Advice on payday loans and default - The Bills.com Blog

I am still unsure of what I should do. I defaulted on a small loan in 2005 and am being harrassed. I have offered to make payments but they refuse. I am being threatened on a daily basis with getting arrested. I of course should have never taken out a payday loan but it was a last resort. Not I don't know what to do about the mess that I am in.

You should not blindly believe whatever the person on the phone tells you. You have to be steadfast in your resolve, speak to a supervisor if you have to, try and arrange a payment plan. First off, financial matters are subject to civil actions and not criminal actions, you cannot get arrested for it. Please visit www.paydayloaninfo.org and research more about the State laws pertaining to your state.

A GA collections company is stating they have a pre-disposition naming me as a head of an online banking ring. They state that they will not pursue if I settle with them and I am considering. Can they file charges against me? How long can they go after a person for a payday loan balance? I am in bankruptcy.

If you are in bankruptcy already, then you should consult with your bankruptcy attorney about this issue. Collections agents get away with a lot of false claims. You need to research about the account in question. All debts are subject to statute of Limitations, which varies from 4 to 7 years. Write to the collections company requesting a "debt validation". Remember that, even if they start the process of litigation in court, you will still have the opportunity to present your case before the judge so just don't get scared because they are threatening you.

The other thing I would do is give them notice that they should not cash your checks or do automatic withdrawal because you have insufficient funds in the account. Giving them notice will keep you from committing the crime of bouncing a check. You still owe the money though.

I had an internet Payday loan that was taken out over a year ago and after I got in over my head, the bank closed my account because it was overdrawn for so long. I live in Texas and today, a "legal mediator" contacted me and said I have 4 hours to pay the entire amount due and cannot accept payments. They will file suit and they will come to my job or home to serve information on the proceedings. I am so confused, I do not have the entire amount they want (over $800). Help with some info.

No debt collector can land up at your job that way, these are usual scare tactics used by these firms in hopes that the consumer is not educated enough and will make the payment out of fear. If they ever do decide to file a suit against you, they HAVE to send a notice to you in writing. Keep insisting that you just don't have the full amount and can only afford monthly payments. You should read about the fair debt collection practices act at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Debt_Collection_Practices_Act

i defaulted on a loan about a month ago and the calls never stop. he also asked to speak to my supervisor and asked me for my work address. he said that if i dont pay at least 500 dollars within the next few hours, he will put a hold on my social and drivers license. i live in texas and i've never been in this situation before. i'm scared to get in legal trouble. i told him all i could pay for now is 300 dollars but he said i might as well keep it because it's not enough. please help!

You should not believe everything you hear on the phone, there are laws and procedures that need to be followed before the collector can take action on you. You need to research more and be totally aware of what your rights are. Check out http://www.paydayloaninfor.org and http://www.bills.com/payday-loans/ for more information. Also, go through the FTC's website (www.ftc.gov) to make yourself aware of your rights when it comes to the collection calls. you will be surprised how the collectors tone will change once you tell him that you know what your rights are.

I never heard of payday loans prior to moving to Arizona. I have 15 outstanding loans which amount to approximately 8,000. I do not know what to do. I am so embarrassed and cannot even tell anyone and feel my chest getting tighter and tighter each day. It is such an enourmous amount that I do not even know where to begin. 50% are online. I had to closed my bank account 3 times. I have sent certified letters to storefronts and faxes to online requesting that they do not attempt to deposit as the account is closed. I now am told that my hours are cut at work and am looking into my last option which is bankruptcy. Do you know of a credible non profit payday loan debt consolidation company or do you feel that they will just be taking my money also. I have been in this cycle for 2-3 years and have never seen a paycheck in my account from the time I went to work until I got home my money was all gone and has repeated that way for so long.......I am afraid and do not knwo what to do.

Please see here: http://www.bills.com/blog/payday-loan-consolidation/

I have a payday loan that I defaulted on in November 2007 because I lost my job. Original loan amount was for $1,200. I received a letter in the mail from their attorney and they are asking for $6,600 in interest. How far back can they calculate interest?

They will calculate interest from the time that you defaulted on the loan.

I took a payday loan in July 2008 and defaulted on it. I live in Philadelphia, pa and received threatening phone calls @ my job yesterday saying that if i did not pay the loan they would file criminal charges (they said the charges would be theft by deception, fraud and laundering). Can they file criminal charges against me? What are my rights, in pennsylvania

Payday loans seem to be prohibited in the state if PA. If you applied for the loan online, different laws may apply. See here:http://www.paydayloaninfo.org/state_detail.cfm?id=PA. Also, criminal charges cannot be filed unless fraud is involved, you can read more on another blog post: http://www.bills.com/blog/payday-collections/

I have recently inquired into payday loans where it got so bad financiallly Ihad to enroll in pdl assistance program to financially get back in control of my finances.Just recenly they are threathening to take me to court and garnish my wages.can they specifically go after my paycheck,according to my consulor at pdl they cant garnish my paychecks here in florida.Can you advise me please,thanks?

Do not believe any legal advice from bill collectors! Here is a link to a summary of consumers' legal rights in all US states. http://www.bills.com/collection-laws/ In Florida, wages are exempt from garnishment.

