Thank You! - Mission Accomplished
Date: Thu, 01/24/2013 - 12:20
This Payday Loan trap I got myself in was and has been a real nightmare. It all started with 1 Payday Loan, and when it came time to pay, I didn't have enough money to completely pay back the loan and make ends meet, so I took out another one. You can imagine how it escalated from there to 12 total PDLs... you always think you can easily 'fix' the situation with the next loan... Nope.
It got to the point that 100%+ of my check was going towards simply the fees and no principal. Then I came upon this website, and I gained the knowledge I needed to begin crawling out of this mess. I learned that most of my loans were illegal tribal or offshore loans, and that there was also a way to deal with my legal lenders.. I finally had a way out!
Of course, its not something that could be fixed overnight, and I'd still have to make due with a few more fractional paychecks as I had not quite yet paid the principal on most and I was still running a negative bank account balance once the lenders would take their 're-fi' fees out- and by the end of the day on my actual payday, I was back in the negative again. I can safely say that I've never had so many frozen chicken breasts and Marie Callender frozen dinners since I was back in college. Perhaps we can call it the 'PDL Diet'? I'm already a slim guy, but I don't think my stomach has ever been flatter...maybe I'll actually develop some abs on my tummy in 2013?
The first thing I did was open a secondary checking account and diverted my paycheck to go to that account, so at least my rent and car payment was secure finally. The next thing I did was call my three legal PDL lenders (ACE, CashNet, ChecknGo) and worked out an Extended Payment Plan. Of course it would be a month-1/2 before the those plans were done with, but it was finally a means to an end. The next thing I did was fire off letters to the illegal lenders which I had paid at least the principal on, and stated the perimeters I was willing to work within. Honestly, I was OK with them making a little bit of money off of me, and it did seem to help in my negotiation with them. To be exact, I allowed them to make the equivalent of one re-finance fee off of me on top of principal, and I had a 100% success rate using this number as my "settlement" offer. Unlicensed lender or not, this seemed fair to me.
As time went on, and my patience and waistline was getting thinner, I was a bit more bold and frugal on just how much money I was willing to let them make/not make on me. One thing was for sure, I'd pay them the principal, and maybe the equivalent of one loan fee, but not a dime more, and when I could comfortably pay. My biggest fear was them calling my employer or references, as I was stupid enough (at first) to provide the lenders with real numbers to real references- something I smarted up to later on during my PDL plunge.
On the morning I was to send out another volley of letters to the more shady PDL lenders, I pulled my receptionist aside and informed her I was the victim of fraud, and that I was not applying for jobs, or loans, and if anyone was calling to verify employment, asking to speak with my supervisor, or anyone other than me, regarding me, it was fraud, and to simply tell them not to call back. She said, "Gladly!, it happens often with other employees!"... I later found out that several PDL lenders called asking to speak with my supervisor- a trademark of a lender violating the FDCPA and privacy laws and a trademark, in my opinion, of an illegal lender.
To secure the money to payoff my PDL Loans: I took out a 401K loan, and began calling the PDL lenders one by one to make my agreed upon payment to each. I realize that everyone tells you not to touch your 401K, but I did because I knew that without having to make payments to lenders every other week, I would have more disposable income to allocate towards savings and bumping up future 401K contributions. When you take out a 401k loan, you're paying interest to yourself and not some institution. Sure, I set myself back in my retirement a few thousand dollars, but I believe I saved myself more money than I lost in the long-term.
Finally, I cannot stress how important it is to CLOSE YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. Take ACH Revocation letters with you, as most banks won't hard-block your account from further debits without this. I was told by a banker that providing evidence that your lender isn't licensed to offer/extend loans in your state is further beneficial in securing a hard block.. Although a majority of the lenders will honor your ACH request and not debit further, some will not, and they WILL attempt to debit your account multiple times a day and week. You can imagine how many overdraft fees you can accumulate, and although you can get most of these reversed in most cases, it will just add to your stress. So just close your account and start anew!
Thanks for the knowledge gained from this website,
Total Savings: $3,525.78
It got to the point that 100%+ of my check was going towards simply the fees and no principal. Then I came upon this website, and I gained the knowledge I needed to begin crawling out of this mess. I learned that most of my loans were illegal tribal or offshore loans, and that there was also a way to deal with my legal lenders.. I finally had a way out!
Of course, its not something that could be fixed overnight, and I'd still have to make due with a few more fractional paychecks as I had not quite yet paid the principal on most and I was still running a negative bank account balance once the lenders would take their 're-fi' fees out- and by the end of the day on my actual payday, I was back in the negative again. I can safely say that I've never had so many frozen chicken breasts and Marie Callender frozen dinners since I was back in college. Perhaps we can call it the 'PDL Diet'? I'm already a slim guy, but I don't think my stomach has ever been flatter...maybe I'll actually develop some abs on my tummy in 2013?
The first thing I did was open a secondary checking account and diverted my paycheck to go to that account, so at least my rent and car payment was secure finally. The next thing I did was call my three legal PDL lenders (ACE, CashNet, ChecknGo) and worked out an Extended Payment Plan. Of course it would be a month-1/2 before the those plans were done with, but it was finally a means to an end. The next thing I did was fire off letters to the illegal lenders which I had paid at least the principal on, and stated the perimeters I was willing to work within. Honestly, I was OK with them making a little bit of money off of me, and it did seem to help in my negotiation with them. To be exact, I allowed them to make the equivalent of one re-finance fee off of me on top of principal, and I had a 100% success rate using this number as my "settlement" offer. Unlicensed lender or not, this seemed fair to me.
As time went on, and my patience and waistline was getting thinner, I was a bit more bold and frugal on just how much money I was willing to let them make/not make on me. One thing was for sure, I'd pay them the principal, and maybe the equivalent of one loan fee, but not a dime more, and when I could comfortably pay. My biggest fear was them calling my employer or references, as I was stupid enough (at first) to provide the lenders with real numbers to real references- something I smarted up to later on during my PDL plunge.
On the morning I was to send out another volley of letters to the more shady PDL lenders, I pulled my receptionist aside and informed her I was the victim of fraud, and that I was not applying for jobs, or loans, and if anyone was calling to verify employment, asking to speak with my supervisor, or anyone other than me, regarding me, it was fraud, and to simply tell them not to call back. She said, "Gladly!, it happens often with other employees!"... I later found out that several PDL lenders called asking to speak with my supervisor- a trademark of a lender violating the FDCPA and privacy laws and a trademark, in my opinion, of an illegal lender.
To secure the money to payoff my PDL Loans: I took out a 401K loan, and began calling the PDL lenders one by one to make my agreed upon payment to each. I realize that everyone tells you not to touch your 401K, but I did because I knew that without having to make payments to lenders every other week, I would have more disposable income to allocate towards savings and bumping up future 401K contributions. When you take out a 401k loan, you're paying interest to yourself and not some institution. Sure, I set myself back in my retirement a few thousand dollars, but I believe I saved myself more money than I lost in the long-term.
Finally, I cannot stress how important it is to CLOSE YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. Take ACH Revocation letters with you, as most banks won't hard-block your account from further debits without this. I was told by a banker that providing evidence that your lender isn't licensed to offer/extend loans in your state is further beneficial in securing a hard block.. Although a majority of the lenders will honor your ACH request and not debit further, some will not, and they WILL attempt to debit your account multiple times a day and week. You can imagine how many overdraft fees you can accumulate, and although you can get most of these reversed in most cases, it will just add to your stress. So just close your account and start anew!
Thanks for the knowledge gained from this website,
Total Savings: $3,525.78
