Line of Credit from Advance America

Hmmm...are they offering that in all states? Haven't heard anything about it where I live. And them not charging interest is hard to believe...

I googled "Advance America line of credit". It seems they offered this in PA back in 2006. There was a monthly fee. The state ended up suing them over it.

Part of the article is here

Another article here

I think it is high end loan where it all looks good in the front but in the dark back end you end up paying three times the loan, I mean "Line of Credit", in fees.

I think they are just trying this scam in other states now.

There are a couple girls in my office who have done this. One girl is who was telling me the details. She said she pays $50 a month to repay this line of credit and if she needs to, she can access it at any time. I know Virginia recently passed law so that only 1 payday loan is allowed at a time and also some new laws on reborrowing. An article I found said that this was a way around the laws. That they are offering this instead of the payday loan.

I'm sure that there is an interest rate attached to it - can't believe it wouldn't be. I have been thinking of calling just to get the info and see what the deal is.

Installment Loans are replacing PDL's in many states because of all the new laws that have changed or will change in the future. The sunset law for AZ is 2010 meaning goodbye PDL's but probably unfortunately hello to installment loans that will still trap people in a sea of debt. These companies have made so much money they are becoming creative in states where they are licensed as PDL's. It is all about the money and how much they can make. I do realize as a consumer it is my responsibility to only borrow money I can repay but I had to learn the hard way. Some people are so desperate they only live in the moment, when it comes time to repay the vicious cycle starts and they are trapped.

kfstaff24,

You are correct about the evolution of the industry, but not facing the reason. The reason that there has been a growth of PDL store is based on demand. That is also the reason that there must be an evolution of the product. Do you really believe that if the state or federal governments completely eliminated PDL's that society and the consumer would be in a better position? If you answer anything other than no, you are living in a sheltered world.

The product was created when the banks began growing in the late 80's and early 90's. This growth resulted in the "my banker will help me" mindset changing to "my bank only looks at the bottom line". The change meant that a person could no longer walk into their bank, speak to thier banker and get a couple hundred dollars to tide them over. The product was not new, just moved from one entity to another. With this move, there were regulations that were put into place to protect both the consumer and the lender, while being overseen by the state in which the PDL operated.

Fastforward to today. The demand is now higher than ever. The internet was invented (by Al Gore!) and became a mainstream method for many things including PDL's. The states are now getting a bright idea to get rid of the "evil Payday Loan Stores". Unfotrunately, they cannot see the forest thru the trees. By creating laws that outlaw/ban/eliminate legal lenders, they are forcing the consumer to go to the one place that has caused more issues that the banks or legal lenders, the internet. The industry will evolve and the consumer will now begin to give their banking information to some anonymous company at the other end of who knows where and when they get into trouble, the state cannot and will not do anything to assist because it is illegal in your state. They cannot contact the offending company due to no registration, they cannot get your money back due to no authority and in the end, the consumer will suffer. Studies have been completed in the states that were "victorious" against the legal lenders and the results were increased BK's, defaults, late payments and an increase in NSF fees received by the banks.

The facts from the industry are that approximately 95% of the customers pay thier advances on time and have no issues with the service. The flip side of that is that the 5% that don't tend to have a large number that do not want to acccept responsibility for thier situation and inturn blame thier poor management of thier finances on everyone else. They are also the ones that "scream" the loudest and then get heard. They then fulfill the prophecy of the "exception becomes the rule". Kind of like here, since this forum attracts people that have had issues with PDL's, which is a small sample of the "real world", then everyone in the "real world" must have the same issue.

In the end, are there bad lenders out there? Yes!!

Are they the exception or the rule? Currently, the exception.

Will the exception become the rule? If the current trend continues and more states eliminate the product, the "bottom feeders" will have more food and get bigger and bigger with no regulation to control them in the world of the internet.

Make yourself educated on the products and lenders out there and go with a LEGAL lender if you need a loan. In the case of the OP, if you need to borrow, I would feel comfortable with Advance America for 2 reasons, they are licensed and they are a publically traded company with many checks and balances to protect the shareholders and customers.

BTW, sorry for the rant, but everyone needs to be very careful with what they wish for because you may be hurting the very people that need the help the most!

