Advice on Pay Day Loan Collections - The Bills.com Blog

Can the company threaten that they are going to send you to jail. That they will be coming to pick you up from work immediately and sent to jail? I just got this phone call and it scared me completely. Thank you

They cannot do that. That is considered to be harassment. You should keep all records for this event, including that collection agency details, phone number, the representative you spoke to as well as a record of the number of times you receive these calls. Once you have all the information, you can report this incident to the FTC. The FTC website has more information on what a creditor can or cannot do. I encourage you to read more about your rights at the FTC website by visiting: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fdc.shtm

If I put a stop on a particular payday loan company from withdrawing anymore funds from my bank account, would this be considered a criminal bad check issue? I'm in Texas and they didn't get a post dated check, just electronically withdrawing each time. I am willing to pay them back, I'm just at a point right now where I can't do it.

No, it's not the same as writing a bad cheque. If they kept trying to take the money out and the withdrawal was being rejected due to insufficient funds, then THAT's the same as writing a bad cheque. Putting a stop on it, though, is the same as putting a stop on a cheque -- you've requested that it not be paid out. If you are in a position right now where you cannot make payments on your loan, you need to talk to the payday loan company ASAP. Those companies can often be real sharks about getting their money back, and the minute they see you've put a stop on their AFT (automated funds withdrawal), they'll come after you pretty quick.

I live in Maryland and took out several payday loans online in order to avoid eviction and utility cut off. I was expecting a settlement to pay them off. The settlement did not come through. It will be several months before it does come through and now I am stuck with these loans. Will the lender negotiate at all with my inablitity to repay every 2 weeks? Should I default on the loans and then deal with the collection agency?

I have a similar situation,yes they did repeatedly try to withdraw and money wasn't there. I guess it would be considered a bad check,however the money wasn't there because either them or an affiliate company felt the need to withdraw 149.99 and 24.99 unannounced and because of that alot of checks bounced and finally the bank said the safest route was tio close"that" account. I haven't recieved anything in the mail however they have opted to contact my parents in FLA and harass them saying that was the primary address I gave...I know for a fact it wasn't because it wouldn't make much sense to have a bank account here in upstate ny and give a physical address in Fla.The clerk of course threatened me with jail as early as tommorrow and said they have been sending letters to meandmy parents but either has recieved any.I want to payback but couldn't take the chance of leaving the account open. In the mean time they called my job in which I am laid off until March. I offered a payment plan but it was refused no supposedly or maybe factually they are gonna send it to a local judge tommorrow. Any advice? thanks. rb

I cannot say for sure if the lender will agree or not, but you should definitely keep making whatever payments you can afford at this time. If you stop and let it go to collections you would have given them the right to go to court, trust me, you don't want to deal with the collection agents, they will not be sympathetic to your cause at all. Try and find an alternative source to help you through this time till your settlement comes through.

Even if they do go to court, they will have to send you a summons in writing to appear for a hearing, they just cannot approach a judge and ask for a conviction against you. You still have the oppurtunity to present your case before the judge. Depending on your financial situation, the judge will decide on a payment plan.

thanks it already is in collections... but in doing some investigating did the collection agency break a federal law by discussing every aspect of the debt with my father who lives in Fla?

maybe they violated fdcpa. check out www.ftc.gov and search for fdcpa violations. they are not supposed to discuss your private matter with a third party. You can always go see an attorney and see if they will take the case to sue the creditor / collector and try to get the debt settled.

My ex husband took out a payday loan 3 years ago and now i got a call that i have to pay for this loan otherwise the sheriff is going to come to my job asking for me. When we took out this loan we were married but then we got divorced and he didnt pay for it. What should i do?

I don't think that they can hold you responsible for that debt, unless you signed as a co-signor on the loan. Moreover, bill collectors tend to be really aggressive on the phone and say whatever it takes to get a payment from you. You should not believe everything they say. The smart thing to do is to get a credit report to see if this debt showing on your credit. Even if it is, you need to explain to them that you have since divorced your ex-husband and cannot be held liable for debts that are in his name.

Hi, i have a qestion. i took out a payday loan over the internet. now this loan wasnt like most loans ive gotten, instead of me making a check and having them submitt it on my next pay day they would deduct $90.00 from every pay check til i was able to pay for the loan in full plus the $90.00 fee. Well i did this back in june, i kept paying them and paying them. During this time that i was paying them 9$90.00 every pay check they came around 2 times one was to offer me another loan for $100.00, then 3 months later th offered me to pay off my first loan for $300.00 and give me a loan of $400.00. At that time i was starting my bad financial bind so i went a head and took the loans, but now i would have to pay $120.00 every pay check for the loan of $400.00 and $30.00 for the loan of $100.00. My finanacial situation got worse and i was forced to close out my acct in January, which makes it 6 months that i was paying them $90.00 per pay check. Once i defaulted they started calling me and e-mailing me like crazy. Iexplained to them all my situation and they said they would work w/me and they would still keep calling me like crazy. I was not able to keep my arraingments w/them. So the representative kept calling me to my employment and i told him several times not to call me at work and the last time i spoke to him he told me he would keep calling me to work regardless because that law doesnt pertain to payday loans. At that point i was very upset and decided to do some research on the web and i ran into a case form the California Dept of Corporations where that company where i got the loan from and its affiliates were found guilty of violating some finance codes, one code involved them not having a license from the state of california to make payday loans and also because of there fees. i was soooo stunned. i couldnt believe it, and i called the California dept of corp and they told me this company still doesnt have a license and they were doing this to several othe people, so he askd that i mail in a complaint to them regarding this matter. So after all this i told you i guess my question is, do i have a legal case on them for this? Or what do you think i should do?

