Desperately in need of PDL advise in South Dakota

darc, hang in there man. I'm going to look up a couple things and get back to you. Trust me, you're not alone in this. Others will be along to help you out also. You'll get through this, it's not the end of the world. I have twice as many as you, and I'm getting through this. After doing some research, finding this site, talking to others, etc, I can finally breath again! Trust me, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I'm going to check out the SD laws.

darc, the laws of SD aren't that bad. They allow rollovers, but I'm pretty confident the companies that you mentioned didn't follow all the rules.
How much did you borrow, and how much have you paid back to each of these companies? We need to start from there.

darc, here is a post I found on antoher thread
Posted: 10 Oct 2007 09:10


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I just received this email from the Banking Dept in South Dakota - They are very interested in any businesses operating illegally in their state.

Quote:
Goudah,

Good morning! I just wanted to follow up with you quick regarding your email from last week. We would really appreciate any information that you could provide so that we can look into anyone who may be doing business in South Dakota without the proper license.

Please let me know if you have any questions or instructions on how to get the information to our office.

Cassie Branaugh
SD Division of Banking
217 1/2 W Missouri Ave
Pierre SD 57501
Phone #: (605) 773-8454
Fax #: (605) 773-5367



Anyone here from South Dakota dealing with payday loans, I urge you to please contact them and file complaints asap!

Out of every state I've contacted for information, this is the first one that has followed up and really pressed for any information about these businesses! This is a great step!
_________________

Hi Darc,
first of all you are not horrible by any means. it would be bad to ignore everything that's happening but you are being proactive in your situation and submarinesailor has looked up instrumental tools for you to work with! there are loads of people who use these forums constantly and they will be along to help you as well. I hope that all works out and I was hoping you would keep in touch because we can learn from you. I hope you contact SD Division of Banking and please let us know what their course of action is so that others know what to do in a similar situation. hang in there :)

Thank you both for your help and kind words so far. It really makes me feel less hopeless to have someone to talk with about this. I will definitely let everyone know what steps I take and what kind of responses I get from the PDL companies, the SD Division of Banking, any other offices I contact, etc.

I do have one question though... Should I keep plugging away at paying these while I am gathering info and sending letters, or shall I close my bank account immediately? What have others done? What would all of you recommend?

I am so sick of this whole mess! I know it won't go away quickly, but I am prepared to spend every moment of my spare time writing letters, making calls, emailing, whatever I have to do to get these wretched things out of my life.

I am so happy that I signed up here. I think it's the smartest thing I have done in a long time.

Darc-Glad you're back..we need to know the following to get started:

how much you have paid each and what the original loan amount was for

Are they internet or storefront loans

I see you're in SD

Legal Status: Permitted under small loan act or licensing law

Citation:
S.D. Codified Laws ???? 54-4-36 et seq.

Loan Terms:
Maximum Loan Amount: $500
Loan Term: Not Specified
Maximum Finance Rate and Fees: Not Specified
Finance Charge for 14-day $100 loan: No Limit
apr for 14-day $100 loan: No Limit

Debt Limits:
Maximum Number of Outstanding Loans at One Time: Not Specified
Rollovers Permitted: Four (licensee can renew, rollover or flip loan if debtor pays outstanding fee each time)
Cooling-off Period:
Repayment Plan:

Collection Limits:
Collection Fees: Not Specified
Criminal Action: Not Specified

Where to Complain, Get Information:
Regulator: South Dakota Division of Banking
Address: 217 1/2 West Missouri Avenue Pierre SD 57501
Phone: (605) 773-3421
Fax: (605) 773-5367
Regulatory Contact: ,
Regulator Website

Its going to be okay and there is a light at the end of the tunnel....you're in good company here!!


Are you in a position to close your checking account asap? That is really the only was to get them to stop debiting.

Also, I see above that you have a loan with Cash Transfer Centers....they had you sign a Wage Assignment Agreement. We need to work on getting that revoked too.

Go ahead and if you can, please list the info I mentioned above and I will be back with more info.