PDL Owner does have a valid point. Ohio has new laws as well and alot of the store front PDL companies went out of business or consolidated their offices. I see alot of empty storefronts in Ohio now because they couldnt afford the new laws and they no longer do payday loans here. They call them Installment Loans. Although working at a bank, installment loans are something that is paid over a period of time. Not paid back all at once. That type of loan is called a Single Pay Note. Calling them Installment Loans is deceiving to the consumer who actually knows what the word 'installment' means. Also, you cant stereotype everyone who comes to this forum as people who are irresponsible. People come here for help because they have no one else to turn to. Look at the current state of the economy. People are losing their jobs! How is it that person's fault that they have to close their account to keep PDL's from taking what little money they have left to feed the kids, buy medicine, or pay their rent???? They weren't irresponsible. We know who is really at fault for the way the economy is turning out.

PDL Owner as always I respect and very much appreciate your input. We are on two opposite sides of the fence here, you own and manage your business and I am certain you do a great job however, I believe these loans are designed to benefit the lender and not the borrower. I do not live in a sheltered world, but I did for the longest time (and still) live in the world of PDL hell. I have worked hard to re-establish myself and regain control of my finances. As I acknowledged above as a consumer it was my responsibility to borrow responsibly and I failed.

I must not be the only person who thinks this way as the bill to reform the PDL industry was over whelmingly defeated in Arizona!!!! My advice to anyone considering a payday loan if you cannot afford to borrow and pay right back and walk away dont take out a loan. I am educated on the products and I can tell you this some of the legal lenders have been harder to work with than the illegal ones. Not to rant like you said but I wish, hope, pray and dream that the industry goes away in Arizona because I believe people are being hurt in more ways than one. I have done without just to get back on my feet and now that this has happended to me if I had just done without when I went and borrowed money I would be alot better off today.

As crazy as it sounds, I would love to see the day that the market determines that there is no longer a need for my service, but I do not see that happening becuase of the people that we assist thru tough times. Most of our customers understand, appreciate and use the service as it is designed. On the other hand, they are the same ones that would be hurt the worst if state government was to continue on their path of "protecting the consumer". When there is a need and demand for a product or service, they cannot come in and turn the need/demand off by signing a new law onto the books. The resulting chaos is destructive beyond belief, as will be witnessed in Ohio over the next 6 months.

I do not know your story, but if I were to guess, you had 8-10 loans out and kept thinking that I can pay the fees so it is OK. Actually, the average customer has 3 loans or less. Approximately 25% of our current customers (as of 1/7/09) will pay thier advances off in the next 21-45 days and will not borrow again until April or May. Still yet, there are many customers that utilize the service 2 or 3 times a year and around the holiday season.

My point is to not penalize the masses for the mistakes/misfortunes of the few.

You are the exception to the rule on 2 fronts:

1. You got in over your head with too many loans (speculation).

2. You managed to get out of the hole and back on your feet without "screwing" anyone out of thier money.

Just to restate again, do you really think that creating laws to make PDL's illegal in AZ is going to get rid of PDL's on the internet in AZ? All that will happen is that the illegal lenders will spend more money buying SPAM emails that target AZ and make it tougher for anyone to protect the consumer. The answer is not to ban PDL's, the answer is to make a consistent regulation that creates the same fee and loan amounts for every state. This would place the consumer in a position of power if they need to borrow and would force the illegal lenders to comply with fees and practices.

This actually looks like it could continue into a pretty good dialogue. Could one of the Mods pull this discussion out and start a new thread since some are getting upset about getting off topic.

Here is the info from Advance America's web site about the Line of Credit:

LOAN AMOUNT IN VA 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Cash Advance Fee / APR * $26.40
688.29% $47.80
623.11% $69.20
601.38% $90.60
590.52% $112.00
584.00% - - - - -
Line of Credit Fee / APR ** - - - - $125.00
365.00% $150.00
365.00% $175.00
365.00% - - -

*The fee and APR include a loan origination fee of $20 for every $100 borrowed and a verification fee of $5 plus interest at 36% assuming a 14 day term and that the fee is financed.

Other loan amounts may be available.