If the California Department of Corporations has confirmed that the company cannot do business there, then I guess you could send in a formal compaint letter detailing everything that happened to you. Also, take a look at the state information page available on http://www.paydayloaninfo.org/state_detail.cfm?id=CA.

i just need to ask you this and i hope you can help me. i got a call from this company and telling me that i made a payday loan over the internet and i need to pay this. i asked them what company is this and they told me that it us national bank and i owe them this amount. so i asked him the name of the company that deposited the money so i can check it with my bank statement but they refuse to give me a name and they keept telling me that its us national...but wont give me any name. so pissed off cause they keep on calling at my work and harrassed me or they keep on calling at my in-laws and harrassing her that she can also go to jail for that. can i go to jail for not paying them because i want to make sure that i owe them that money? or can they take it to court. pls. advice. thanks

They CAN NOT take you to jail over payday loans, unless some sort of gross fraud and illegal activity was involved. I would suggest sending them a Cease & Desist form (telling them to stop calling you per the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act) and if it really is not legitimate you can always report it to the BBB and to the state Attorney General where you live. It IS illegal (a violation of FDCPA) to threaten you or your spouse with jail for collection of a debt.

About 4 years ago I got into a financial bind and took a couple of payday loans out (robbed Peter to pay Paul) I thought I paid them all off in payments but one came out of the woodwork that was for 300.00 and the collection agency has harassed me constantly saying there is going to be a warrant for my arrest if I do not come up with $468.00 by tomorrow he said I owe $1336.00 for a 300.00 loan because of interest now I do not mind paying back the loan I do owe it but can they charge me that much interest? I am a older woman living on SSDI and I just cannot take this kind of treatment. Thank You for your time

I owe like twelve payday loans and only two do i pay which is still hard. i found a company that would only pay the internet payday loans. i only get paid twic amonth and need to move so it is hard to come up with the money to pay for them to take care of some of them. Were can i get help to resolve this now? Is it going to cosst me an arm and a leg? I need help asap. i have contacted most of them saying having finicial problems but can not hold them off for every. Most have put in for collections. help hurry. Thanks Daniel Evans

You may be in luck in regard to your difficulty in repaying these loans. There are eight states whose payday loan regulating statutes require lenders to set up an installment repayment plan if an account reaches the maximum number of rollovers allowed by law and the debtor declares that he/she is unable to pay the balance due. Check out the payday loan information from the Consumer Federation of America at http://www.paydayloaninfo.org where you will be able to read all about these loans and the various state attempts to regulate them. Follow the “state information” link to find out the specific regulations for payday lenders in your state, and if you live in one of the eight states requiring installment payments. If your state does require repayment plans, and the lender still won’t accept payments, call your state regulator of payday loans, usually an assistant Attorney General, and complain. You should get the results you want after the Attorney General’s office becomes involved. If you are not in one of those states, you may want to consider simply making payments to the lender of whatever you can afford to pay down the balance of the loan over time. In most states, the rollover limit will soon be reached, and the interest rate the lender can charge will be capped by state law. If the lender will not accept your payments, simply put what you can afford aside each month until you have enough money to either pay off the loan or to offer a settlement. Read up on the regulations in your state to find the best strategy for your situation.

I have received three calls today alone regarding a payday loan that I took in May '05. I closed the account back then and thought that all checks had cleared. Now I am being harassed by this pay day loan company. I told them that I am willing to pay them back the money and that I would be happy to discuss this with them but that they cannot call me at work. The gentleman that I spoke with was very rude and continued to call me at work today. I continued to tell him NOT to call me at work, that my employer does not allow these types of phone calls and that I would lose my job if it continued. I gave him an alternate number to reach me but he said that wouldn't work because he only works during the time that I work. So, we agreed on an installment arrangement and I asked him where to send the first installment. He said that they do not accept money being sent to them and that I have to open a bank account, since I don't currently have one, so that they can withdraw the money. He barely spoke any English so it was difficult to understand him. He told me that I have to call him back within 5 business days with the account number or they are going to call my employer and garnish my wages by 50% of my net income. I told him that he can't garnish my wages without a court judgment. He said that is true and then he said that isn't true. He wasn't making any sense. I asked him for an address so I could send a letter telling them to stop calling me a work. He said that they have offices all over the world and he didn't have a PO Box or Street address that he could only give me a city and state. So, my questions are: 1. Do I open the account and call him with the number? 2. Can he garnish my wages without a court judgment? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am just concerned that if I open an account that they will continue to take money out well after this debt is paid. It doesn't make sense to me that I can't just send a money order - that way I would have a record of the debt payments.

