All Payday Loan Companies harassment & threatening V Connecticut

I too am going through the payday loan harrassment. as much as these people try to strong arm you into paying, there is little they can actually do. I was actually sued by my own bank a few years ago, for a personal loan i failed to pay back, but i won because they didnt show up to the hearing, so if they sue you and they win a judgement outside of your state i would say file something against the judgement chances are you will get it over turned. also, they cannot garness your wages unless the court approves which takes time, and i live in CT too, and i called Blumenthal on these people that have been harrassing me...supposedly his office is looking into it, you should do it to, the more people that complain about the unfair treatment the quicker laws might be passed to stop them. But when they started calling me and threatening me with jail time, they also threatened my boss with jail time and my reletaves. this is reduculous, so i strong armed them back...the calls have become less and less now. remember when you argue with these doushe-bags you have to mention the fdcpa(fair debt collection practices act), they ussually back off after that. good luck, these people have no ground to stand on when they act like this, and so long as you everythng legally you will win in the end.

Alex, Torrington, CT

Melinda,

Everyone was correct in telling you to change banks, but sometimes you do that then your new bank will close the acct because they discover that you have been reported to Check Systems. You are incorrect in saying that you will never be able to have another acct. Check systems will keep you on file for 5 years, Scan will keep the file for 3 yrs and telecheck I think is also somewhere between 3-5 yrs.

My advice to you is to get a secured card that has direct deposit on it there are a number of good ones out here. Some even report to all three credit bureaus so while you are using the card you will also be rebuilding your credit! During this time you will have to probably use money orders to pay some bill b/c they do not supply cks. Now don't think that there will not be any fees b/c there will be but when you compare their fees to the ret ck and maintenance fees at the bank they are small.

I have personal experience with rushcard and although they do not report to the credit bureaus my direct deposits are in the bank by 7:00 am est. and the beauty of it all no overdraft charges! Unlike the bank they will not let you withdraw money that is not physically there. Some will frown and say sometimes I need the money even though I know that it is not there I will worry about the overdraft fees later well, thats why ret ck and overdraft fees are a billion dollar business b/c they bank on that very thought process. "We bank with them and they bank on us" Rushcard will send out a ck for you but the fee for them to do that is 1.00 or 1.50 you will have to have the ava funds and time for the ck to arrive without making you late.

This is not the end of the world though it may seem that it is. Remember "This too Shall Pass."
I am not sure how you would go about getting back in touch with me should you want to b/c I have never really gotten into commenting on the topics(this is only my 2nd time)but, I plan to do more with my knowledge on this website in the future. If you know how you can get back in touch with me you are perfectly welcomed to do so. I too am a single parent and know exactly what you are going through. My heart goes out to you. I will help you in any way that I can.

Melinda, above all things take care and keep your head up no matter what otherwise the world will walk on you! We can't have that can we?

Sonya

Crooks, thieves, con-artists, loan sharks, thugs...if you can think of other names for rip-off pro's that still will not be sufficient for what they truely are....worse than bottom feeders, they seem to enjoy ruining good people's credit....people who simply found themselves in a financially precarious situation...

When they are finally done, they succeed in making find people appear to be dead-beats and losers...they fix it to where you cannot even get a job so you CAN repay your debts, which seems to be a*s-backward...why cause people to be unable to find work due to their credit....then they continue to badger, and harass them....if you cannot work, you cannot pay your bills, if you cannot pay your bills your credit goes bad, if your credit goes bad you cannot get a job, if your cannot work you cannot pay your bills.............vicious circle....

Hang in there hon, just be patient and keep working to get out from under the weight of the debts....I am in the middle of clearing my mess up, and though it feels wonderful to be tackling my responsibilities, it is overwhelming to say the least. I keep focused on the control I am going to have when I am through with it all....I also learned a valuable lesson I will never forget!

Melinda, I understand what you're going through.

I too have been paying way too much for these outrageous fees for payday loans. Even worse, their number has changed so I can't even call them to even pay it off in full!

Then this afternoon, I found a charge of $21.95 on my account. My bank provided me with the number. I called them and it was Membership Plus. The girl told me that even though she had no information on me, only that I had applied for a loan over a year ago and was denied. I asked her how she could take money out of my account, and she said it was for a free seven day membership for emergency road service.