** The fee represents interest on the maximum amount you could obtain under the line of credit assuming a 25 day billing cycle, ACH authorization, and that the maximum amount is outstanding at the end of a billing cycle.

I'm not sure I understand the phrase 'that the maximum amount is outstanding at the end of a billing cycle'. Still looks like PDL but with a somewhat lower interest rate.

Quote:

The problem with the illegal lenders is that they do not care about the law. You can create all of the laws that you want to make them illegal and they will still make loans to anyone that applies whether it is legal in their state or not. As for people not paying back what they borrow, it is all a numbers game whith these guys. You can tell this from the collection practices that the illegal lenders utilize. If they loan 100 customers and 25% don't pay them back, 75% of them did! That 25% number is not made-up and is actually low for the illegal lenders. It is a huge number compared to a store-front, but a cost of doing business for internet. Also, remember that many of the illegal lenders are charging $25-$30 per $100, that is almost double the national average in a store-front.

Based on those numbers, the anonymity of the internet and the ability to rapidly morph your business to a new name in minutes, there is no way to regulate the internet lenders out of business that want to violate individual state regulations. The only way to lessen thier impact is to create a climate that allows the legitamate lenders to survive, comply with state regs and be audited by the states on a regular basis. If the consumer knows that the going rate is $15-$17 per $100 and they go online and are offered $25-$30 per $100, it becomes "buyer beware" as it is not the consistent approved rate nationwide.

As I stated before, each time a state changes regulations to eliminate PDL's, they are also eliminating any ability to assist the consumer when they get into trouble.

Congratulations on being out of borrowing! Surpringly, I love to be able to tell customers that because it means that their lives have made a dramatic financial change for the better!!

As for PDL's on benefitting the lenders, I do not agree and I can guarantee that most of my customers do not agree. Granted, anytime one goes into business, it is to be profitable. You make the statement like ther is no good purpose for PDL's, but actually they are like anything else that has multiple uses.

Cars kill people, should they be banned?
Knives kill people, should they be banned?
Guns kill people, should they be banned?
Credit cards create debt, should they be banned?
ARM mortgages adjust to absurd rates, should they be banned?

The answer to all of those questions is no. The reason being that each of them have a valuble purpose when in the correct hands and not abused. The same with PDL's.

Well to be fair...

People can not drive two cars at the same time.

People usually do not stab someone with more then one knife at the same time.

People usually do not shoot people with more than one gun at the same time.

Now when it comes to lenders you can have more than one credit card, mortgage and PDL loan.

I take it that was an attempt at humor?

The point was not about having more than one, it was about positives when used correctly and the damages/harm when abused or used as not intended.

Kind of...lol

There are a whole boat load of things that were intended for the greater good / to help the consumer that are abused.

PDLs are just one of those things.

I think most people live and learn and the PDL cycle is just one of those lessons we are here to learn about.

I have been in and out and in and out time and again of store fronts. I just found this board and was so glad I have. Not once in my travels to the numerous store fronts did I see one flier or sign or statement about an EPP. You know why? They don't want me to get an EPP. They want me to get another loan and pay the interest/fee.

Not one time did any customer service person say "Hey nohiogal we see you in here every two weeks for the last year, did you know we have a payment plan to help you?"

I mean there are a lot of alcoholics out there. If they go to an Alcoholic Message help board and say that alcohol is evil would you go in and tell them it isn't? It is to THEM.

Just like PDLs you won't see AA Meeting schedules at the liquor store and you won't see the cashier mentioning that they buy to much booze.

My point is that yes I may have abused them and maybe I am the minority but the PDLs do nothing to help and in fact will encourage you to take out a larger loan then you even asked for just because your paycheck indicates that you "qualify" for it.

You say that people that use it again and again are the minority but I have to say over the last two years I saw the same faces standing in line with me at the same store getting the same loan over and over again. A new face was rare and 99.9% of the time that new face was applying for a loan only to become a regular like the rest of us.

Maybe you are right that used as intended they are not a pit of despair that most of us on here have come to look at them as. Maybe it is our own fault and we are weak and do not know how to budget our finances. I will give you that, at least in my case. I don't pretend to speak for others.

