What a payday loan cycle mess...help?

Oops....forgot to mention where I live....I live in the state of Washington

There is NO effective way to stop them from debiting your account without closing it. Also, at first glance I see that some of yours are NOT licensed to lend in your state, what that means is your account will NEVER be safe again as long as they have your account information, unless you can get your bank to assign it a completely different account number, even then it would be a gamble. Anyway, I need to go somewhere shortly and do not have the time to give you all the info you need to plan a course of action so instead I will give you a link with some very useful information you can review for your illegal lenders. http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/paydayloan/illegal-pdl-dealings.html

At first glance the following lenders are NOT legal in your state, Discount Advances, Ace Cash Services and Green Picket. There are probably more too I just don't have the time right now to research them, but I will later.

I was searching to see if your store front lenders were members of the CFSA, they are showing as members on the website but that doesn't mean they aren't. Just to be sure, you should call them to see if they are members of the CFSA (Community Financial Services Association of America), click the link below to view the member list:
http://www.cfsa.net/MemberList.aspx

Click the link below to read about the EPP. If any of these legal lenders (including CashNetUSA) are members of the CFSA, you might be eligible for the EPP (Extended Payment Plan), I happen to know that CashNetUSA DOES offer an EPP but you have to ask for it. Review number 11.
http://www.cfsa.net/industry_best_practices.html

The rest of yours obviously are not licensed so, CLICK HERE to find out how to deal with illegal lenders.

I would not even worry about the illegal lenders right now, just get your account closed and deal with the legal ones because they are the ones who can sue you. If they aren't members of the CFSA then you will need to talk to them and see if you can work some type of arrangement with them. I would not give them your new bank account information, nor would I even let them know you have a new bank account (if you get one). Tell them the only option you have is to pay them back with money orders.

If these legal lenders give you problems negotiating a payment plan, this is what I would do until you can get something from them in writing.

I would send them ALL a payment each and every week, with a money order, via certified mail return receipt requested, no matter how little the payment is, I would send them SOMEthing! If you continue to do this, by the time it would ever go to court you will probably have it paid off, or at least close to it, and even if you don't, it will look good on you in front of a judge. Keep every piece of correspondance to and from them.

Thank you so much for all the helpful information. I have been in contact with a few of the illegal companies today and got lucky with one, NLS (Signmyloan.net) and they are going to be paying me back....to the tune of over $1000 tomorrow....amazing. I haven't had such good luck with Discount Advances in fact I was given the supreme runaround....the operator even had the nerve to tell me that I had no right to know if their company was licensed in WA! I will follow through with sending letters to all of them here shortly. Thank you for the template...that is very helpful.

Can you tell me why changing my bank account number with my bank would pose a potential problem? Are they still able to access my account with a new number?

Quote:

No, they cannot access a new bank account unless they have a judgement. I'd also advise googling "EFTA" or "Regulation E" and reading the whole thing. $100 says each PDL company you're involved with violated it at least once

Also, you're not a horrible person. These "people" prey on individuals in vulnerable situations. They specialize in ensnaring people in comprimised situations into usurist (and for the most part illegal) contracts and convincing them that they're bad people if they don't follow their oppressive terms. Compare the behavior of such a "lender" with the definition of a sociopath and you'll see that the shoe fits quite well. The fact that some jackass decided to get into the loansharking business instead of getting a legit job is their problem and not yours.

Thanks for the kind words, I felt down on myself for letting this happen and for getting myself into this situation.

Liz -
don't feel bad. That's why we are all here because at one time or another we have been through this as well. I too am in WA state and have the same misfortune and quite honestly would still have it had it not been for this forum and all I have learned. :) This too shall pass and with it will be us passing on OUR WISDOM to someone else. Hopefully the day will come when we no longer have to.

I am getting ready to write my C & D letters to send out. Can someone tell me where to find the exact wording for my "state information" section? Also, I need a little help with the wording on demanding re-payment of any amount paid over the principal of the loan. Thanks for everyone's help. I appreciate it. I will be sending out the letters to the following lenders that I have determined are illegal in my state:

Green light funds
Discount advances
Green Picket
Ace Cash Services

Also, thanks to this forum, I have been able to focus on re-paying the loans that are legal and not worrying about the ones that aren't. I have fully paid Speedy Cash and First Bank of Delaware and have made arrangements on the loan I have with my bank. I will be calling Loan shack, CashnetUSA, and my local storefront lenders to make arrangements. I feel pretty confident that I can get everyone paid off by the beginning of 2010. I will call Elastic as well to make arrangements but only if I am positive they are a legal company. Can anyone tell me the answer to this? I did some research on their website and they say they are part of "Thinkcash" and are owned by Urban Trust Bank out of Lake Mary, Florida and they have a branch in Virginia. They describe their business not as payday loans but as "an open-end line of credit." Is this the same as a payday loan or does it fall into the installment loan category like FBD?

I was also in this cycle and I felt horrible. Once I found this website, it was like God send. I was able to get some of these taken care of and others seemed to have disappered because I never heard back from them. I however was constantly checking the department of corporations website for any actions being taken against these lenders. Many of them had been served so I assume they will no longer be contacting me