Help me?

Dox, Welcome to the site. There is so much good information on here and the people on here can help you. Starting with the 7 pdls, can you list whether they are storefront or internet, who they are with, how much you borrowed and the total of how much you have paid back to each. We also need to know which state you are in. Does a collection agency have the credit card bills?

I'm in California. My debts are as follows:

* one brick and mortar PDL willing to wait till Saturday, Dec 15th for a $220 loan ($38 fee). I've been carrying this loan for at least 2-3 years.
* a second brick and mortar PDL ($300, loan+fee) on it's way to collections
* about 5 online PDLs totaling $900, plus about $200 in fees
* two credit cards (Chase and WaMu) totaling $900 in maxed credit, plus about $1200 in late and charge-off fees
* an unpaid bill for two months of US Cellular service totaling almost $700 (including late and breach of contract fees)
* a student loan for $2600, I filed for deferment a number of times, but I missed a few weeks, or I'm ineligible for more deferments, and it's headed to collections soon

I really, really want to pay what I owe, but I was barely able to pay it back then, and now I need some kind of special attention. I guess I would be better off in jail, but then my replacement would probably abuse my daughter.

My income is, at the moment, about $200 per week in part-time wages, plus about $2000 every February from EIC on my tax return (if I make between $6000-20000 in wages during the previous year). I've filed for unemployment, but I'm still waiting for the award/denial letter.

My wife is in between jobs right now, but it's unlikely she'll get a job within a month. I'm hoping to get back into a college schedule and get into accounting, or something better than "computer science." We've been looking for a some kind of a personal loan to get through this indeterminate period of financial turmoil, but I'm pretty sure nobody will give us a loan with a credit score of ~450 (that's before filing bankruptcy, which I doubt I could afford anyway).

dox, first of all - no, you would not be better off in jail! My gosh! I think when we all came here at first, we thought we would be better off if we "disappeared"! But, we're still here and things are better and we're able to help others now! As for your debts, it looks like you have 2 storefronts, 5 internets, 2 credit cards, cell service, and a student loan. Now, we can more than likely help you with the storefronts and internets, okay? If you want to tackle them on your own, we can do it. However, if you want to take another route and combine everything together, we do have some members here that use a company called T&C. T&C can handle your debts (I'm not positive about the student loan) including your pdls. A lot of places won't touch plds, but T&C will. It's up to you, dox. We can help you with part of it (the storefronts and internets). Other members can help you regarding your options on your credit cards, cell phone debt, and student loan debt. Or you can try calling the debtcc phone number and get a free consultation from a financial coach who can give you the best direction to go regarding your particular situation. The phone number for debtcc is 1-800-601-1579 if you want to give them a call. It's free. So, there are a few options. Read through and post any questions and we can see where we can go from here! :D

Yeah, a guy from DebtCC called me already and said it didn't sound like I had enough debt to be worth an attorney's time. Would the T&C company charge me a fee, or give me the personal loan my wife insists on getting?

I hate bringing my wife into things, but she's the primary financial planner. I'm probably going to have to psychologically bitchslap her by demanding requisition forms whenever she spends money (imagine it: filling out a official family form in order to pay the rent!). Obviously, our financial practices have largely failed to date, at least in my view. My wife would say we're just in a temporary tough spot and need a little loan to help us until she gets a job and our tax return comes in and then everybody will get paid off. I've heard such fairy tales almost every January while we count the days until our W2's come in. At the rate we ran up payday loans in November, I don't think we'll be having our EIC refund directly deposited this year (as we've always done in the past).

