HELP, Single Mom in CA

Hi bmblbe69 - welcome to the site!

Here is, You will find the Payday loan laws for California (just select your state),
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/paydayloan/explain-pdls-laws.html


It looks like you have WAY overpaid on ALL of your loans. If you will hang tight on the line for a few, I will be back with licensing info on these lenders. I'm sure we'll be able to help you get out of this!!

here's an interesting tidbit I found about the California Deferred Presentment Law (which means payday lenders):


Based on that, I'd say your lenders are screwed - from the info above, I'd say your lenders would have a very hard time complying with all of those requirements, since they are internet based, and don't have a 'location', per se!

I'm still going to check the licensing database, just to be safe, so I'll be back soon.

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me.

Hi there,
I am also in California and just from looking at your lender list, I can tell you from personal experience that Arrowhead is NOT licensed in CA--but they will annoy you to death, I promise you. They mostly do it by letter, at least that's how they did me.

My main concern is if my employer finds out i will be fired, immediately. none of them have a corporate # for me but they could easily find it out. i guess thats why i keep paying.

They will probably try to scare you and threaten you that they will call your boss, but do what I did: tell them in that case you'll be fired and nobody's getting paid. So why would they be stupid enough to do that, right? I would also tell your boss about this, if you can, since a great defense is a good offense. That way, you could say "they already know, thanks--they're waiting for your call, idiot!"

Here's what I found on your lenders, regarding licensing in California:

ACC: $300/$817.50
I cannot find a Deferred Presentment licensee with the name of "ACC" - but I did find one for "American Check Cashing & Tobacco". Was there another name for this lender?

No matter if they have another name or not, they are overcharging you for a $300 loan.
Your total, according to CA law, should have been $345 ($300 loan x 15% interest allowed = $345). You are owed a refund of $472.50.

Arrowhead: $300/$360

There is NO listing for a Deferred Presentment Provider in California named Arrowhead.

Your total, according to CA law, should have been $345 ($300 loan x 15% interest allowed = $345). You are owed a refund of $15.

Eagle Finance: $300/$975

There is NO listing for a Deferred Presentment Provider called Eagle Finance.

Again, your total, according to CA law, should have been $345 ($300 loan x 15% interest allowed = $345). You are owed a refund of $630.


United Cash: $300/$975

There is NO listing for a Deferred Presentment Provider called United Cash. There is, however, one called "United Cash-A-Check" - but they are a storefront. I'm assuming United Cash is the true name of your lender.

Your total, according to CA law, should have been $345 ($300 loan x 15% interest allowed = $345). You are owed a refund of $630.


500 Fast Cash: $300/$360

There is NO record of a Deferred Presentment Provider by the name of 500 Fast Cash or 500fastcash.

Your total, according to CA law, should have been $345 ($300 loan x 15% interest allowed = $345). You are owed a refund of $15.


NLS: $300/$655

There is NO listing of a Deferred Presentment Provider called NLS or N L S. (If you have a complete name for this company, that would be better, but it's quite likely they are unlicensed, based on what you've repaid them.)

Your total, according to CA law, should have been $345 ($300 loan x 15% interest allowed = $345). You are owed a refund of $310.

Keep in mind, most of these lenders have extended, rolled over, or renewed these loans for you more than once, judging by the amount you've paid them. That is prohibited by your state law.

NOW.....

There are several steps you need to take to get out of this.

-CLOSE YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. Or at the very least, get your bank to stop all ACH debits until you get these companies to stop debiting your account. Go to your bank, talk to the manager or account manager. Explain that you have gotten in over your head with payday loans, and you have discovered that all are operating illegally in your state. Therefore, any future debits to your account are unauthorized and should be stopped. Your bank manager will know the best way to handle this. Don't be embarrassed - they've seen this many times before, no doubt. But many people won't even know that their bank can help them, so they won't go talk to them. That's your starting point - do it immediately on Tuesday, when the banks reopen after the holiday. The manager will be able to help you decide whether you should close the account, or simply block ACH debits. Be cautious, however - some of these lenders are very sneaky, and have been known to try and slip through a fake "paper check" to get to your money if you block their debits - or they will change their company name and debit under another name. Sometimes the only option is to close your bank account so you can regain control of your money.

-WRITE LETTERS
Send letters to each lender stating the following:
-you are hereby revoking their authorization to debit your bank account
-you are revoking any possible wage assignment clause in their contracts
-you have overpaid them by (insert dollar amount here), according to Cal. Fin. Code ???????? 23000 to 23106. Based upon that law, you are requesting a refund of the overpaid amount.

These letters need to be sent via Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. This will cost a bit of money (not a huge amount), but it's worth it - this provides you with proof that you mailed it, and proof that they received it, because they have to sign for it in order to receive it. If they refuse it, and it is returned to you, at least you have proof that you mailed it. Send a copy to their e-mail address as well.

