BBB

The BBB provides information on over 2.5 million organizations/companies. It's a good idea to check before you invest or give or even do business with a company you are unsure of. You can see all the types of complaints that the company has against them. Not being a member of the BBB does not necessarily mean the company is not licensed it just means that they are not a member of the BBB. Do not take their word for it if they tell you they are and you can't find them there it means that they are not a memeber(SCAMMERS do this all the time) If you think that a company or charity has treated you unfairly, you can file a complaint online and the BBB will help you resolve the issue. Local BBBs across the US & Canada serve the consumers and businesses in their areas. Go here for more info on the BBB: www.bbb.org

As for your second question regarding pdl in Minnesota, throw the name out here and you will most likely get a mulitude of answers. Hope this helps Pauli'sGirl

Are any of these places licenced in Minnesota?? I don't know how to find out

Cashnet usa
Cashcentral
oneclickcash
ameriloan
purposeloans
payday1

I'm not really the best person to answer if those are licensed in Minnesota, but this link has the laws for pdls in all states http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/statepaydayloanlaws.html Hang on though, one of the great members here will be along to help you with finding out if they are licensed.

If a company is listed with the BBB, this means they are following the guidelines for keeping their business legit. In case there is any complaint against a company who is a BBB member, they will try to resolve it asap. However, companies not listed with the BBB are more in number.

One of the community members posted some facts about BBB. Take a look.

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/getting-loan/about24057.html

I thought the BBB was something that businesses could pay to be members of . . . . The BBB has listings for many businesses that aren't members, so just because the company is listed, it doesn't mean they are a good business.

Goudah you nailed it on the head. As you will see if you go to the BBB website and look up companies there are many that have several complaints against them. We all know that some people complain about everything no matter how much the company complains however the BBB does help to resolve all the complaints no matter how trival they may seem to the outsider. Goudah, what about the pdls the poster has listed like I said I don't know much about state licensing, I think many of them are not licensed anywhere but I didn't want to say that cause I just don't know. Pauli

I'll check . . .

Duh, i already knew this one! MN only licenses lenders physically located in MN. I have these emails back and forth from the DFI to better help explain . . .

[quote]________________________________________
From:
Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 3:44 PM
To: Financial.Commerce(at)state.mn.us
Subject: Payday loan questions

Hello,

I have a question about internet payday loans. Do these need to be licensed in MN to be legal? Also, how do I calculate the legal amount of interest they can charge me according to MN laws? I see the laws state:

Maximum Finance Rate and Fees: $5.50: $0-$50; 10%+$5: $51-$100; 7% (min. $10) + $5: $101-$250; 6% (min. $17.50) + $5: $251-$350 (After default: 2.75% per month)
Finance Charge for 14-day $100 loan: $15
apr for 14-day $100 loan: 390%

So for a $300 loan how would I calculate the interest? And since no rollovers are allowed and the companies I have loans with have rolled them over countless times, would I be correct in saying that they are breaking the law? I've been told by several of them that they don't have to follow MN laws, even though they solicited me, because they are licensed in the state that they are located in. Is that correct?

I really appreciate any help or direction you could give me!

Thanks!

________________________________________
From: Terry Meyer [mailto:Terry.Meyer@state.mn.us]
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 6:40 AM
To:
Subject: FW: Payday loan questions

First we don????????t license lenders that are domiciled in other states. Minnesota law does not have a long arm statute and allows residents to seek loans wherever they want. Solicitations via the internet or ads do not place the lender in Minnesota, only a physical location would [the exception being residential mortgage lenders].

The way to calculate the APR for a 14 day loan is either using a T-I calculator. A fast check using the example for a $100 14 day loan is;
$15 finance charge divided by the $100 loan [proceeds of the loan, or amount financed] = .15, or 15%
.15 divided by the number of days in the loan, or 14, gives you the daily rate of .0004109589
Multiply that number by 365 [days in the year] = 3.91071428415, or 391.07% APR

Does that help ???????? and in Minnesota rollovers or refinancing is not permitted. Name the MN lender and file a complaint.



________________________________________
From:
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 8:45 AM
To: Terry Meyer
Subject: FW: Payday loan questions

Terry,

So to make sure I understand this, a payday loan company located in another state doesn't have to be licensed to lend to MN consumers. But do they have to follow MN laws about rollovers and interest? Or can they follow the laws of the state in which they are located in?

Thanks for you help!

________________________________________
From: Terry Meyer [mailto:Terry.Meyer@state.mn.us]
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 6:58 AM
To:
Subject: RE: FW: Payday loan questions
It is similar to credit cards ???????? I would bet, assuming you are a MN resident, that none of your credit cards are from banks located in MN. The Supreme Court ruled in both 1978 that rates, and 1996 that fees could be imported for credit cards issued by out of state lenders to other states borrowers. Its agency law. The use of the laws of the state in which the lender is licensed is required.

Please explain your interest and the firm you represent.

________________________________________
From:
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 9:04 AM
To: Terry Meyer
Subject: RE: FW: Payday loan questions

Terry,

I don't represent any firm. I'm trying to help a friend deal with his payday loan mess. He took 9 out over the internet a few months ago. Yes, he is stupid. But now they are calling him, threatening his arrest, calling his boss and telling his boss that he's about to be arrested, and just generally harassing him because he can't pay their fees and asked to set up payment arrangements. Since all the loans are over the internet he is being charged 300% to 999% for these loans. I was just trying to get some more information about the laws governing these kind of loans to see if he had anyway to fight them. The reason I was curious about the specific point of if state law governs out of state pdl's is because where I live, Oregon, they do have a law saying that out of state pdl's much be licensed in OR and follow the laws of OR. I was hoping the same thing applied to MN, because in that case all his pdl's were grossly overcharging him.

Thanks!

________________________________________
From: Terry Meyer [mailto:Terry.Meyer@state.mn.us]
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 7:30 AM
To:
Subject: RE: RE: FW: Payday loan questions
Good luck ???????? we recently received a complaint on a Payday loan from Malta. Each state would have to be contacted for their payday loan law to determine if a violation occurred. [/quote]

So if the company isn't physically located in MN, you will need to find out if they have a license in another state. Looking at your list, I know CashNetUSA is legally licensed and lending under their Nevada license. Purpose Loans, if it's the same one i'm thinking of, is backed by the First Bank of Deleware, and Cash Central is going to be licensed out of Utah. The others most likely are not licensed legally anywhere.

You will want to call and try to work some payment arrangements out with the companies that are lending legally. The others can wait.

You will also want to close your bank account. When you do this, ask you bank what their policy on ach transaction going through on closed account is. Some banks will force open closed accounts and allow the transactions to go through. Then you end up owing the bank $1000's on an account that you thought was closed. If your bank does this, ask them to put the account on deposit only, a hard hold, or an ach block. Those should prevent any ach transactions from reopening the account once it's closed.

Also when you talk to your bank, be honest (painful I know, but necessary) with them about why you are closing that account and need all ACH's stopped and the account not forced open for them. This will help them to better serve you.