drowning from pdls in virginia...

Welcome cmvenable! You've come to the right place. Good job posting all of your information right away. Have no fear, someone will be along shortly to give you some great advice.

Best of luck! :)

Welcome,
Since most Internet payday loans are not licensed nor regulated in most States (do your research on these companies, because that is how I found out) the maximum you should pay back legally in VA is 15% of the principal amount borrowed. Take care of your rent, car note, student loans, and medical bills first. Open a checking account at a different bank with direct deposit. Pay these payday loan people back one at a time for the Principal amount only, because you have so over paid on some of these loans.(It almost seems that they are robbing your bank account). Negotiation is the key, They would have to take it or leave it.
DO NOT LET THESE PDL's STRESS YOU OUT. I used to be that way, so stress out, I had 9 loans outstanding. So I closed my account and opened another one at a different bank, so I have control of my paycheck. First thing is to stop the fees, (and they will drown you with fees) if you feel you have to default, do it.
Chances are they are not legally operating in your State and that will buy you time to repay in installments. Also tell them you have contacted your State Attorney General on this matter and you are waiting for a response, that will scare them as they do not like lawyers.

PDL's are made to keep borrowers in debt, and to keep lenders rich. :evil: Let's all break the cycle of debt.
If these pdl companies are not licensed to lend in VA, makes the contract you signed void and null. You will only have to pay the principal - Bottom Line!
Let these companies know, because knowledge is a dangerous weapon against a payday lender. Remember, they prey on the weak with their bogus fees. Work with these companies one at a time. From the first to the last. Read the article on Payday Loan help (New)page, about closing your account. NEVER, I mean NEVER give your new account info to anyone, or company over the Internet.
NO MORE ROLLOVER FEES.

cmv...Their suggestions are good...and true. Please read the info on closing your bank account. I would do that first...close it and open another at a different bank...get control of your money again. You can then write letters revoking the ipdls rights to debiting your account, and any wage assignments. They can be a pain with all the calls etc. But once you are controlling your money it will be easier for you to deal with it. Come back and post any questions and we will be glad to help!!

And for the 2 guests who posted...please register and join us!!!

thanks to all who replied.
how do i find out if they are licensed in my state? by visiting each of their sites?
believe me, as soon as these are taken care of, i am done.
what about their threats that they will report to teletrack thereby inhibiting future check writing, etc..? i mean, i don't really write checks, but i am curious.

okay - i looked under a different topic which listed all of the states and the companies licensed for those states - none are listed as licensed through virginia. i know i have to pay back some money - you can't get something for nothing. but, how much do i pay back? seriously, i am so not up to speed on this kind of stuff, i have no idea what steps to take.

morningstarr: when you say i can write letters revoking the rights to debit, who do i send the letters to? my bank or the lenders? any sample letters anywhere? i am sorry but i am a complete moron when it comes to financial matters - i guess this s hw i ended up in this situation to start...

cmv, I can tell you right now that 500FastCash, United Cash Loans, MTE Financial, and Magnum are unlicensed/illegal pdls. I have never heard of PayDay Services, so I have no clue on that one. This means that you are dealing with unlicensed/illegal lenders. You do not owe them one dime over the principle amount, and they should consider themselves lucky to receive that. You need to take care of your bank account NOW! You need to prevent these pdls from hitting your account again.

You can get info from your State regulators
Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions
Address: State Corporation Commission, 1300 East Main Street, Suite 800 Post Office Box 640 Richmond VA 23218
Phone: (804) 371-9657
Fax: (804) 371-9416
Regulatory Contact: Susan E. Hancock,, Deputy Commissioner, Consumer Finance
Regulator Website

Licensee Database

thanks guys.
cannr you are getting me so fired up - yet there is also an immense sense of relief!
i have already put a complete freeze on my checking account, and am in the process of opening a new one/closing the old. thanks so much!
but, can they report you to teletrack or chexsystems or whatever? or no because they are illegal?

cmv, they're not going to report you to anyone except a service called CL Verify (or something along those lines) and this service is used for pdls and rent-to-own places. So if they "report" you to them, that just means no one else will give you a pdl. Darn! LOL! They will not affect your check writing ability. Great job putting a freeze on your account! You have taken the first step to get this crap out of the way! Now you will have your money back (which is nice!) and then we can tackle the illegal companies. As long as your account is to the point to where it can NOT be hit by anyone any longer, we can send these illegal companies letters and we can file complaints. Now, I'll be honest, they're going to try to hound you to absolute death once they realize their debits are being rejected. That's a given. So we'll send them all a letter, they'll basically ignore it (ho hum) and we'll file complaints with the agencies against these companies. Sound like a plan? :wink:

well, i definitely will NEVER get another pdl, that goes without saying! :?
i don't have a problem with them hounding me. it makes no difference. however, if they start contacting my work, i will then have a problem.
what should these letters state?
below is a copy of what was sent to my email regarding the one that is now in "recovery."

