Am I Doing Too Much to Get them off my back...

... and will it work?

I am in the midst of going through it with 4 payday loan companies. I live in Maryland and work in DC. It all started with a loan from ACE in D.C. during Christmas(which later I found out they weren't allowed to give to MD residents but they did anyway) and they folded, but took the money out of my checking account.

All of a sudden I see this $480 check coming out of my account from ACE and that put me in the SPIRAL OF DEBT. As the story goes on... I took out a loan from Cash Transfer Centers(CTC)to balance out the large gap that Ace left me with and pay off bills. But when it came time to pay them back, they take the premium plus the exaggerated interest charges. Then I took out one with VIP cash to cover CTC, then one with VC funding to cover VIP, then one with e-payday to cover VC funding and then had to retake one out with CTC to cover all of those. I ended up in a debt of payday loan companies and interest charges.

So I looked on here and found some great resources. First I started with faxing them a letter to revoke wage garnishment/wage assignment and let our accountant at work know that the loans are illegal and she agreed to ignore their efforts. I did that and now they are pissed and calling me off the hook. I'm not answering the phone because I really don't deal well with the harassment and it will get quite ugly (I'm in a small office and you can hear conversation from all the way around the corner).

So now I'm typing up a letter to them about how they are to completely dismiss their debt efforts because they're illegal in MD. I can only imagine the repercussions from this one... I wanted to run across my letter to you guys to see if I'm doing too much... or if there is anything missing... here goes (FYI sorry for the long story and post)(P.S. If anyone wants to use this template for their letter, go right ahead but remember to enter your state info instead)

DATE

My Name
My Address
My Phone Number
My Email

PDL Company
Company Address
Company Phone Number
Company Fax Number

To Whom It May Concern:

After research of the legality of internet payday loans in the state of Maryland, I have found that your internet payday loan company’s actions are illegal and fail to comply with Maryland Consumer Laws.

“Legal Status: Prohibited
Citation: Consumer loan act applies. Md. Code Ann. Com. Law II § 12-301 et seq.
Small Loan Rate Cap 2.75% per month; 33% per year”

PDL COMPANY, nor any representative, parent company, d/b/a, affiliate, nor subsidiary of PDL COMPANY, are legally allowed to issue consumer loans to Maryland residents, as you are not licensed to practice or conduct business in Maryland. This statement complies with Ann. Code of Maryland Commercial Law Article §12–302 stating:

“A person may not engage in the business of making loans under this subtitle unless the person is licensed under or is exempt from the licensing requirements of Title 11, Subtitle 2 of the Financial Institutions Article, the Maryland Consumer Loan Law -- Licensing Provisions.”

I have contacted the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation’s office and the Maryland State Attorney General’s Office regarding your internet payday loans and was informed they are indeed illegal in Maryland. You are no longer permitted to collect funds from any resident of Maryland. Therefore this account and any additional accounts I have on file, should be marked as paid in full/in good standing with no collections due with your organization, with all consumer and credit reporting agencies (to include Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, and Teletrack) and all collections should cease and desist per Maryland State Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Division communication:

“… Please be advised that payday loans are not permissible in the state of Maryland. Additionally, such loans are considered consumer loans subject to the Maryland Consumer Loan Law, Title 12, Subtitle 3, Commercial Law Article, Maryland Code Annotated. Additionally, a person who makes a consumer loan is required to be licensed, unless exempted from the requirements of a license.

In addition, you should be aware that any person or organization that violates Maryland law is not obligated to receive or retain any principal, interest, or other compensation with respect to the loan. If any further information is needed please feel free to contact the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Division at (410) 528-8662.”

Page 2
Loan Revocation Letter
NAME ***-**-LAST 4 OF SS#
PDL COMPANY

PDL COMPANY and/or any representative, parent company, d/b/a, affiliate, or subsidiary of PDL COMPANY solicited, accepted and transacted business with a citizen of the State of Maryland. Thus PDL COMPANY is subject to the laws of Maryland, consequently, I demand that any future contact regarding this account be made via United States Postal mail or via email only. I will need everything in writing to keep accurate records of all communication as per instruction from the Maryland State Attorney General's Office.

I prohibit PDL COMPANY and/or any representative, parent company, d/b/a, affiliate, or subsidiary of PDL COMPANY from contacting me via telephone at my place of employment or contact via cellular or home telephone number. I also prohibit PDL COMPANY and/or any representative, parent company, d/b/a, affiliate, or subsidiary of PDL COMPANY from calling any of references listed on the internet payday loan application. I prohibit PDL COMPANY and/or any representative, parent company, d/b/a, affiliate, or subsidiary of PDL COMPANY from releasing any personal information regarding this account to my employer, co-workers or friends/family per the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act. Once I inform you of this, you must stop the telephone contact immediately or you will be once again breaking the laws of the state of Maryland.

You are hereby notified that I am revoking any voluntary wage assignment/wage garnishment. I prohibit PDL COMPANY and/or any representative, parent company, d/b/a, affiliate, or subsidiary of PDL COMPANY to attach any part of my wages or contact my employer for your collection purposes. This request to revoke complies with Ann. Code of Maryland Commercial Law Article §15–302 stating:

“(a) An assignment of wages is not valid unless, (1) the assignment is: (i) in writing; (ii) Signed and acknowledged by the assignor before a notary public in and for the county where he resides)”.

The wage assignment/wage garnishment is thus invalid. You no longer have my permission to use this wage assignment.

I am revoking your right to debit my checking account any longer. I prohibit PDL COMPANY and/or any representative, parent company, d/b/a, affiliate, or subsidiary of PDL COMPANY from debiting my checking account. I also prohibit PDL COMPANY, and/or any representative, parent company, d/b/a, affiliate, or subsidiary of PDL COMPANY, to withdraw any funds from the checking account under the name of NAME, account number ending in *****, located at YOUR BANK. I prohibit PDL COMPANY from any attempt to debit from any future checking accounts under the name of NAME.

Please be aware that I have informed my financial institution of this situation and they have received a copy of this correspondence. Any further attempts at debiting my account will be rejected by my financial institution.

Page 3
Loan Revocation Letter
NAME ***-**-LAST 4 OF SS#
PDL COMPANY

I must also inform you that I have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Maryland State Attorney General's Office.

I expect correspondence from PDL COMPANY and/or any representative, parent company, d/b/a, affiliate, or subsidiary of PDL COMPANY by no later than May 15, 2008. This correspondence should be in compliance with Maryland State Consumer Laws stating that this account and any additional accounts I have on file, are marked as paid in full/in good standing with no collections due with your organization, with all consumer and credit reporting agencies (to include Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, and Teletrack). All collections should cease and desist per Maryland State Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Division. This response will be received and accepted ONLY via US Postal mail or via email. No further telephone communication is permitted.

Sincerely,


NAME