I defaulted on a payday loan in Texas for $1,200 in December of 2008. I received lots of threatening phone calls from the company until they sent it off to another collections dept. This new department claims to be a lawyers office. They threatened to arrest me if i didn't pay the amount in full. I finally stopped answering their calls. I just received a letter stating I am being sued. What is the worst that could happen and what do i do now?

Please see Payday Loans & Hot Checks in Texas where I discuss the rights that consumers have under Texas law.

I have 6 pay day loans that are more than two months defaulted, and I live in New York. One of them has been calling me at my job, sometimes on 4 or 5 different lines at once, to make sure they are paging me constantly. He told me that if I didn't make a payment he would "dispatch the local authorities for writing bad checks across state lines, and they will arrest you at your job". Can I be arrested for this?

First, as a New Yorker you are familiar with Bernard Madoff, the person who swindled billions from thousands of investors. Madoff is not in prison today because of debt -- he was found guilty of felony fraud. Consumers who cannot repay their payday loans will not be arrested for their debt. They will not be arrested for anything unless the payday loan company can provide evidence to the district attorney that the consumer intended to defraud the lender. The collection agent is trying to use fear to coerce you to pay. Never believe legal information from collection agents. Most legal advice from collection agents is incomplete or wrong, and is always self-serving. This brings me to my second point: You are not required to subject yourself to harassment by unscrupulous debt collectors. Under federal law, collectors are required to stop calling you if you notify them in writing to cease communications. See the Bills.com debt self-help center for a sample cease communications letter. Third, the collector made possible violations of federal law (the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act) by making simultaneous calls to you at work. Some collectors bend or break the law if they think it will increase their collections. These scare tactics work, which is why some collectors use them. I strongly encourage you to consult with a consumer rights attorney in your area to discuss possibly filing a lawsuit against the collection agency; not only could a lawsuit result in your debt being canceled, but you could be awarded damages. Finally, New York State has a criminal statute that sanctions the lender if the rate exceeds 25%. See the State of New York Banking Dept. document Avoiding Dangerous or 'Predatory' Loans.

I defaulted on 2 payday loan companies and just to get them to stop calling me 100 times a day at work I faxed them a bankructpy form. I got a call today that someone is wanting to serve me a summons. I have tried to make payment arrangements but they wont except them. Please help can I go to jail for fraud?

If you actually filed for bankruptcy then you have no fear of fraud charges filed against you regarding the bankruptcy form you faxed to the creditor. If you have not filed for bankruptcy and the payday lender shares your fax with the local district attorney, then it is possible (but not likely) that the DA may try to prosecute you for fraud. It is more likely that the DA has more significant cases to deal with than yours. Read Advice on Pay Day Loan Collections to learn some tips and tactics for dealing with payday collections.

what is the statute of limitations on a old loan? the loan was in sept. 2001 and they are now just calling.

Statutes of limitations on debt are state laws, which vary. See State Consumer Protection Laws and Exemptions for the rules for your state. See also Collections Advice to learn your rights and the rights of creditors.

I have 3 outstanding payday loans I set up payment arrangements with the collection agency and then was unable to pay that back at the time I received a phone call today at work stating that I'm going to be arrested Friday and am due in court for federal charges of bank fraud writing bad checks. I owe $980.00 live in PA They told me they emailed me the info but I never received it they also said they sent certified letter I never got it. They say that if i pay half now and half in 14 days they can resolve it I was going to do that but when i asked them for some of their info like what company they work for or an address they just started yelling at me and telling me they were a law firm in California nd couldn't tell me anything else and told me they were washing their hands and not going to accept my payment since I was hesitant so They would see me in court friday they could'nt even tell me what courthouse i was supposed to be at. What do I do can they file these criminal suits am I going to be arrested friday please help me

Many payday loan collectors use intimidation to strike fear into borrowers. Just because a person is in debt does not mean that person loses their rights as a consumer. I think it would be fair to say that just about everything the collection agent said to you was a lie. There is no such thing as a "criminal suit." No one has gone to prison for debt since the Civil War. Payday lenders do not control the actions of district attorneys, and it is a district attorney that would decide to file charges for fraud. Please see Advice on Pay Day Loan Collections to learn tips and tactics for dealing with pay day loan collectors.

I have 8 payday loans totaling 3000.00 principle.Had to close account and move out of az.due to job loss.my concern is that I signed paperwork that I did not have any other payday loans when I took out some of these.Can I be prosocuted?

If you are referring to fraud, fraud is the intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another. Is failing to repay a payday loan criminal fraud? Very unlikely, unless the district attorney can prove all of the elements of criminal fraud in your state. For one or two delinquent payday loans I doubt a DA would be interested in attempting to bring a case for fraud. The fact that you have eight payday loans and lied to creditors about having any may be evidence of fraudulent intent. I am not a district attorney, and you did not indicate your state so it is impossible to review your state's criminal statutes regarding fraud. How about civil fraud? Proving this is also difficult, but easier than a criminal case because the burden of proof is less. Fraud or no fraud, if you do not repay the payday loans you can find yourself a defendant in a civil action for breech of contract.