pdl help-advance america

Sorry to hear that. First off, how much was your original PDL with them for and how much have you actually paid on it with rollovers? This would give a truer picture of where you are at.

Here is your Payday loan laws for Alabama here (just select your state),
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/paydayloan/explain-pdls-laws.html

You may want to contact them and make them aware of this law. Criminal action is prohibited. Who served you the papers? They may be taking civil action in your case. How many times did they roll the loan over? That is also prohibited.

One more thing...In reading your state's law, I see that a repayment plan is accepted practice. Did they offer you one or did you try to make one with them and they refused? If so, you may have that on your side to back you up, and then you could complain to your state's regulating office. AND, I also see that criminal action is prohibited unless your check was returned due to a closed account. Did you close the account, or is it still open?

What kind of papers did you receive? I would send them a revocation letter stating that you are revoking any wage assignments that you may have signed, do this as soon as possible. Have you tried setting up a payment plan with them. I have Advance America storefront and found them very easy to deal with.

ladybug

Excellent point, Eleroo. Re the repayment plan: if you offered one, how did you do it and to whom? All of this is information that needs to be presented in court to help your case to show a judge that you were within your rights in Alabama. You need to start getting your documentation in order to fight this, because it sounds like you can.

Absolutely. Kscornell is right. Have your ducks in a row so that you can make a good case for yourself in the event that you aren't able to make reasonable arrangements.

the original loan was for 500.00 i didnt pay any amount on the loan. the end balance is 617.50 plus 54.00 court costs. may i still do a revocation letter. if so, what exactly does it need to say?
also the papers were served as civil. i have to sign a statement saying whether i do or dont dispute the debt. if i do, there will be a trial. if i dont there wont be and im suspecting wage garnishment if i dont dispute. then i will be served again with garnishment papers. i was hoping to avoid that and work something out with adv amer

princSS, did you not contact Advance America at all? Did you just not pay the check? You really should have contacted them & told them you couldn't pay & tried to work out some sort of payment arrangment with them. However, it's obviously beyond that now. They've already taken action against you. I'm going to assume that you're going to have to acknowledge the debt (since you have to say if you dispute it or not) since they have an actual check from you. You can try to contact them and see if you can work something out. However, I have a feeling that it's too late to work directly with them now that it's gone this far. But it doesn't hurt to call and talk to them. This way, you can also ask them what is the next step that will be taken. This way you'll know what to expect.

That is a good point Cannr, I have a feeling after re-reading it it could be too late, but it won't hurt to try to call them and maybe they will work something out with you. You won't know until you try.

ladybug

Be careful with Advance America - they are legal in most states, and they're pretty careful to follow the law. (Not to say that they haven't gotten caught breaking it and been shut down in some states!)

If you didn't contact them, didn't pay anything on the loan, and didn't respond to their attempts to contact you, then they would definitely have taken you to CIVIL (not criminal) court and obtained a judgement against you.

At this point, a revocation letter will do you little good. You can do it, but all it will do is go into your file for them to take to court with them. You can't revoke a wage garnishment - only a wage assignment. Two very different things. A wage garnishment is court ordered and cannot be disputed or revoked. A wage assignment is a voluntary thing - you sign it in your loan documents and it goes into effect if you default. You can revoke that.

If you have not had your court date yet, please don't miss it. If you do, the judge has no option but to enter a judgement against you, which then leads to a garnishment. If you show up for the court date, you may be able to set up a payment arrangement with the judge's help. It depends on how the judge views the case.

As far as the document you're supposed to sign stating whether you dispute the debt or not, I wouldn't even try to dispute it if Advance America is operating legally in your state. It wouldn't do you any good - Advance America would only turn right around and prove that you DO owe it, and pursue it from there.

I guess the long and short of what I'm saying here is, contact Advance America RIGHT AWAY and try to work this out before it goes to court, if it hasn't already. If you can't work things out with them, don't try to dispute the debt, since you DO legally owe it. Go to the court date, and try to work things out there.

You are right Sue :? , now I understand the difference, I better pay closer attention to what I am reading :oops: . Thanks for the correction, I am sorry that I gave you incorrect information prince :oops: . Do as Sue states.

ladybug

Not a problem at all, ladybug! This is a tricky situation the OP finds herself in - she has very limited options at this late point in the game. Not trying to pass judgement or be mean - I'm sure there are reasons why the OP didn't handle this quicker - but earlier action on this could have prevented a load of heartache and problems.

Hopefully the judge will let you make payments towards the debt. At this point, I'm afraid it may be your only option, other than attempting repayment before going to court. :-( I'm sorry it got so far. I hope you are able to work something out.

That's my hope, too, eleroo....some judges are easier to work with than others on this type of thing. It also depends on state law. I see the OP's state law allows for payment arrangements, so let's hope the judge goes in that direction.

I sure hope so.

thanks to everyone who responded to my question. it really helps to hear from people who've been through it :