Payday Loan Leading to Litigation Against Me?
Date: Fri, 03/09/2012 - 11:25
Hello,
I am new to the forums and apologize in advance if this posting is in the wrong place. Mods please move if needed!
In December of 2012 I was in desperate need of some cash and took out a payday loan. Little did I realize what a rip-off it would be and that it would lead to a "civil suit" against me.
Yesterday I was contacted by Robert James and Associates and they informed me that they were handling a case against me for a debt originated with Gateway Holdings, LLC (the payday loan company I originally dealt with). They told me that I owed an amount near $600 and that if I was willing to pay today they would accept a settlement of $350. The principal amount on the PDL was $200.
I called them back today, after 2 missed calls about 30min apart from each other, and requested a letter in the mail stating their intentions to collect a debt. Now keep in mind I have not received any type of letter regarding this account from Gateway Holdings, Robert James or any 3rd party collection agency. The rep whom I spoke with (Alex F.) forwarded me to his "legal" department (which I find strange since it's a "Law Office" I thought everyone was in the legal department. The gentlemen I spoke with informed me that Gateway Holdings no longer owned the debt and that NCA was filing charges against me.
I called Gateway and the rep said that "personally, I wouldn't deal with them" and posed the question "did the guy have an Indian accent?" (His humor was much appreciated). He said they sold the debt via an automated system and he had no way of determining where the debt was at this point.
I contacted the NCA and they had no record of my account.
I then called Alex F. back and told him about my conversations with the NCA and Gateway. He said of course NCA doesn't have any record, they don't keep records once litigation has begun. I questioned him on the legality of his company's dealing with this account, and how it complied with Federal and State Laws. He said "Sir, think about it, this is America, this is how it works" (I have that recording saved on my phone lol). I could start a whole forum on that statement alone but that's neither here nor there.
In the end I ended up settling the debt for an amount of $400 to be paid over the next 2 weeks. I can't say I am happy about it, but I can live with that.
I have the entire conversation recorded for my records. They basically forced me into settling using scare tactics and legal jargon. I don't want to go to court and pay an attorney and pay their legal fees on top of all of the interest accrued.
Here's my question, and hopefully my example can be used for future reference for those in the same boat, why was it so hard for me to obtain written statements of my debt from this company? I couldn't get them to release to me how the interest was accrued, what fees were charged and even what the principal amount of the loan was. Secondly, they claimed that my debt was released to the County I live in. What?! I know the federal government is the ultimate lendor for most secured loans, but unsecured short term loans go to the county?
I feel kind of cheated here. It's a local company so maybe I'll throw my suit on Monday and head down to their "offices" if they even exist.
Please let me know what I did wrong. Please let me know if there are options I have at this time that are worth pursuing. At the end of the day $400 isn't going to kill me, although it's still a lot of money.
Thanks,
Drew
I am new to the forums and apologize in advance if this posting is in the wrong place. Mods please move if needed!
In December of 2012 I was in desperate need of some cash and took out a payday loan. Little did I realize what a rip-off it would be and that it would lead to a "civil suit" against me.
Yesterday I was contacted by Robert James and Associates and they informed me that they were handling a case against me for a debt originated with Gateway Holdings, LLC (the payday loan company I originally dealt with). They told me that I owed an amount near $600 and that if I was willing to pay today they would accept a settlement of $350. The principal amount on the PDL was $200.
I called them back today, after 2 missed calls about 30min apart from each other, and requested a letter in the mail stating their intentions to collect a debt. Now keep in mind I have not received any type of letter regarding this account from Gateway Holdings, Robert James or any 3rd party collection agency. The rep whom I spoke with (Alex F.) forwarded me to his "legal" department (which I find strange since it's a "Law Office" I thought everyone was in the legal department. The gentlemen I spoke with informed me that Gateway Holdings no longer owned the debt and that NCA was filing charges against me.
I called Gateway and the rep said that "personally, I wouldn't deal with them" and posed the question "did the guy have an Indian accent?" (His humor was much appreciated). He said they sold the debt via an automated system and he had no way of determining where the debt was at this point.
I contacted the NCA and they had no record of my account.
I then called Alex F. back and told him about my conversations with the NCA and Gateway. He said of course NCA doesn't have any record, they don't keep records once litigation has begun. I questioned him on the legality of his company's dealing with this account, and how it complied with Federal and State Laws. He said "Sir, think about it, this is America, this is how it works" (I have that recording saved on my phone lol). I could start a whole forum on that statement alone but that's neither here nor there.
In the end I ended up settling the debt for an amount of $400 to be paid over the next 2 weeks. I can't say I am happy about it, but I can live with that.
I have the entire conversation recorded for my records. They basically forced me into settling using scare tactics and legal jargon. I don't want to go to court and pay an attorney and pay their legal fees on top of all of the interest accrued.
Here's my question, and hopefully my example can be used for future reference for those in the same boat, why was it so hard for me to obtain written statements of my debt from this company? I couldn't get them to release to me how the interest was accrued, what fees were charged and even what the principal amount of the loan was. Secondly, they claimed that my debt was released to the County I live in. What?! I know the federal government is the ultimate lendor for most secured loans, but unsecured short term loans go to the county?
I feel kind of cheated here. It's a local company so maybe I'll throw my suit on Monday and head down to their "offices" if they even exist.
Please let me know what I did wrong. Please let me know if there are options I have at this time that are worth pursuing. At the end of the day $400 isn't going to kill me, although it's still a lot of money.
Thanks,
Drew
Sounds like a major scam! Did you give them your credit card in
Sounds like a major scam! Did you give them your credit card info??? Cancel the card right away! They CANNOT file charges..they could maybe file a lawsuit if the loan was legal. What state do you live in and who was the original lender???
this is a scam
a couple of things.
1)gateway is illegal in just about every state.
2)this bottomfeeder is located in NY.so if you do reside in NY both are bottomfeeders.
do as soaplady advised and get that money back asap.everything about this piece of dirt is wrong.
