Double Dipping by SJM Marketing

Edith

This is indeed a common and illegal practice done by SJM marketing. You have to close your checking account so that you can put a stop to these unauthorized debits.

Does anyone know how to get in touch with them? They're doing the same thing to me! I had a $300 loan in July and they've been take $180/month since.

Susan

SJM Marketing has some close contacts with Platinum B e-payday. Go to e-payday.us for the contact information. Earlier the debts were sold to Ellis Crosby by SJM.

I don't want to have to resort to closing my checking account that I have had for twenty years. I don't know how SJM had autorization to deposit $200.00 in July 05, or withdraw $60.00 biweekly from my account. In July I was curious to see how internet payday advances worked. When I saw the fees they charged, I never finished authorizations. Now I have paid in over 500.00 for a 200.00 deposit. How do I contact them and has anyone thought about a class action suit. This is piracy at its best.

Hi Carol

I am sad that you are throwing your hard earned money and the checking account to them. Please put your complaints against SJM at the FTC, BBB as well as the attorney general office in your state.

It is very important to close your checking account otherwise they will continue with these debits in other unauthorized ways also.

Payday lenders share consumer's secret information with each other. Though you might not have put any info in their website, but some information gathered from somewhere else has given effect to this deposit in your account.

Platinum B is linked to SJM Marketing. Check a few pages about platinum B in this forum and know more on them.

Dominic
Phone: 1-866-722-2770 ext. 105

They deposited $300 wothout my permission into my account. I luckly found this website and was told by my bank to wait approx 2 weeks for all of my legitamate charges to clear and then close my account as soon as they do to prevent unauthorized charges. Just an idea. THanks!

Natalie,

Most of the time people complain that they have taken out money without permission. I think you are lucky enough that they have deposited into your account. :D


Anyway, take it as a warning. This $300 can demand more in the next few months. Closing your account will protect you from unauthorized withdrawals by them. So you are already on the right track, best of luck.

I have now made a BBB complaint against SJM/ez pay day. I found out they are a Utah company by the name of EZ Payday by doing a search for the phone number 866-722-2770 on www.bbb.com
Their address is 4848 South Highland Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
as of yet I have still not been able to find their actual website. There is another ez payday loan place when I google it, but the phone numbers do not match. Could still be them but I doubt it.

Please please, make a complaint on the BBB with all the complaints here I have only seen 3 complaints made on the BBB. They will investigate and contact the company then at least you can get some sort of closure?
Thanks, Shannon

Just to let you know my situation incase anyone cares. My original loan in the amount of $250.00 was deposited in my account on 9/13/05 and every two weeks beginning 9/30/05 $75.00 has been removed via ACH from my account. I have not contact my bank yet to see what their policies are on stopping ach or stopping a specific ach. I do have other ach that I need to continue with. So far I have paid $525.00. I know that is not nearly the amount some of you have paid, but I refuse to allow it to get to that point. I am sorry you all have been thru this. For the past month my account has been over drawn on and off again because of the snowball effect of this situation. I hope that we all get resolution very soon.
I have tried contacting by the extentions given, just choosing the option for wanting to pay off my loan and emails, no responses.
Good luck and please please report this on www.bbb.com the easiest way to find the company on there is by the phone number (don't put in the 1) 866-722-2770

Good luck,
Shannon

Hi Shannon, you need to stop EZ Payday from taking out further money from your account. Call your bank and request them to block the ID code of the company through which money is debited from your account. Since you are not in a position to close your account at present, blocking the ID code of EZ Payday might be the only option.

You might have received some documents from the company when you initially took the loan. Go through the agreement papers and search for the company address. It should be mentioned in the contract.

I also had monies taken out of my account for several months. I had to close my checking account. Now I am receiving phone calls telling me I need to consult an attorney or an accountant. Is it legal for them to contact you at your place of employment and can you go to jail for closing your account.

Hey there Nichelle...
Did the caller leave a name of the company?
If it's a third party collector, they must abide by the FDPCA laws.
No, you can't go to jail! I've been threatened with arrest many times and I'm still here! They're just trying to scare you!