But the fact is that I came here for help. I do look at them as evil just like the booze is to the drunk that seeks help. I wonder how many social drinkers wander into a Alcoholic Message board and tell them that booze is good and helps people but only they have the problem and calling it evil is not fair to the rest of the responsible drinkers?

Now excess payday loans may not be an addiction but the same results apply when it comes to feeling there is no way out of the cycle.

You are correct that this is a heated discussion. I will get off my soap box now.

Very nice points and well taken...

You are totally wrong about one thing, this is not a "heated discussion". It is probably one of the best "Point/Counter-Point" discussions that I have seen on this board.

I am a firm believer that there are 3 sides to every story, your side, my side and the right side. You see things from one point and I see them from another, when in reality the truth lies in the middle. We need to have these discussion, share the facts and allow the posters to digest the information and form thier opinion.

I agree this is a great informative discussion, I never saw it as an argument or even heated. I vote for it to be moved since it is off topic!!!! Nohiogal great response!!!!!

Well I am glad this does not seem heated. I thought because of the comment that PDL Owner made...

Quote:

nohiogal, I agree with everything you said and I concur with kfstaff...GREAT RESPONSE! you are absolutely right that no one tells you about their EPP to help get you out of debt. They want us to remain in that vicious cycle.

PDL Owner.....would you be willing to put a sign up in your storefronts to inform the consumers that there are other options out there?? I know when I was going through those times of repeatedly writing checks every two weeks, not only did I not know about the EPP until I came to this form but also I was frightened and ashamed to even say anything to anyone about what I was going through. I had no clue that there were other options out there. So how can you get upset with this message board for informing consumers about 'other' options that no one in your industry will reveal to them??

No need. We discuss many options with customer sand have an open line of communications with a local credit counselor to aid when our customers get into a jam. Being a "for-profit" business, I do not loan to everyone that walks thru my door. There is a process that we go thru to determine the ability payback based on income, bank statement and other outstanding loans. If a customer walks in my door, opens thier checkbook and flips thru a bunch of check carbons to PDL companies, I am going to take a long hard look at their information. It is a no win situation to set someone up to fail.

As for the EPP, if a company is a member of the CFSA, they are required to notify the customer of the EPP. This is written into the Best Practices of the Payday Advance Industry as item 11. If you were doing business with a member store and were not made aware of the program, then report them to the CFSA.

As for getting upset, I am not upset about presenting other options. It is my opinion that when people join together to provide guidance, give options or provide direction, it should be accurate information, not unsubstantiated blanket statements. I am actually enjoying this conversation!

nohiogal,

My thought for pulling this out of this thread was due to the poster that got upset about hijacking threads the other day. I would also hate to see the OP miss out on responses to thier question based on the our discussion.

I am enjoying this as well. It does shed some light on things. I have some questions.

If a customer reloans every single week or every other week for a long period of time, say 6 months or a year, do you encourage them to see the credit counselor?

Or since they are repaying the loan do you just take their money on Friday and reloan on Saturday?

Do you only recommend the counciling after they are already in trouble?

As a payday junky I can tell you that the carbons are not in my checkbook. I would never let you see the other three PDL loans I have out :wink:

Lets be honest here. Are you more worried about them failing or you failing to collect?

Are you a member of CFSA?

Quote:

Quote:

I was the original poster and I am not upset about the discussion getting off topic. I am enjoying reading this thread - so post away! Of course if the moderators want to move the discussion, that is their call.

Quote:

The question was about this "new" financed loan Advance America has. Well I have it. How I see it is that it's a loan that continually rolls over without the hassle of having to go back to the store and "re-applying". Like the payday loans offered online where they can either withdraw the full amount with fee (and offer it again) or the bi-weekly fee ('cept this is once a month). It's more of a convenience thing and basically all you are paying is interest.

For example; how a car is financed, for the first couple of years all you're paying is interest, THEN you pay it down. PLUS you are not paying every payday but rather once a month.