Every single payday loan was her idea, my fault was not putting my foot down and telling her to damn whatever bill she wanted to pay early, cause now they're ALL late. Ugh. I knew this was coming years ago, and she told me to look on the bright side.

dox, stop beating yourself up! We all get into "spots". You're not the only one! Now, I know T&C will combine your debts (pdls included) and I believe what they do it - yes, they will charge you a fee; however, they will then contact your creditors and set up payments with each of them. From what I've heard, they're pretty decent payments. I personally haven't dealt with T&C; however, many members have. It's just that a lot of companies won't deal with pdls. T&C does. And they also do other debt. Now, I'm not positive if they can help with the student loan. Do you want me to see if I can do a search and get their information for you? You can always call them and see what they have to say. I say it never hurts to call. I can do that and post what I find, if you like. And, please, don't beat yourself up over this. We've all been there.

I found two different contacts for them. So I'm posting both to be on the safe side. Here is the first one I found:

Town & Country Acceptance Corporation
PO Box 660500
Birmingham AL 35266

phone number: 205-823-4930
fax number: 205-823-7858
toll free number: 800-654-7818

Here is another post by one of our members (cajunbulldog) who did some research on them. Note at the bottom that he stated he's heard good things about them from members of this community. I'm quoting what he posted for you:

I dont know if your student loan is federal or private, but most are not eligible to be included in debt consolidation...just something to think about.

I've been playing with the entries in the "My Debts" area, and it helps paint a clearer picture of my situation. Even taking out the student loan, it seems inevitable to me that I'll have to cancel my payroll direct deposit in order to see any income at all in the coming weeks. T&C is a credit counseling company; Lowermybills.com was the only credit counselor I found for my local area. But before I even bother calling a credit counselor, I should verify that credit counselor DO NOT give out loans?? If all a credit counselor is going to do is negotiate with my current creditors, I can't honestly enter an agreement for a monthly payment schedule. My rent is approaching 2-3 months late! We need a loan: how about $3000 at 20% interest, over 3 years, leveraged against my federal tax refund? I can't do monthly payments, but I can swing to an annual schedule. PLEASE! My credit score is about 450, but I won't be able to repair it if I'm homeless.

I'm sorry for unloading in this manner. I just need some leads to follow. My ideas are running out.

dox, hang on, okay? I'm going to see if other members can give more insight into this for you. You haven't been forgotten. Just hang on & we'll see if we can get some other opinions and suggestions for you.

dox...In June I was 2 months behind in rent and utilities, hadn't paid any of my 4 credit cards in 4 months and had over 2K in medical bills all headed into collections...cause: 10 internet payday loans. I closed my bank account and got control of my money again. I defaulted on all the pdls...and spent the next 3 paychecks catching up on rent and utilities. Then I faught my payday loans with the help I got here. I put all my other debt into a debt management program including the 2 payday loans I legally still owed. A dmp will take into account your financial status and arrange a payment based on what you can pay. When you can pay more...you do...and that helps pay down debt faster.

There is always bankruptcy...I would do some research there also...last ditch move but chapter 13 may work for you.

It is never a good idea...ever...to take out a loan to pay off debt. Many times that just creates additional debt/problems and doesn't help. What you and your wife could possibly use is a financial management class...I took one through my debt management program. It teaches you to budget and deal with debt.

Basic plan: default on the payday loans. Call the store fronts and explain. Many times they will make arrangements after you default and at least the interst stops. Give Cannr the info on the internet loans....we have all had those and can help you deal with them.Stop your direct deposit and close your bank account...we have info there too. Take that money and get your rent and stuff caught up. You should never pay unsecured debt first. You have to have a roof over your head and food in the house or you can not do anything else.You can put the credit cards and other misc. debt in a management program...they will make the arrangements for you and you will not have to deal with the creditors. The only outstanding will be the student loan. We also have a forum on that...there maybe some answers for you there also. Taking control is your first step...remember...You do what you have to do to get by....when you know better...you do better...

What is total family income and do you own assets? The most important loan in the bunch is the student loan and you will need a palce to sleep so food and shelter is number one priority!

If I haven't done it already, I'd like to thank all of you for your time and support (thus far).

In order to default on the payday loans, do I have to contact each company, or can I tell my bank how I screwed up and put a freeze on the withdrawals (thereby causing the payday lenders to send me to collections)?