My all time favorite was being threatened with "Wire Fraud!"

this company went into my account

The guy that called me said his name was Michael Sinclair from Platinum B. He stated that I owe them $580.00 which seems really absurd due to the fact they have been taking money out of my account for a while now. He asked me if I had a debit card and that I needed to send the money using money gram by 4:00 or they will have to take legal action against me. He also wished me luck.. when i asked what the company name was that sent them my informatiion, they stated they could not give me that information, then he turned around and told me it was SJM Marketing.

Nichelle- Welcome to the forums! As for Platinum B, don't give them ANY money up front. Platinum B has a horrible track record and has been known to make almost every threat in the book to try and scare people into just handing over money. A collection agency is required by law to tell you what original creditor they are collecting for. If at all possible, try to work with the orignal creditor rather than Platinum B. If you end up having to work with Platinum B, do some research in the forums on them and talk with us so that you are well aware of your rights and the proper channels that need to be followed in dealing with them so that you don't get taken advantage of. Also, if you register with this website a debt counselor will contact you to help you with your specific situation. :-)

Platinum B is actually the original payday lender. They do go by other names such as SJM Marketing. They have been known to use collection agencies such as Ellis Crosby, United Federal Bank and Prelitigation Services.
Nichelle...how much was your loan for, and how much have you paid so far?

My loan was originally for 250.00. I am actually askibg my credit union to go back into my account and look to see when they actually started taking monies out. But when I look at my bank statments $60.00 biweekly has been coming out of my account for about 6 months now so I would think they have gotten their money plus some. I am worried because of the threat of being arrested for this...i am willing to pay the monies i owe, but i just don't have $580 laying around.

Nichelle, they will always threaten to arrest, and probably will harrass you to death.
You will NOT GO TO JAIL!!!! I promise...
If you've paid them the amount of the loan plus appropriate interest allowed for the state you reside in, then that should be it!

I too had two loans with SJM Marketing (E-Payday and Platinum B). I sent them one the letters I found in this forum and haven't heard a peep out of them. Before that, I closed my account and heard immediately from them, now nothing.

Ok, I received yet another call from Michael Sinclair (321) 206-4136 stating that he will be sending some legal ramifications due to the fact that I did not send $580.00 to them. He stated there will be some papers coming either to my job or home and that this will ruin my life. I can however, stop this if i send them $580 by 2:00 or 3:00 today.

I asked him what state is he located in. He hung up on me. When I called back someone else who claimed to be his supervisor stated he was covering form Mr. Sinclair. I asked why i could not continue to speak with Mr. Sinclair. He said the he was Mr. Sinclair's manager and that he has turned by file over to fraud prevention because i have commited fraud. When i proceeded to quote the "Federal Laws to him, he stated he knows the laws and that he was recording my conversation with him and will use that in court and the law will be on his side. I told him "God bless you and he of course hung up on me again. I tell you what "these people are annoying.

You know what, Nichelle?
Tell them you would LOVE to see them in court!!! Tell them to bring their license to do business with them too!!!
There were no checks, err go...no fraud!
Poo on them! Tell 'em to bite ya next time they call!

Let me begin by saying what a GODSEND this site has been for me! I too am in PDL HELL and was feeling hopeless...but no more! The information I have gained here will help me be free sooner than I expected!

I got a $300 loan from SJM on 1/18/06 and have been paying them $90 twice a month since that time. Doing the math...it means I've paid them $1260 for the privilege of borrowing $300. Needless to say, they will not be getting another dime from me! I've got my letter ready, but think I will wait until I take care of my bank account before I fax it to them.

Good for you pernoleum!
Also, make sure you file complaints with your AG's office!!
The more people that complain the better chances there are of shutting down these sharks!

I did not know that most of these online payday loaners have to be licensed in the state you live in to do business. For instance, I got an email from CashNet (which I deleted, trust me I will not do any more payday loans)but the interesting thing about their site was a listing of the state's they were licensed to do business in and also a copy of their license from the Ohio Department of Commerce (which is where I live)displayed. I did not see anything like that listed for any other online payday companies. If anyone has please let me know.