This is Darc877 - now I can't sign in. When I signed up last night, I was automatically logged in... I haven't yet received an email with my password, so I requested it be reset, and I haven't received that email yet either. As soon as I get "in" I will post as much information as I can about my situation.

I am afraid that Cash Transfer Centers is the only one who may have violated SD laws. Apparently they are only allowed to loan $500.00 a time, and they have repeatedly lent me $600.00.

thanks again, I am so greatful to all of you! :)

darc-Hello!!

email [email]mike@debtconsolidationcare.com[/email] to see if he can help with the log-on issue.

At worst case, you can close your account and just work out payment arrangements with everyone. But lets see how much you have paid everyone.

Come on back soon with that info! :D

Wow. I knew this was bad, but once you sit down and add it all up it is grotesque. Here is what I have come up with:

Cash Transfer Centers doesn't have me on a "loan rollover" option, instead, I re-loan the day after they take almost my whole paycheck out of my account to pay off the loan and fees in one pay check. I have "re-loaned" 11 times; two for $300, two for $400, three for $500.00, and four for $600. I have paid them: $5969.00 so far, with another $762.00 due on 10/31.

Cash Central: I have had several loans with them, but the current one is for $500.00, and I have paid $350.00 so far and have 2 "renewals" left.

Cash Net USA: I currently have a $500.00 loan with them and have paid $332.50 so far, and have 2 "renewals" left with them also.

Fast Cash Personal Loans (Apple): I have taken out two loans with them, the first one was for $300.00 and I paid them $892.08 over 8 pay periods and one lump sum of $247.77 at the end.

I took out a $400.00 loan in June, and have so far paid back $803.37 over 7 pay periods, and still owe $329.00 without fees.

"B.I.G.": I borrowed $200.00 in May and have paid $580.00 so far in 10 installments, and I can't get a hold of anyone to find out how much they claim I still owe.

Cheiftan: I borrowed $300.00 and have paid two payments of $180.00 so far, with the "option" of paying $180.00 plus the initial $300, or to continue paying fees only indefinitely.

Star Advance: I borrowed $400.00 and have only paid $35.60 back, but they are another one that will allow you to go on forever paying only fees.

And last; My Loan USA (MTE): I got a loan from them of $250.00 on the 5th, which was my last attempt at the vicious cycle of getting from one to pay another before finding this website. I have not yet paid them anything.

Thanks again everyone. After tallying all of the payments vs. amounts borrowed I can't believe while applying for one after another I actually had the thought "It's not so bad, I can work my way out of this" in my head. :(

Oh, one more thing... they are all internet loans.

Hi, darc! :D First of all, I do so hate for you to feel horrible. Believe me, many of us came here with far more pdls than you have. Too bad your state allows so many rollovers. Yuck. Now, in addition to Cash Transfer Centers (who you need to send a letter revoking any wage assignment you signed), you may also have to do that for BIG. You are actually dealing with some (not all) unlicensed/illegal companies. Actually Cash Transfer Centers would be one. BIG would be one. MTE would be one. I do believe that CashNetUSA is licensed. The others, I'm not positive about. But this may work in your favor, as they are not licensed to legally lend.

I'm just confused as to what would happen if you closed your bank account, seeing as how your state pdl law says "not specified" for criminal action. Are you going to contact the SD Division Of Banking, as posted above? If so, could you ask them what would happen if you did indeed close your account?

Cannr..thanks for bringing this back up to the top....with all the SPAM tonight, I lost it :(

Terrible. I'm trying to dig the "real" posts out to help these people!

darc-we are having a bad spam issue on this board tonight....I have a letter to send you.

Thanks Cannr, we are losing all the real ones, and the spam keeps pushing them down deeper

This is nuts!

Darc..We hope you come back :)

bump

I hope darc can find his way back...:(

goudah's working on this. Should be no problem soon.

I will have to contact the SD Division of Banking ASAP, I definitely don't want to be committing any kind of criminal action by closing my bank account. On the SD Div of Banking's website there is a list of licensed lenders in SD. As far as I can tell, and according to the list; Cash Central or DFS Loans is the only one of the companies I am currently dealing with are licenced here, unless they are going under different names that I don't know about (yet).