Please be advised that our attempt to debit your account pursuant to our loan agreement with you has failed. It is imperative that you contact our office at 1-800-325-8208 immediately upon receipt of this notice to discuss your payment options. We would like to work with you to get your account back into Active status and out of Recovery status. We will gladly accept your payment by Visa or Mastercard for no additional fee if your account can not be debited at this time. If you would like to respond by email, feel free to contact us at recovery(at)invcity.com to set up your payment arrangements. Failure to comply will result in your account being reported to a Consumer Reporting agency such as CL Verify which will affect your ability to qualify for future loans from us and other cash advance companies. It may also hamper your check writing ability with certain CL Verify merchants such as gas stations, grocery stores, etc.
Recovery Manager
MTE Financial Services
Toll Free: 1-800-325-8208
Toll Free Fax: 1-866-246-0157

sorry...that last guest was me... :lol:

cmv...this is a standard reply from them when the debit does not go throuh...IMHO I wouls send them a letter stating that you revoke their right to debit your account, revoke their right to any wage assignments and request they handle all contact by email or usps. Most often they iwll onyl contact you at work if theyhave no other means of getting a hold of you. Personally in all these months I have only had 2-3 calls at work. Now after sending the letters make sure you notify your HR person at work that you have revoked wage assignments and the name of the lenders.

Now....I had Payday Services and they were not licensed/legal here in Indiana. Depending on your state law most of us have felt the moral thing to do was pay back the principle at least that was borrowed. I did pay that plus whatever my state said was the allowable interest and fee's. Depending on your state...

If you have over paid you will request a paid in full statement which you can do in that same letter if you like. At the top of the page there is a do it yourself tab and you will find a whole section on letters...some of which will give you some idea on what to write.

Here is the law for Virginia so we can see where you stand:

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/paydayloan/explain-pdls-laws.html

thanks morningstarr - as far as i can see, none of the lenders are licensed/legal in virginia. however, i do intend to pay back the principal... after all, i did borrow the money. from someone like 500fastcash, who i have paid $360 to in rollovers (which are prohibited in my state) and having only borrowed $300, i will request a paid in full statement.

Definitely cmv....let us know if you need anything else...

i received an email from magnum today when they found my account had been blocked (as well as two phone calls from payday services and united cash loans). i wanted to ask the wise if this email held any weight (i know they are not licensed in my state and according to cannr are unlicensed/illegal):

Quote:

cvm, scary. However, unlicensed/illegal company. Now they may turn you over to a collection agency; however, do not be alarmed. Yes, their email is scary sounding. They want it to be. If you are indeed turned over to a collection agency, immediately send a letter demanding debt validation. Love to see collection agencies try to legally validate an illegal debt. Magnum wants you to contact them. That's why they sent you this. You can try to the tactic of just sending them your letter AGAIN stating everything regarding them being unlicensed/illegal, your state laws, etc. Hell, I used to send mine via email every single time I got an email from a pdl. Sometimes up to 4 times a day every single day. Hoping they would eventually get the drift. You can try that tactic. Send them an email with your letter AGAIN stating everything AGAIN. This is good documentation for you also. But do not contact them via telephone. You want everything documented. Everything. Including this email they sent you. So, try it. Send the letter to them again as a reply to this email you recieved. See what happens. Like I said, they may turn you over to collections. Okay. Then slap a debt validation letter on the collection agency and mention in there that this is an illegal loan.

And just so you know: I had payday services and they were easy to work with and understanding, they are participating in my debt management program so I can't image they wouldn't make payment arrangements with you if you still owe a balance.

Hey guys:
I just wanted to post an update as you have all been so helpful. below is the response i received from payday services in response to my email (which stated their illegal status, etc...)

"I am happy to set up payments with you that meet your financial ability. We have also removed all phone numbers from your account as by your request. Please respond to this e-mail and advise me of what kind of payments you would be willing to make and when you would be willing to start making them."

i feel such a relief! and i think it's funny that they did not try to defend their illegal status! thanks again everyone! since joining this forum, i feel a sense of freedom that i haven't felt for months! and it happened so fast! i will keep you posted...

cmv...I am so glad for you...I'm sure you feel so much better!!!

Yay! :D A pdl that was not harrassing or threatening! Great news! How about that, morning? LOL! cmv, keep going! You're doing great! Thanks for the update!

I was very surprised myself...I am so glad he had the same experience!!

i received another email from payday services, as follows:
I must advise you that our company does random debt sales, in which accounts that are not paid within 60 days are sold, and your account could possibly be sold if not paid on or paid in full by then. I would also like to inform you that the third party in which we sell our past due loans too, often report to credit authorities as well as take possible legal action, which is something that I am sure you would like to avoid since you are willing to make payments. I also need to know how you intend on making payments. In your e-mail, you advised that you are not going to give your current banking information and the only other payment options available are by money gram or with a pre-paid credit card. I will list the money gram information below in case that is the way in which you would like to make payments. Please respond to this e-mail so that your account can be properly noted, and I will advise that any payments made now, could lower your chances of being included in the next debt sale.

so...a little more threatening this time. however, since sending the cease and desist letters, most of the lenders have not contacted me at all - not via email or anything.
while the term "legal action" does scare me, i have done more research and found this:

Loans based on income tax refunds are not payday loans.
The Virginia Payday Loan Act applies to Internet payday lending if such lending involves Virginia consumers.
Unlicensed persons are prohibited from making payday loans for consumers residing in Virginia, whether or not the lender has a physical location in Virginia.
Brokering or arranging payday loans to consumers residing in Virginia is prohibited, regardless of whether the person arranging or brokering the loans has a location in Virginia.

this is just some info that i have found at http://www.scc.virginia.gov/news/b_paymil_05.htm which makes it clear that these loans are unlicensed and illegal in my state.
my question is: has anyone ever had "legal action" taken against you on one of these loans and, if so, what was the process of resolution and the final outcome?