It will be a bit of a battle, and will require effort on your part, but you CAN do this - and you'll be so much happier once you have control of your money once again!!

Please let us know if you have any further questions or need help with anything! And come back to update us on your progress - we look forward to hearing from you again!

If they don't have your work phone number, and don't know the name of your employer, I wouldn't worry about them calling you at work. It would be very difficult for them to find out that information.

If they are calling you at home, just ignore their calls. Don't bother picking up the phone and arguing with them - it won't get you anywhere. They will claim to be licensed in your state, that they're going to take you to court, they're going to arrest you, they're going to send their "LEGAL TEAM" after you, etc.

If you do decide to talk to them, call their bluff - tell them to go ahead and send their legal team - and you'll meet them on the courthouse steps with a legal team of your own - including the prosecuting attorney, state police, and your state's attorney general.

i have figured out from other posts here that NLS is Signmyloan.net.

i also found a cease & desist letter on here somewhere that was for NY but could i alter it to use in CA and use that as the letter you suggest i send?

here's a link to the letter we have used in the past, created by Polly:

http://pollyandsay.yesdebtfree.org/template-letter/

Please take time to read the letter over before you send it out. You may choose to delete the part in the center of the letter about "dot com" companies, and just send the basic letter that revokes their ACH authorization, and requests a refund of the amount overpaid, and demands that your account be marked paid in full.

The main point is that you tell them the following:

-you're revoking their ACH debit authorization
-you're revoking any possible wage assignment clause that may exist (probably doesn't exist, but pays to cover this anyway)
-they have overpaid you by $xxx (insert amount here) according to your state law (and cite the law code as shown in my post above)
-they are not licensed to lend into California
-you want a refund of the overpayment
-you want your account marked paid in full
-you are making complaint to your state about their company

Follow those letters up with complaints to your state financial department at this link:

http://www.corp.ca.gov/about/complaint.asp

Also, I checked on Signmyloan.net - they are not licensed either.

And ACC is NOT American Check Cashing & Tobacco - so they are not licensed, either. [/quote]

Wow, I looked at the template and I feel stupid because it's very confusing to me. I don't know what sections to delete and what sections to include. Is there a more basic template out there.

Give me a few minutes, and I'll work one up for you and post it here.

I am making the following statement regarding this letter to avoid any drama or accusations: This letter is of my own creation - I did not plagarize anyone's blog or website in order to create it. If any site members or Mods feel the content of the letter is incorrect or should be worded differently, please feel free to post your ideas! I'm open to suggestions. :-)

If this letter seems to meet with everyone's approval, by all means, feel free to share it. I don't mind anyone using it, provided they keep with the original context of the letter, and avoid using it to make threats to PDL companies - a strongly worded letter is good, but making threats to the wrong company can get you into trouble. Make sure the lender is NOT licensed to lend in your state before you send this letter to them!



Now, bear in mind, getting a refund from some of these companies may be difficult, if not impossible. That's where filing your complaints with the state comes in. They may be willing to send Cease and Desist letters on your behalf to these lenders, which may go a long way in getting your refunds. I can't guarantee they will do that, but it can't hurt to file complaints, and follow up the complaints with a phone call to the Department of Financial Services for California to see if someone can help you in that regard.

The state's Cease and Desist letter DOES NOT replace the letter above - you need to send that first to get the ball rolling. Like I said before, send all the letters by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, so you have proof it was sent and that they received it.

Let me know if you need any other help.

I found the following FAQ regarding the California Deferred Presentment law on the California governmental website. It really helps explain the points I named in my posts above. I've highlighted in red the items that are very important to know. It's long, but it's worth a read.

As you can see by the red highlighted areas below, an internet lender MUST be licensed in California to lend into California - whether they are located there or not. In other words, it doesn't matter what they say about being licensed in their own state, or only having to follow the laws of their own state (or country) - California law says they have to follow California law. That's it. Period.

Thank you for the letter and i am going to the bank first thing Tuesday morning. If i don't have the exact name of the company but just the name they use to withdraw money from my account is that going to be a negative when writing the letters? I don't still have all of their emails or docs because my computer crashed about 3 weeks ago. how do i make sure i am sending it to the right place? You have been wonderful with your help and I already feel stronger.

Do a search on our site here, using the search bar at the top of the page. Enter the company's name, and you will come up with multiple threads on each one, probably. It will take a little searching, but it will help you find the addresses you need. You can try checking the company's website, but they usually don't list a physical address on their site - their whole goal is to make you deal with them over the phone and not allow you to send a payment by mail - so they don't usually post their addresses.

I have the same problems that this person had, thank you sooooooooo much it really helped me see the light at the end of the dark tunnel that I was in

Welcome, Steven! We're glad you could find some help on our site. Let us know if you need any further help!