The family income is pretty narrow at the moment. Even a year ago, when I used to have a nice full-time job that paid about 10-15% over minimum wage, and my wife was getting a part-time minimum wage, things were a little tight (due to the two original, storefront payday loans), but not unmanageable. My wife was not receptive to the idea of paying down the payday loans (she claimed to have not been able to afford any extra payments due to the necessities of running the house).

Since getting laid off from the full-time position, I got a part-time job at minimum wage, as a cashier for a corporation that decided to cut the payroll budget in these times of tightening economies. My wife lost her job in October, so our total wages amount to about $800 per month ($170-250 take-home, per week). I hoping to get awarded an unemployment insurance claim, and maybe my wife will soon give up on becoming a mystery shopper and begin applying for a real job soon.

Personally, I'm totally against the idea of getting another loan. I was against the idea of getting the first payday loan something like 3 years ago. We carried the first one for some time before finally paying it off. But it was only a few months before we needed a second loan. The second loan's principle has only been paid down by about $35 during the 20-odd months I've been paying it off. I feel like demanding some kind of "excellent customer" appreciation from this store.

It wasn't long before my wife asked me to apply at a second cash advance place across town. After paying them to not deposit my check for some number of months, we finally let them attempt to pass it, but our bank account has rarely had enough funds to pass a $300 check, except for the first few hours of a payday. To further help compound my problems, my bank (actually credit union) has this "Courtesy pay" feature which basically amounts to line of credit, by not returning checks, ATMs, and credit charges with an NSF, but instead clearing the transactions and charging me a $20 fee every time. So I've paid lots and lots of fees over the last six months, but my wife accepts those fees as a minor matter of making ends meet.

I can see the red flags, and she calls me a negative pessimist. I can't even say "I told you so" without getting into a big argument about how my pessimism makes her feel stressed and unsupported. I've already pitched the "cancel direct deposit and pay the necessities first" once today, and she wasn't receptive. She says if she can't get a loan by next payday, then I can cancel my direct deposit. Keep your fingers crossed, one way or another.

Well, that last post was from me, but I obviously forgot to sign in. Is it possible to transfer those DebtCC points over? I wouldn't mind racking up several hundred more, if you don't mind. ;)

I feel your pain Dox. Let me tell you my story about getting a loan to pay off your payday loans. When it all first started my hubby loast his job after 9-11 he was bringing home at least $4000 per month. So we were use to living that way and then he got a job bringing home a little less than $2000 a month. I was also working full-time then. So we went to a payday store and got a loan. Then when we couldn't pay that so I went in and got a loan to pay the one off. Well then we needed more so hubby went in and got one. Well that went on and on until we each had a loan at 5 different storefronts. Then we got a loan from a family member to pay all of them off. We did good for a while then we fell into the trap again so we had a ton of payday loans PLUS a loan from a family member. Then we got a different family member to get us a loan to pay them all off again. So then we had 2 BIG loans. Well then I lost my job so guess what happened again. yep...payday loans, again. so now we had a bunch of payday loans and 2 big loans. So then I got a different job and we ended up getting a loan for ourselves (38% interest :shock: ) to pay off the payday loans. So now we had 3 big loans to pay off the payday loans and yet we still couldn't stay away from them. When I came here a year ago I had the 3 loans, 10 internet paydayloans and 10 storefront loans. We were in a HUGE mess. I finally had to sit hubby down and say hey we really need to do something about this. I got a second job and so did hubby (thank god my kids are old enough and I didn't need to pay day care) I closed our checking accounts and started contacting the storefronts on payment arrtangements. But then I got laid off at work and had to change the arrangements with the storefront. But seeing as I was such a good customer (been with most of them for YEARS) I got them to accept $25 per week on each. And all of my unemployment checks went to the payday loans and the other loans. It took me a couple of months but then I had them paid off. Now I am fighting with the internet ones. I have settled with some of them but there are some that won't give up the fight. But now hubby understands that it isn't good to take out another loan to pay off one that you already have. Yes it was a rocky,ugly couple of months for us but then when he came around it was much better. He even liked have a little money in his pocket again. And each payday the extra money is starting to get more and more. I got to quit my second job but hubby still has his. SO if you want you can share my story with your wife and ask her if she really wants to end up that way. I would have to go back and look, but on an old post I had put down who I owed and how much I paid for payday loans. I think it ended up being like $60,000 for $10,000 worth of loans :shock: and that was in a year and a half. That would have been some nice college money for my kids. And that was just to the payday loans not the other loans I had to pay them off how many times. So she may not like it but you need to sit her down and talk about it. It sounds like she is not listening to you but you HAVE to listen to her and do it her way not yours. I wish you my best. It's going to be a long bumpy road ahead but hang in there, it will come around in the end. Someone just needs to see the light and it looks like you have it turned on but someone just isn't looking in the right direction.