My experience with Magnum is that they turn you over to a collection agency who will not validate the debt because they have no payment information, they know the company is unlicensed or they are not licensed to collect on the state that they are collecting in. There are case where legal payday lenders have taken people to small claims court to collect. I have not seen one case where an illegal lender, or a collector for them, has stepped foot in a court room where the lender was not licensed and especially if the borrower had paid back the loan according to the laws of the state in which they reside. If someone has conflicting info please respond. This is strictly my observation.

cm, If this company is unlicensed / illegal in your state, they would not have a leg to stand on in court and as far as reporting on your credit, that has happened to members but once they prove to the credit reporting agency the company was operating illegally in their state, it was removed. I have had several of my pdls turn me over to 3rd party collections and quite honestly, it has been easier to deal with since there are laws they have to follow. Atleast one of mine could not validate the debt and marked my account paid. However, this may be the exception, not the rule. The other three, once I sent them a debt validation letter I have not heard a peep from them. My own opinion is that they are trying to scare you into paying them.

so, i received my first letter from a collection agency - security credit systems, inc. they are actng on behalf of magnum cash advance. the statement advises that i owe $660.84 - which far exceeds the 15% interest allowed in virginia. i want to slap them with a validation letter, as cannr advised, but i really don't know what to state within. i have looked at the sample letters and they seem to apply to errors on credit reports. can someone guide me with this next step??? thanks!

cmv, I did a search on this site & found this. You can use it as a guide to send to the collection agency.

so i have sent a bunch of places validation letters... one place is security credit systems and i sent the letter certified mail. it was signed for on the 16th. i received something from them today (2/23 -letter dated 2/20) and it's generic. it basically says that the loan exist, shows where their payment was returned by the bank, but that's it. in addition, magnum cash advance (for whom they are collecting) is - of course - not licensed in my state. they didn't say this, didn't answer any of my questions - just asked about payment. what now? they didn't send it certified, and they responded late...
and what about the companies that never responded?

cmv, the ones you have never heard from, don't be surprised if you don't. Some of these idiots just "disappear" when you ask for debt validation. However, the one that sent you what they call "validation" (and it's not), send them another letter stating that what they sent you is NOT proper validation of your debt. It is not. They did not properly validate that debt. I received "debt validation" that was written in black magic marker and said basically nothing. It was insane! I sent them a letter, blah, blah. I haven't heard from them again. However, let me also say - keep your eye on your credit reports. These morons might report you to the bureaus. Have as much documentation as you can to back yourself up and dispute it. I had to dispute mine and it got taken care of. Just try to keep as much documentation as absolutley possible. Magnum just asked about payment? Good for them. You can respond to them or you can ignore them. It's up to you. Seeing as how they aren't even licensed/legal to lend to you, there's really not a whole lot they can do (besides harrass the crap out of you). Just make sure you watch those credit reports. These guys are pretty stupid sometimes. Although, many many people have never heard from some pdls/collection agenecies again after requesting proper debt validation.

Hello,
I have four store front PDL's in VA. I find myself taking out a new one to pay for the old ones. I am drowing in fees because I have to keep renewing them. I am a single Mom with only one income, what can I do? What can they do to me? I am so scared, I am at a point now that I cannot renew them this coming Friday, I do not know what to do, all of this is sounding like a foreign language to me, help please?
Cash 2 U- pricipal amount borrowed was $400, to date I have paid over $1,440 in roll over fees
Check into Cash- principal amount borrowed was $500, to date I have paid over $1.800 in roll over fees
Quick Cash- principal amount borrowed was $500, to date I have paid over $900 in roll over fees
Check N Go- principal amount borrowed was $500- to date I ahve paid over $900 in roll over fees

Check into Cash, Check n Go, and Quik Cash are members of the CFSA. What this means is that you can go into the storefront at least one day BEFORE the due date of the loans and invoke the EPP (extended payment). Go to the storefronts before the loan is due, tell them you need the EPP. You will sign an amendment to your loan agreement and it'll break down the loan amount into 4 equal payments until the loan is paid in full. I don't know if Cash 2 U is a member. I'm not showing them; however, that doesn't mean anything. You can call their corporate office and ask if they are members of the CFSA. If they are, you can do the EPP on them also. If they are not, see if you can set up payment arrangements with them. Tell them you are unable to pay your loan unless you can make payments. I am going to post the VA pdl law for you to see.

You will find the Payday loan laws for Virginia here (just select your state),
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/paydayloan/explain-pdls-laws.html

If you have any questions, just post! :D