Now I'm not suggesting you run out and get one of these loans because in essence you are just rolling over a loan when you look at the whole picture, but I can't pay off my payday loan and this made sense to me in that

1. I only pay $50/Month to renew as opposed to $75 every payday.
2. I can choose to pay more if I want to pay the thing down and continue to pay the $50. Because the interest rate hasn't changed from the original payday loan equivalent.
3. I don't have to keep running to the bank get my $575 in cash, then stand in line just to get it back and run back to the bank to deposit it before 3 so it can be accounted for before I bounce any checks! Phew...just saying it is exhausting!
4. I really don't have the money to pay off the total amount yet and I was able to consolidate two payday loans into one mess as opposed to two in that I used the extra $250 to pay towards the other one.

There are a lot of pros and cons to this method, but like mentioned above, without demand there would be no payday loan service.

**gets on soapbox**

We have to take responsibility for our actions and stop whining about what has been done to us. It's not our fault we were "let go" from our jobs, (well some of us anyway) ;) It's not our fault our car had a blow out. It's not our fault we ended up in the hospital and had a million bills to pay. There are a lot of unexpected circumstances out there that in essence had we saved for or strived to save for we could have avoided. But this is neither here nor there. The problem is right now at this moment we are trying to figure out how to get by and our options are limited especially those of us with bad credit. I made bad choices and didn't save and I admit that. Now I have to figure out a way to make it right. It's going to take some time and it's not going to be easy. It might require some heavy sacrifices, but I have to keep moving forward and hope that I have learned my lesson in that I need to start saving for the future and take into account those "unexpected" events.

Okay so enough on my soapbox. :)

The bottom line is this: if there wasn't a problem to begin with, the solution wouldn't be (in our case) payday loans. Newtons 3rd law: For a force (demand) there is always an equal and opposite reaction (payday loans). It is what it is, now work with what you got. WE LET them take advantage of our weakness and then get mad at them for it. This is my way of working around it and MY choice to do this. No one forced me to take a payday loan, I needed the money and because I made bad (or no) choices have to deal with the only options availavle to me (consequences). No matter how ugly it may be. :arrow: :wink:

Just wanted to post a follow up to the original topic - the Line of Credit does have a $50 payment for the first payment. However, after that it is $50 plus interest - which on a $750 line of credit would be about $200 - every 25 days. I must give the employee credit - she told me that she always advises people to pay off as much as they can as quickly as possible to save interest. So I totally give her credit for that info.

Alright, lets see what we can do with nohiogal's questions...

1. Advising a customer about CCCS? This is a fine line, as you do not want to insult the customer. My staff is pretty strong at developing a "bond" with the customers and are good hearing the signs when a person is getting in over thier head. Typically there will be comments long before the trouble is actually there. When we start to see or hear issues arise, we first start the dialogue about reducing the loan amount each time. The next step is to discuss who they have loans with and make sure that they are aware of the EPP with CFSA members. The final step is to give them our contact at CCCS to set up an appointment. As I say, it is fine line and you cannot jump right in and tell someone that they are an "idiot", go to a credit counselor. As much as you try to avoid that impression, if you start at that point, you cannot change perception.

2. More worried about the customer failing or me failing? Is there a difference? If I loan money to a person that does not have the means to pay me back, I am out the money! I lose. They get caught up in the collection cycle either in small claims or with my collection agency. They lose. There is no "win" with a bad loan, everybody loses. On the other hand, with a good loan, the customer is able to make ends meet and I make a little money. Everyone wins.

3. Am I a member of the CFSA? No. Not because I do not agree with what they represent or require, but instead it is the cost. I am a small operator and it is pretty expensive to place thier sticker in the door. Now, do I stay up to date on thier practices? Yes and probably stick to them better than some of thier larger members!

PDL Owner...Quote:

I'm not sure if I totally followed you comment, but I will try.

Of all of my customers, I would estimate that 80%+ have a very good relationship with myself and my staff. In this business, the key to success is to not alienate the customer. Based on that, you would be surprised what people tell us! I understand what you are saying about the sign in the window, but that would be akin to Taco Bell putting a sign up that say you can get a great deal at Burger King down the street. As cold as that may sound, I run a business that was founded on providing a service in demand and profitability. You may not like the choice and hopefully will never need the service again, but this is how I pay my taxes, purchase items in the community and provide for my family. So the bottom line is that I do care about the bottom line!