1. Please do not open a bank account. This is not a current loan, therefore you have the right to send in other forms of payments. 2. NO, nobody can garnish your wages without a court ordered judgment. You will need to do some investigation on your part. Best thing would be to get your credit reports, you can get one from each of the 3 bureaus by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com. Once you get the report, if the said account is indeed showing up on your report, it will also mention the contact information. Once you have the contact information, you can send them a cease communication notice asking them to stop calling at your place of employment.

You know I received a call from a man saying that I owe money to US National Bank, I did some research and there is no bank by that name. When I asked how much I owed all he kept on giving me is my social security number and my old bank number...What the phishy thing is, is that me told me that money was deposited in my old checking account in May 23,2006, well guess what I closed that account in April 11, 2006...So why wait two years later to contact me and tell me that I owe someone money that I never got....Because the account was closed...when I told this man this he was shocked...he said that he will be contacting me with the right deposit date...he even said that i was being charged with 3 counts of felony....what should i do...

First of, get you credit report from each of the three bureaus. You can do so for free at www.annualcreditreport.com. Once you have your reports, you can check to see all the accounts that are showing as negative. Don't worry about the debt collectors threats for now, they always try to intimidate you with these threats. If you are prepared with your documentation, there is nothing they can do.

Hi, I have a question I got a payday loan and I haven't be able to pay them. So now I went to pay my loan off but somehow it has already been to court. Also I did not receive a simon for court because it was sent to the wrong address.Even they sent my settlement offer to the wrong address. So now the are trying to garnish my check. What can I do to stop this garnishment?

Your best bet is to contact them again and try to negotiate a settlement payment on it. Apparently the court thought that the creditor did their part by sending you the summons, this is because it is usually the debtor's reponsibilty to keep the creditor aware of their current address. The court would have seen whatever the address was, on the contract that you signed, and as long as the summons was sent to that address and no response was recieved, it went ahead and passed a default judgment against you. Once a court orders a judgment, there is very little you can do about it. I strongly suggest that you get an opinion from a qualified attorney as I am not a qualified legal professional.

I had a company contact me last month stating I owed them 6000.00 for outstanding payday advance loans I took out in 2006. So I paid them because they threatened me with being arrested and I was scared. The said they would send me documentation in the mail however, I haven't received anything showing the debt was paid. Now I try to call the company and it says the phone number has been disconnected. Now today I had another company call me saying I owe for a payday loan from 2006 and if I don't pay them $3000.00 by today they are going to have me arrested? Can they do that? Can I be arrested for this? Thanks for your help.

The answer is "NO". Debt is a civil matter and you cannot get arrested for it. YOu should have done your homework and checked on your credit report to see if the said loans were showing up there. Also, whenever you make payments, you need to put everything in writing so that it does not come back to haunt you like it has now. Do not be scared and ask for the company to send you a debt validation letter. Once you know for sure that you took this loan, ask for the payment terms to be put in writing. When you do make the payment, make sure to write a check to the company and do not give them a direct debit authorization to your account. That way, you will have a record of your payment being made.

I filed chapter 7 and my question is...... Can the payday loan still try to withdrawl the money from my bank account? Can i send them a letter to contact only my bk attorney and not to call my job and anyother references? Do i put a stop payment on the check? The pay day loan have to follow the laws like the CFA,FTC, Attorney Genereal for my state in az and the Az dept. of financial institution... Right?

You are right, you have to inform them in writing that you have filed for bankruptcy protection. Thay also cannot harass you on the phone, if they continue to do so, you can complain to the FTC (www.ftc.gov). I would be wise to put a stop payment on your checks or else they will keep depositing them. My advise is to change your bank account all together.

hi, i had a payday loan that i was paying intrest on till i fell on hard times. now they are calling my neighbours to leave messages. is that legal in texas? please help.

They will call you every day. They will call your references every day. They will call your place of work every day. The only way to get them to stop calling your job and/or your references is to CONTACT THEM IN WRITING, CERTIFIED, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED and tell them to quit calling anywhere except your home.

i took out a couple of payday loans and couldn't pay them back and now they are threatning to garnish my wages. i'm the only one who works and i cannot afford to have my wages garnished and they won't accept a payment plan. i live in ohio. what are my options please?

They may have the right to garnish your wages if the company has gained a judgment against you in small claims court. Only a court order can facilitate the garnishment of the wages, regardless of what state you live in. Have you received any notice to appear in a court? If so, I suggest you contact a lawyer. Unfortunately, payday loans are legal in Ohio, you check for more information here: http://www.paydayloaninfo.org/state_detail.cfm?id=OH

A friend of mine called me all frantic last night. She said that she changed the spelling of her name and used a made up SSN # to get a payday loan which she started to pay back but has now stopped. She is afraid of fraud but cannot pay the loan. What can happen to her? I told her not to get those loans but she had not choice.

I recommend that she pay off the loan as quickly as possible, worse than not paying the loan is the act of fraud that will cause her more harm and the only way she can stop it from further complications is to pay the loan and get it over with, even if she would need to borrow the money from someone else.