This is the third response I've tried to write, and I've come to the conclusion that the somewhat irrational attachment to direct deposit and my bank account, coupled with the fiscally irresponsible habit of spending wages before earning them, have dug a deep hole in a foundation that wasn't very thick to begin with (I guess that just means it'll be easier to fix). Direct deposit must be canceled. I would like to keep my bank account open (it's approximately contemporaneous with my marriage) and pay my creditors, however slowly.

It'll just be really hard to pitch a budget to her that excludes her expected loan without adding my replacement expected source of income. Can I get a second job (I haven't looked very hard, pessimist that I am)? Can she get a job? Will I get unemployment or financial aid? I guess I'll have to use a variable for an extra income source, and make it equal to about $400/month, and make a budget that will start in February to allow time to let the variables resolve themselves. In the intervening weeks, we need to buy cat litter, and milk, and pay some rent when the 3-day notice will show up next week, and I'm sure the electric company will send us a notice soon too, and I'll be lucky to get $250 next week, if it's not $170 again. Damn weekly pay periods. Oh well, enough talking, time to start doing....

dox, I am so sorry. If you need any help with a "plan" or anything at all, just post. I'm sure we can work together to get through this.

My problem is that I'm not a good planner. I mostly let my wife make the plans. I'd bet money that I have some kind of unhealthy psychological complex, and I doubt my wife isn't enabling it. My problem isn't disabling enough to qualify for social services, and I don't have enough income to afford private help. But all is hopefully beside the point (though not far removed, I suppose).

I don't know what you'd like me to post. And I don't know what, specifically, we can work on. My family needs to change it's habits, plain and simple. Isn't that the basic solution to any long-term problem?

I'm sorry if my tone of writing is terrible. I appreciate your desire to help, and hope you can. If might help to illustrate my story: my wife and I spent what is probably our last day with in-home internet service bouncing around Google's results for "bad credit" "loan", $1500, payday, and others. I hope people steal our identity, so I can blame all our problems on them when we're forced to declare bankruptcy (that's me looking at the silver lining).

I don't know if I can cancel or suspend my direct deposit in time to affect my next payday on the 13th, but I think that's one of the best things to set into motion when I go to work tomorrow. Further, we're expecting our in-home internet service (and cable TV) to be interrupted tomorrow, or the next day, so I my only way to the internet will be at the library (which is thankfully only a few blocks from my house).

That was me again. I swore I was logged in....

dox, when going to work tomorrow and asking about your direct deposit, try telling them there has been fraudulent activity on your bank account and it must be closed immediately. It's worth a shot. When it happened to me, I contacted my payroll and told them about fraudulent activity and they stopped my direct deposit the day before it was supposed to go in! Try that and see if they can issue you a paper check instead. Hell, it's worth a try instead of them just saying "Sorry, we can't stop it in time."