I will contact the division right away and come back to let everyone know what I find out.

In the meantime, can anyone please direct me towards or email me a teplate of a letter to revoke a wage assignment, and any other letters I should be sending to these companies right away? Any advise on other things I should do (email the companies/call them) would also be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

are you still on darc? I am going to send you a test PM, respond to it and then I am going to send you a kick butt letter!

I didn't even see that there was a second page of posts, sorry for just jumping into a reply from cannr several messages ago.

And someone said they hope I find my way back, don't worry -- I am here to stay... :)
I am certain a lot of you felt this way too, but I am sooooo releived to be able to talk about this with people who are now or who have been in similar situations, I already feel better just knowing that someone can help guide me on the right path. And I am willing to help with whatever I can, I can't wait to share any helpful information I find. The support you have going here is wonderful! You can't get rid of me now! :D

NO problem! We are being bombarded by spam and it keeps pushing this thread down on the board....the reason for all my posts earlier. Didnt want to lose this one.

One more thing; When I contact the SD Div of Banking, should I only inquire about what would happen if I close my bank account, or should I give them all of the names of the companies I am dealing with and or file complaints against the ones not listed as licensed in SD?

Good questions..

Couple of things, the first thing is to get a clear answer on potential action on closing your account. We want to cut off the money source to these PDL's immediately. Phone the SD Div of Banking, mention that you have illegal PDL's and let them know you need to close your account....ask if SD state law allows prosecution against you if you closed the account.


Secondly, when you send these PDL's the letter i just sent to you via PM, you are going to CC the SD Div of Banking and whomever else such as your Attorney General. Write them a cover letter of the sitation and then include copies of the letters you wrote to the PDL's.

Okay, thank you. I just asked about that in a PM. You're way ahead of me.

Thanks!!!

Got your PM's...glad they went through. Sometimes mine get stuck :? for some reason.

darc, I think CashNetUSA might be operating under a license in another state. Nevada? I can't remember for sure. But I do believe they use that license that they have to operate legally. Now, if I'm incorrect, please someone come along and correct me!

I moved this to the PDL forum so the spam won't be an issue.

Close the account. It's safe. It's unspecified in SD, but you will be fine. Other's in your state have closed their accounts with no problems. Just be sure to read the sticky posted at the top of this forum before you go to the bank.

Make sure you stress to the bank that fraud is going on and you need to stop any possible transactions.

Cashnet is licensed in most states, including mine in CA.
But does SD have the same loophole as PA has? About "if they are licensed in another state....they are okay to lend in a state they are not licensed in"?

Cash Net USA is licensed in SD too. They are licensed under Cash America Net license # 2641.

No, they have to be licensed in SD.

Excellent...thanks for that info goudah! And thanks for moving this out of SPAM-HE**!!

So Cash "America" Net...LOL!!

Also, another thing to note - The question of getting into trouble for closing your bank account really only comes into play with storefronts. There has to be a paper check to get a bad check charge. Since these are all internet companies, there is not worry because the Electronic Funds Transfer Act prohibits businesses from requiring payment by reoccurring ACH. So you always have the legal right to revoke ACH authorization. With that, there is no possible way you could get into trouble for closing the account. Make sense? I'm trying to type fast because it's taking all my time to delete the spam!

Thats good..I was thinking that earlier with regard to ACH vs. checks but didnt want to mis-speak.

Thanks for helping rid us of spam on the other board.

Yay, goudah! Got our question answered! She's the queen! :D

Hey everyone. What do I do now? I can only find a couple of the contracts I printed off when I took these loans out. I obviously need them to file any complaints, right?

I am also quite scared that even when I send my letters, the PDL companies will still try to call me at work. I suppose there is NO way to make them quit completely, but I am so embarrassed and don't want my co-workers to answer any of these calls. What do I say to the collector people to get them to leave me alone once I have gotten my return receipt cards back verifying they have received my cease and decist letters?

I am going to try really hard to be firm but I am a big chicken. I am easily intimidated.

