I'm trying to deal with lenders on my own and am scarred!!

If your payday companies are illegal in PA, then you only owe the amount borrowed. If you've paid against the loan, subtract that amount from the amount borrowed. That is what is actually owed. and that is what you tell them when they contact you. I sent the same letter twice a week to US Fast Cash and I finally don't hear from them anymore (originally sent in July).

Sometimes when you send your letters you don't hear from them for a couple weeks. You WILL hear from them when they try to debit your checking account. When they contact you, you tell them they are illegal in your state and what you intend to pay. Make sure you don't give them a debit or checking account number.

Hopefully, you've already closed it so you don't incur fees.

I got out of about 7 pdls this way. I live in NJ.

Don't let them intimidate you. You can do this.

Yes I have had a hard hold put on my bank account. How do I find out if they are illegal?

Elastic.com says since they are a "line of credit" not a pay day loan, there is nothing they can do to help me out. They will just continue charging fees.'

I'm really freaked out about this. I am begining to think I need a professional to help me with this. I am just afraid of bad consolidation companies. Will someone tell me if they know any good consolidation companies?

Sorry to be a pain, I really want to get this figured out.

Pay day loans are not legal in PA. They will tell you they are to get you to pay them, but they are not,
Your state laws prevail regarless of what they tell you.

Ok, so I found out a reputable consolidation company I already work with will handle pdl's as well. But they need an actual address to send payments to. Each of these lenders say they only accept payment by moneygram, debit card or bank debit. What do I do in this case? Does anyone know the addresses to send payments to these companies.

Again they were
- Ameriloan.com
- Mycashnow.com
- Elastic.com
- Check n Go online

They are all online loans no store front loans

You can do this on your own, when I started the process just about a year ago I think I had about 15 loans!!!! Any payments you have already made to these companies goes toward the principal. You can fax and email them Cease and Desist letters to communicate with you by mail only and offer them the remaining principal balance on your terms. For example if you borrowed $150 from Ameriloan and have paid them $100 so far you only owe them $50 and let them know your state laws prevail and the loan is illegal. They have heard it a thousand times from the rest of us so they will either agree to your terms or tell you you cant borrow from them again. (so sad!) File complaints with the BBB and you will be done with them as long as your bank account is secure. You do not need a company to handle this for you as they are lending illegally and they cant do anything to you except harass you.

I'd also suggest contacting your States' financial regulatory agency, they might even be able to intercede with some of these companies for you as far as letters, etc. (companies will still call, though) And for your own information, you might want to keep a log of any calls/emails/etc. you receive from the PDLs. Keep us posted!

Louis,
None of them are legal in PA. Payday loans to PA residents are universally illegal as of February 2009.

Before you or your debt consolidation agency send these guys any money, you should do the following:

1. Add up all the payments you've made to each PDL
2. If the total of the payments equals or exceeds the amount you borrowed...then you are done.

Payday loans to PA residents are illegal. All you should pay these cretins back is the initial principal you borrowed. They will try to tell you that the laws of the states they are licensed in apply (if they are licensed at all), but that is hogwash. Contact each PDL, tell them either that you are done paying or that you will only pay the remaining principal balance. Forget about any interest or fees. They will probably argue, and when they do tell them you are going to file complaints against them with the PA Attorney General. Then do it. The AG's office jumps on these pretty quickly from personal experience, and they will contact the PDL company. The PDL company will probably ignore the AG, and the AG will then contact the AG in the state the PDL is in for assistance. Actually, if you've paid more than the priginal amount of the loan to any of these lenders, you should ask them for a refund of the difference, but I doubt you'd get it unless you sue them.

So I got the response below from CPD which I believe is Mycashnow. I called them and told them I would only pay the principal which is $500 because this loan is illegal in PA. They really never told me if they would accept that offer. Then I told them I would only pay by sending a money order to a physical address and they immediately sent me to a recording which rambled off their address and then hung up.

So here is the email they sent me. I get another one of these about every week and each time the balance goes up about $20. What course of action should I take now?

Also I sent a certified letter to Ameriloan which I now they received about a month ago but still haven't heard back from them yet. Should I be worried? Should I just let it go until I hear from them?

Credit Protection Depot is a debt buyer that has recently purchased your debt and is attempting to collect on that debt.

Please call our office immediately to discuss your account to ensure you remain in good standing. By maintaining contact with us, we are willing to work with you to avoid any additional fees that may be assessed by our office.

We are confident that by working together we will work out a reasonable payment plan, but we must have your cooperation in this matter. By simply making a phone call, and speaking with one of our specialists you can ensure to keep your account in good standing with our company.

We have several different options that can be utilized based on your current situation to guarantee the successful repayment of your current loan obligation.

You current balance is $650.04 which can be sent to us via MoneyGram or Western Union using the instructions below. If you are unable to send the entire balance on your account we require that you send a minimum payment of $216.68 which will temporarily stop any additional actions regarding your outstanding balance.

Listed below you will find the instructions for sending a wire payment through Western Union or MoneyGram which can be helpful in repayment of your loan obligation.

Western Union Instructions

You need to go to Western Union and get the BLUE QUICK COLLECT FORM (or go to www.westernunion.com and choose the quick collection option)

* Company Name - Credit Protection Depot

* Code City - Offer

* State - Nevada

* Account Number - Removed

* Reference Number - Removed


**You can also use your debit card or credit card at www.westernunion.com

MoneyGram Instructions

You need to go to a MoneyGram facility and get the BLUE EXPRESS PAYMENT FORM

* Company name is - CPD-Offer

* Receive Code - 4243

* City - Las Vegas

* State - Nevada

* Account Number - Removed


**Currently MoneyGram does not support online payments to our company.

If you fail to meet the obligations outlined above your account may be reviewed for further action. You could be responsible for additional fees. Only full payment of the debt would prevent further collection activity.

We can be reached by phone at 1-866-645-1661.

Sincerely,



Credit Protection Depot

**We are unable to respond to e-mail, please do not reply to this e-mail**

Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of the debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume the debt is valid.

This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. This is a communication from a debt collector.

Stick to your guns and only repay what you legally owe. If you haven't heard from them, then perhaps they KNOW they are screwed because they are illegal. If you do hear from them, then just resent/e-mail your original letters. It took US Fast Cash 3 months to stop e-mailing me. I just kept resending my letter but they ignored it. I've extricated myself from 5 payday loans since July 2009, and actually received a refund from one.

Hang in there and be strong. You will prevail.

You can do this.... just keep checking in here. Most of us have been through a lot of this ourselves so we can offer you support! It takes some work but the more you know the better you will feel... and after about the 5th or 6th letter your anger will take over any fear. Just remember you can come here for FACTS and not intimidation tactics!

Just keep up the good work you've started. Definately do not send them any money. Interestingly, CPD identifies themselves in the email as a "debt buyer" which means they are acting as a collection agency. They even have the required "mini-miranda" notice in the email. Bad move for them since I think you are right and that really is MyCashNow. Since they are now a CA, and they didn't provide you a mailing address, I think they are in violation of the FDCPA (anybody want to weigh in on that?). There may be a mailing address listed here on the site somewhere, if you can find one you should send them a certified, return receipt requested letter (addressed to CPD) demanding debt validation. They then have to stop contacting you until they obtain that and send it to you. If they don't respond within 30 days they are supposed to leave you alone. Chances are, they will not handle this correctly and they will then be in (further?) violation of the FDCPA, which means you can sue them for damages.
Also, keep in mind that if and when you do pay these crooks back, be sure you deduct any and all payments you've already made from the principal and only pay back the remainder.

Hang in there, and you'll come out OK.