So I'll assume I'll be cashing my check manually on Thursday. In that case, I'll be expecting 3-5 PDL withdrawals to post that day, on my account with -$353 balance. I don't know how deep in the red my bank will let me go before they start refusing transactions, but I know I've gone past -$600 before.`

dox, I see your account is now in the negative, correct? If that is the case, you can go to your bank branch and speak with the manager and have a hard block put on your account. This will prevent anything from coming through to cause your account to go deeper in the red. Tell them you understand you are in the negative; however, unauthorized debits are being taken from your account and it needs a hard debit block on it. This should prevent ANYTHING from going through and also not cause bank fees to be added.

The debits were authorized, as far as I know. I applied for a bunch of loans, payday and otherwise. How honest do I need to be with my bank?

My wife is wondering how hard it is to get a secured personal loan using an expected tax refund as collateral. Is this a practical idea, or does nobody lend based on tax refunds?

dox, if you revoke the debit authorization from the pdls (just type up a letter to each one) you can show your bank that you have revoked their debit authorization. You have the right to revoke debit authorization of your bank account. I personally didn't have to show my bank anything. I just told them. However, others have had to show letters to the bank where they had revoked the authorization. Now, I had revoked mine. It's just that my bank didn't make me show anything. I had it if they needed it though. As far as getting a loan based on tax refunds, I have no clue. None whatsoever. You can start a new thread with that question on the board. There are many members here who will know the answer or at least have suggestions regarding that.

For the tax loans...typically the preparer (HR Block, etc.) would need to prepare your taxes and they would "front" you the $ expected from your tax return. Of course, this could occur as early as in Jan 08 once you have your W-2's.

re: H&r block: That's too long of a wait. We need more immediate funding. A new thread will be forthcoming.

re: revoking authorization: how should these letters be formatted and addressed? Do I need to put their accurate company name on it, or can I just make it out to the name that popped up on my bank statement? Do I have to delivery these letters on paper, or email, fax?

Are you trying to get a loan now based your tax return for 2007??

When revoking debit authorization, type the name of the company at the top. You can be short and to the point and not "all fancy", if you wish. You can simply state "I, (state your name), hereby revoke your authorization to further debit any bank accounts that I may have." Then type your name. I sent mine every way possible - email/fax/certified mail.

dox-I posted to your other thread...

VBM: yes, I'm trying to spend my refund two months early.

cannr: I've gone through so many websites since I first starting this mess, I don't know how to contact all of them. I wasn't keeping meticulous track of things (*kicks self*).

Storefront:
-Allied Cash Advance (max loan, $255+fee)
-A-1 Check Cashing (max loan, $260+fee)
Online:
-SJM Marketing (+$200) (only takes fee, unless instructed otherwise)
-Vince Enterprises (+$200) (only takes fee, unless instructed otherwise)
-CashNetUSA (+$150) (takes whole amount, unless instructed otherwise)
-Loanshop/northba (+$100) (haven't taken any money yet)
-Geneva Roth Cap (+$300) (haven't taken any money yet)

I think SJM = Platinum B, because that was the first company I talked to on the phone, and Sara identified herself with Platinum B a number of times, but Platinum B never touched my bank account (grrrr!! Just use one name to DBA!)

dox, volley posted on your other thread regarding the loan issue. She is a great person to give you options. She knows her stuff. Regarding your pdls. Looks like you've got storefronts and internets. The storefronts, you're going to have to contact and tell them you can not pay them in full. That you are going to have to make payment arrangements. They are handled differently than internets. The internets, you can put their name at the top of the letters; however, we're going to need addresses for you. Also, I see you have a CashNetUSA online pdl. They are going to be licensed/legal. You'll have to set up alternative payments with them. I've heard they don't like to do it; however, if you revoke debit authorization, they should set up payments another way (such as mailing them in to them). Your other loans I don't believe are licensed/legal lenders. SJM & Platinum B are one in the same. They are horrible. Loan Shop is another one. And Geneva Roth is another one. Yuck. Vince Enterprises. Now that one I've never heard of. Do you have addresses for the internet loans? If not, we can do a search and find them for you. However, your storefronts will need to be contacted by you. Let us know if you need addresses for any of these. We can find them.