Hi darc...you don't need the contracts to file complaints or write your letters. If they call you at work tell them do not call me here and since you have been informed if you continue you are breaking the law. If privacy is an issue at work...why not tell them you are a victim of identy theft..and someone used your name to take out bad loans...so there might be a few calls until the authorities gain control of the situation. No one has to really know why they are calling...most of mine did not call at work once they were told not too.

Thanks Morningstarr!

One more question to all...

Have most of you done this with a debt settlement or Consolidation company, or have you done it on your own?

I don't want to be too hasty, however, I feel that I don't have time to find a company that is reputable and not enough time to set something up, no resources to handle initial charges, etc... do you think I can handle it by myself?

darc, completely up to you. It depends on if you're "up for it" and have the money to pay a company to do your dirty work for you. Either way, there is no wrong answer. Some people, it's best for them to get a company to do the dirty work for them. Which is fantastic. Then others, we do it on our own. Yes, it can be done. We're doing it/have done it. Yes, it does get ugly. Yes, it is stressful. But we've done it. It's totally up to you, darc. And, regarding getting calls at work - some people didn't get many calls at work. I personally got hit hard at work. Tell them (if you get stuck with them on the phone) that they are only to communicate with you via email or USPS and hang up the phone. First of all, try not to take the calls at all. I know it's hard, but the best thing to do is not take them. And each time they do try to call you at work, email/fax them a letter stating NOT to contact you via telephone and that you will only communicate via email or USPS. You may have to do this 100 times, but eventually they will catch on and start emailing you. darc, you can probably do this on your own if you're "up for it". We can help you through it. However, if you decide to use a company to take care of it for you, that is just fine also. We have members that are using a company to help them, and we have members that are fighting it on their own. So, actually, it's whatever works best for you! :D

Many have done it themselves. It just takes some time, research, and energy.

To do it yourself, you need to develop a thick skin. These companies will get nasty, and you will need to be able to deal with it. That is the hardest part, but if you keep with the forum, you can learn some fun ways to deal with the calls.

Well said Goudah! I am, if I might just toot my own horn here, the guru of crafting some very creative email responses back to some of these jokers. And I post them here for all of us to share.

But even so, I agree with goudah, thick skin is a must! I had to prepare myself for the barrage of phone calls, even when after I send my letters. Some people listened, some didnt.

They are relentless and will say anything to scare you. Right now, if I dont recognize the ph# on my phone, I just dont answer it, plain and simple.

I just got off of the phone with Linda at The SD Division of Banking. I gave her the summary of what was going on, and said "I want to close my checking account, but am scared that I could get in trouble for doing so." She informed me that it is my right to close my account and I can't get into trouble for it. She didn't seem too sure though, so I asked "since these are ACH transactions and not paper checks, I can't get in trouble for bad checks, right?" To that she said no, they are different, and I will be fine. She also said she highly recommends that I fill out and fax or mail complaint forms on each of the companies that I believe are violating SD law. I told her I was in the process of getting those filled out and would fax them as soon as they were completed.

I am still waiting for one more check to come through my account, and then I will close it. I decided not to send the letters just yet either, I am scared of what the companies might try if they know I plan to cut off their source!! So, I will wait until the account is closed to send the letters. I think I will email the letters too, in addition to mailing them.

YEs! Email, fax and mail certified!!! Do it all and keep all the proof!!


high five to you darc! You are on the right track! 8)

Thank you!!

And one more thing, how do I find out what other names these companies go by? I am afraid to say "you are not licensed in the state of South Dakota" and have them come back with "yeah, lady, do your research, we are!!!"

Call them up and ask them for their licensing information. If they are licensed, they will not mind providing that info. If they aren't licensed, they will give you a line of BS.

darc, smart move. Do NOT send any pdls anything until your bank account is straightened out. If they even have an idea that you may be closing/blocking the account, they will swoop like vultures on a dead animal. They'll hit your account like you wouldn't believe. Do not breath a word. Once your account is taken care of, get those letters out. Like volley stated, if you have an email address, email it. If you have a fax number, fax it. But, by all means, mail the original certified mail. Good job so far, darc! And if you have any questions regarding any of them, just post them. We can help you look up whatever you need. :wink: