For Rhode Island Residents......
Date: Tue, 08/07/2012 - 19:56
RI law is unfortunately very "PDL friendly" when it comes to internet based PDLs. I emailed the RI Division of Banking (the entity who 'governs' this sort of thing in RI) the following message:
I am writing to inquire as to the legality of internet based short term or "payday" lenders in Rhode Island. I'm a Rhode Island resident and have several of these loans outstanding and want to ensure that my consumer rights are protected.
I have gotten conflicting information. It looks like there are RI laws that pertain to 'check cashers', but I could not find anything dealing with internet based lenders. Where must these entities be licensed in order to lend to RI residents? Do the same laws apply to both 'check cashers' and internet based lenders as far as number of rollovers go, etc?
Their reply (from the email of a the person I've been told is the state expert with this sort of thing):
"Pay day lending", also known as deferred deposit check cashing, is allowed under the check cashing license not under a lender or small loan lender license. Only check cashers who are located in Rhode Island and are licensed to do business in Rhode Island are authorized to do "Pay Day Lending" in RI. Out of state check cashers doing business by phone or internet are not yet required to obtain a license by Rhode Island. If you choose to do business with them, you do so at your own risk. The Rhode Island Banking Division has no authority over them."
What that means is that the first paragraph of any letters/templates you're using to declare these unlicensed internet based entities 'illegal' (thanks to SOAPLADY and OHIOGAL) should probably be modified to read something like this:
"In order to offer loans to Rhode Island residents, a short term lender much be licensed in the state in which they are located. Everest Cash Advance is not licensed in the state of Delaware (or anywhere else in the United States), thus any contract I may have with you is not valid."
As you can see, that's what I just sent to Everest.
Anyone please feel free to chime in and/or provide feedback.....I'm trying to deal with my "illegal" lenders here (i.e. those lenders that aren't licensed anywhere in the US)...
As always, THANK YOU!!!
GHR5
Quote:Out of state check cashers doing business by phone or int
Quote:
Out of state check cashers doing business by phone or internet are not yet required to obtain a license by Rhode Island. |
Payday loans should be regulated under the small loan laws, righ
Payday loans should be regulated under the small loan laws, right? At least thats the way it is here in IL.
If you read the steps in my thread and the sample, it explains t
If you read the steps in my thread and the sample, it explains that you need to find the reason that the loans are not "legal" in your state. Whether it be that licensure is required or that they are a tribal or offshore lender, you have to determine the reasons and tailor your email/letter accordingly.
One of the example letters I offer in the thread states almost exactly what you did.
Quote:
Dear Lender, It has come to my attention that payday lenders must be licensed by the state of (insert state) in order to offer loans to its residents. Since your company has no license in my state, the loan contract I have with you is not valid. Although I am not legally required to do so, I am willing to repay the principal balance of this loan. |
I misunderstood the wording of your letter in the context of RI
I misunderstood the wording of your letter in the context of RI law.
I'm glad you replied, OhioGal1. This forum has been VERY helpful in that it has allowed me to get back on top of my finances and deal with these pdls head on (I had 14 of them at one point), but there is so much info on here that sometimes it can get overwhelming trying to determine which approach to take. For example, I wasn't sure if "illegal" and "unlicensed" were interchangeble, etc. Couple that with the fact that RI law is very 'internet based PDL friendly' and doesn't seem to protect consumers against PDLS and I wasn't sure how to word the letters to the "illegal" (i.e. unlicensed) pdls and didn't make the leap that the one in your instructions is very similar to what I need! I actually used pieces of your examples along with several others to put together my own letter.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention. Apologies if it seemed that I was stepping on toes. I'm just trying to navigate my way through this.
No apology necessary. I just wanted to make sure you have good
No apology necessary. I just wanted to make sure you have good info :)