters" and surprise expenses that may come up. It may mean cutting back on cable, magazine subscriptions or eating out.

Regards
Roxette