So I'll need help contacting SJM, Geneva, Loanshop, and Vince. I think the extant of my information covers Loanshop (website and phone number). I also wrote down some info about Loanpoint, but I'm not sure if they've gotten themselves involved in my bank account or not.

I used to be so paranoid and so careful, I wasted so much effort covering tracks nobody was looking at, and I let my wife and myself get into this mess.

Dox, I will research the contact information for you...you do need to go back through your bank statements and see who you recevied money from so you can be sure you have all your bases covered. If there are others, please let us know.

This is what I found researching the site....SSM and SJM are the same and Platinum B is another d/b/a so here is an address I found

SJM/Platinum B Services
PO Box 558
Shawnee Mission, KS 66201
1-866-722-2770
Fax 1-866-599-5161

The mailing address of Geneva Roth Ventures is :

Geneva Roth Ventures
P.O. Box 148
Shawnee Mission, KS 66201
800-351-8820 ext. 247
913-825-1200 (direct office number)

Here is the address for Loan Shop, you said you had the phone and e-mail..correct?

The Loan Shop
2207 Concord Pike Suite 505
Wilmington, DE 19803

I am a little slow this morning....Loanpoint is part of Geneva, so they probably debited under either name. But do be sure that you double check your bank statements to see who deposited money. Also, I am getting nothing on Vince Enterprises. Do you have any information on them. I know on my bank statement, the phone numbers were listed by the company names. And I had to call the bank to get one or two. Could you check into that for us and I will keep looking just in case.

When I talked to Josh the VP at Platinum B Services and asked for an addy this is the one that he told me to use. He said the others are a mail drop and this is SJM's addy. Platinum B services is the company that found the loan for you, but SJM is the company that funded the loan. So any letters need to be mailed to this addy. Plus they are not licensed and never responed to me or my state and have not called me since recieving the letters.

SJM Marketing LLC
Edith Sollmon Building
P.O.Box 636
Charlestown, Nevis
West Indies

Thank you....good info to know. :D I have been seeing more and more people with this particular company.

I'm really starting to lose it; I know I started writing a post this morning, but I either put it in another thread or forgot to hit the submit button. I think I wrote something like:

Thank you for collecting all that contact info in this thread. That will definitely help deal with these companies better.

In response to the previous question, I've only been keeping track on these companies through my online bank statement, plus a few highly scattered, largely useless, notes.

I asked my bank about Vince Ent, and a new company that deposited $200, TJF Corp. The depositor was listed as "Tjf Corp. And/or", while the email from mentioned "Tjf Corp. And/or (Check Paid Fast)". Otherwise, my bank only told me to call the merchant at (877) 377-2677 for more details. I'll post what I find, if one of you guys don't beat me to it.

Oops, I forgot to mention that that 877 number above goes to both Vince and TJF.

TJF is also Bahamas Marketing Group. They are also unlicensed. They turned me over to a bad CA from FL. But my states Department of Financial Institutions sent them a letter and I have yet to hear from them again. Plus I filed a complaint with FL.

And now, this morning, some company my bank identified as "8665750260-Idins" took $31.98 from me, which also caused my bank to levy a $20 courtesy pay fee. Ugh.

dox, when you applied for a pay day loan you must have checked off a box allowing them to do this. It has been happening to a lot of people.

Some info from ripoffreport.com

Just started reading this thread and can totally identify with the snowballing of pdls. I think that has happened to a number of us on here.

One thing with dox's internet loans - I'm wondering how much he has paid in finance charges to date and what his state pdl laws are. In most cases, these internet lenders aren't licensed in the consumer's state, finance charge higher than state allows, etc. So, he might find that he's satisfied the principal repayment with the finance charges that have been taken so far, and he can more easily deal with the internet lenders if this is the case.

You will find the Payday loan laws for California here (just select your state),

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/paydayloan/explain-pdls-laws.html