We live in a society that thrives on credit. Whether it is credit cards, mortgages, student loans, car notes, payday loans, ect. It is the fabric of the country and will not go away until there is a major collapse in our financial sector. Even with the collapse that they are going thru now, the economists are stating that the key to success is to get lending going again. The only financial sector that is not having issues? That's right, short-term high risk lending, aka payday loans. In fact, it is becoming more vital now due to credit being cut off to high risk customers.

Sorry, got off topic...

Again, I don't follow your last 2 sentences.

Tryingtogetitright - I want to make sure I understand what you are saying about the line of credit from Advance America. You said you pay $50/month to renew this. The way I understood the employee at the store, $50 would be the first payment, but the next payment would be $50 plus the interest that had accummulated (around $200 total). Do you only pay the $50 per month? I'm trying to get all the info that I can in case I need to use this in the future - I'm hoping not to - but want to be informed.

PDL owner, silly question, but when you do use the collection agency do you actually make sure that they're licensed in your state to collect? Just curious... as the one Check N-go seems to be using isn't licensed in mine.

People please understand
PDL 's are designed for short term borrowing. Alot of people including myself has had to use the service to replace money used for other bad habits, mishaps, etc. Alot of people can no longer borrow money from family or friends. I met a woman the other day who owes three payday lenders in VA and Cash Point 2000.00 just so she can keep her house for going into foreclosure. There are some real horrow stories out there. For someone like her I can understand. For someone like me it is pure foolishness. We all need to learn to survive with little and make the best out of what we have. I have learned from my mistakes and when I escape the drama I am staying away from PDL's. PDL's and bad habits help to destroy my family. And if people are not disciplined it can happen to anyone including you.

I took out a line of credit and now I am trying to figure out how to pay it off in a hurry. The first month was 50 payment, but the next month and the month after that was still 232. a month and no matter what 150 dollars always go toward the interest and the rest goes to your principle. If you borrow more than 500-750 you are really up the creek unless you have the cas to pay them off fast, please think about it before you borrow, line of credit is not your usual line of credit deal like most banks or credit cards. In my state the line of credit loans are not regulated and the lenders can put whatever interest they want to impose upon you. Just be careful.
Bee

Bee, what state are you in?

I would like to add my thoughts on this matter...I fell into the trap too. Here is what I think would help a lot...ok..some states have a rule that you can have no more than 2 or 3 out at a time...Why don't they create some database that pdl lenders are required to report to that would tell the pdl lender that you have another loan out there to prevent you from actually getting so deep in the hole that you can't dig out...? I think that would help. Put everyone on the same page so to speak, which would also help the consumer. Lets all face it..why did we get 6 and 8 PDL's??? We had to rob Peter to pay Paul back, then when it came time to pay Peter back, we had to go back to Paul and get another loan...lol....people get desparate, and if the PDL lender does not regulate it somehow, then it will always be that way. You can say whatever you want--PDL companies make money off the poor. I was a very faithful customer..never missed a payment, always came when I said I was coming, and always called if anything changed. I had 6 loans. I kept them all good for 2 years. I had a good business relationship with all of them, and referred a ton of people to them. Eventually, I just became weary of never having groceries on my table, gas to put in my car to go to work, and putting off my utilities to the next check. I turned to PDL Assistance, Inc. for help. After 5 months, they have not done ANYTHING for me. Now all of them are in collections....all I am saying is there needs to be stricter regulations. There is a payday loan shop on every corner. Do you think they communicate with each other?? NO THEY DON'T....if they did, then their customers would not get in such bad shape financially....
I will climb off my soap box now....ha ha ha...just friendly discussion....I fully intend to make good on all my debts, but they will work with me on MY terms instead of theirs. I have to have groceries, and gas to get to work...LOL

:shock: I applied and was approved for $750. The catch about interest charges is you have to pay about $250 some odd dollars every 25 days. If you do not you are charged a interest fee of $200 more dollars and the way it looks i have gon from $750.00 to $1063.00. I will never do this again.

I agree with trying to get it right. I set myself up. But oh well if it was not for that line of credit. Some very important things would not have been done. Also the representative at the store has advised me the same way. To pay as much as possible and as frequently has possible.

so if you have one line of credit at advance america can you go to a different company not advance amercia and get another line of credit

I am not too sure. But I think they run your information in their database for outstanding loans.So it may conflict affect you applying at other loan shops.

Also it depends on the company, AA does not grant you a LOC based on your credit. So if the other companies you are seeking are unsecured LOC then I do not think it will affect you at all. For example HSBC or Bank of America.

Hope that helped.

I have gotten sucked into this "Line of Credit" thing with Advance America. I chose this option after paying off a $500 payday loan with them, with their encouragement, which was back in early March 2009.

I noticed on the application they asked for the year, make & model of my vehicle, which I thought was kind of odd at the time. But I did the loan anyway.

Then suddenly, last week (early April 2009) I get this interesting notification from Advance American in the mail.

"Due to a recent lay change, we are required to make some modifications to your Line of Credit ... These changes are necessary to allow you continued access to your credit line. The next time you want to access your credit line, please bring your motor vehicle title or registration to your Advance America center. We will make a copy of it and return the original to you. You will also be asked to sign an additional agreement giving Advance America a security interest in the motor vehicle .... If you are unable to provide Advance America a security interest in a motor vehicle, we will be unable to extend any additional credit to you under this new state law."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? There is noooooo freakin way I'd give them my motor vehicle as "security interest" ... can you say TITLE LOAN???? This shocked me & all I did was laugh and say Nooooooo Way, will I do that! Glad I didn't get forced into doing that when I first started this so-called "Line of Credit" with a 300%+ interest rate on it. Its already gotten beyond what I can afford monthly.

It amazes the Commonwealth of Virginia is even allowing them to do this to customers. I never intended to get anymore from the Line of Credit I already took out, thank goodness. Gonna be hard enough to get that paid down someday, without risking my car being reposssed by them.

Think TWICE before doing this "Line of Credit" thing, I wish I never had. At least with the Payday Loan, the amount I owed was always kept under control.

Whoaaaaa...Imagine the people who get sucked into that and wind up losing their car to boot! Thanks for the warning on this practice. How scary!! The moral of this story is: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!!

OMG that is CRAZY! :shock:

I can't believe it. That is just wrong on so many levels.

I would contact the VA Attorney general on that. I wonder if they are aware of them doing that.

Yes this is very true. My mother received the same notification letter. She borrowed $300 from them in February and was in the process of paying it off when she received this half a$$ letter :evil:

I immediatetly called the store and spoke with the manager on this. She stated that this was new change to the requirements for the line of credit. I laughed and asked for my mom's payoff balance on the loan. She was hesitant to give me the info at first, but she folded once I began to give her hell. I stated my mom will not be providing any car title/registration information and I went in and paid the loan in full.

Unreal to think they can change an unsecured line of credit to an secured line of credit. Apparently someone allowed this and the terms were switched Legaly. I am not to sure if they are using your car as collateral, or want the info to place a lein on your vehicle if you default on the LOC. Whatever it is I am not buying it and I warned my mom to stay away from these places in the future. :evil:

The PDL company that I got my loan through convinced me to not pay off my last PDL through the four equal payments but instead start over with a line of credit. What I was told by the company sounded nice but in fact has ended up costing me a whole lot more then the payday loans ever did. On the payday loans I borrowed 350 every two weeks and I paid a fee of fifty dollars which made the fee 100/month. They told me that if I did the new line of credit advance the interest rate would be lower. I borrowed 700 dollars on my line of credit which my max was 720. The first payment was 50.00 which is what I was told it would be. Every month after that I pay a monthly payment of 230.00 dollars with less then $50.00 being applied to the actual principal amount. So currently after having paid 650.00 in the last four months. I currently owe a principal of almost 900.00. According to the bills they send me I am paying 189.00/month in interest. The company is well known nationwide and I already know of one state that has filed a law suit against them because they robbing people charging them such a high interest rate and they have recently said on the news here that the State of Virginia is fixing to file suit against them as well. What ever you do, don't fall for the line of credit. :x

i have had one since jan 1 they tell you your first payment is 50.00 but then you find out you owe them 184.50 intrest for that month then your next payment is 234.50 and 50 go to princepal and the rest go's to intrest so far i payed over 1300.00 on a 750.00 loan and still owe over 800.00
belive it i call it legal loan sharking in va.