That was bull because I never signed up for anything like that! I asked for my money back and they said they don't give out refunds. They stole from me, and practically admitted to it with such a smugness I can't fathom. I got scared and went directly to my bank and told them my situation. They informed me my only option was to close my account and open a new one, which I did. I asked them to let me know if any companies that tries to debit my account to call me. They said they would, since this was not the first time they dealt with such outragousness.

I know I probably put myself in jeapordy for closing my account without letting these companies know ahead of time. But what can I do? They changed their number! And they keep charging me $60 every two weeks! That comes out to $1500 I spent on a $150 loan! It scares me to think of what these people are capable of. I know tomorrow they will call. I will tell them I will send a money order for my loan and to never call me again. I pay my debts.

I just don't like being ripped off for them. Payday loans are criminals. They should be stopped once and for all.

Melinda,

Think about this for a minute.. If you are in default with your account, regardless of who is at fault. that bank wants to get paid, right? So why would you put more money in the same bank that wants your money? The different account means nothing, as you found out.

This was the importance of me telling you to open an account at a DIFFERENT bank.

Sometimes you just have to sit back, take a deep breath, and THINK..

You may want to go to places like Catholic Charities, they can help you. There are dozens of organizations that will help you with rent, food, legal help etc... Good luck!

The bank can keep taking money out of your positive account to pay ANY debt that you owe to the bank, be it an open or closed account. They will wait until you have a suitable sum in there and then hit it again. Do not keep any money at that bank. That's why you needed to use a different bank.

You may have to go "unbanked" now, i.e. cashing checks at check cashing stores and paying people in cash or with money orders. Be very careful not to go to companies that you may owe for payday loans. They can do the same thing and seize the checks that you try to cash.

Once you bankrupt on the lot of this, things will look up considerably.

I would like to thank everyone for their feedback regarding my situation.

I used my checking account for paying my rent, utilities, etc. and when the loan companies kept taking my money, I finally opened another account at the same bank.

My account that is in the negative is scheduled to be closed and put to collections this Friday 8/25. Two days ago, my bank took all the money I had left in my positive balance account and transfered it into the negative account. I was devastated. I spent over an hour on the phone with my bank crying hysterically and begging them to please return my money because that was all the money I had left and it was for my car insurance and rent.

I just moved into my new apt. so I cannot be late on rent. I had to move out of my old apt. because I was going to be evicted for nonpayment because of the situation the loan places put me in.

My bank told me that when I opened the account it states right on the contract that if you have an account in the negative for a certain amount of days, then they can take all your money from your positive account and transfer it to reduce the negative account's balance. Things just keep getting worse!!

I tried to open an account with other banks, but they refused me because all of these payday loan companies have reported me to teletrack and telecheck and chex systems.

My bank told me that my positive account is not in any jeopardy and after Friday they can no longer try to take money out again since my negative will be closed.

If I close my positive account, (which I just checked and is now in the negative by $64.00 because they took my money that was going to cover a check I wrote and bills) I will never be able to open an account anywhere again.

Payday Loans have ruined my life!! I am scheduled to speak to a bankruptcy lawyer this morning so hopefully he will tell me that I qualify to file. It is my only way out of this mess.

Thanks everyone.

Quit talking to them. They tell lies to try to make you upset and get money. They cannot take any of your pay without court action. Just to be sure, tell your payroll department that you have revoked any voluntary wage assignments with any loan companies.

Even with court action, it is likely that your pay is too low to allow any to be taken. (That doesn't mean they won't try. You then file an objection with the court). However if you do file bankruptcy, that will permanently stop them from doing anything.

You will be having trouble from the bank soon. You can bankrupt the negative balance that your present bank says you owe them. But you need to follow the advice to open an account at another bank now, before you are listed in Chex.

I work 2nd shift, so this evening at 8:30 pm I received a call from one of the payday loan companies (One Step Cash) and the girl was very rude. She explained to me that I needed to take care of the amount I owed or she would be putting me in as a charge off and sending it to collections. I asked her to cease all calls and before I could finish my sentence, she cut me off and said very rudely "No We will not stop calling because you owe us money and when we send you to collections, your whole entire check will be garnished until we are paid in full plus fees."

I told her that I have spoken to a lawyer and that I now my rights and only a certain amount can be garnished if approved by a judge and that she does have to stop calling me. She replies with "We can call you anytime we want until we get paid unless you are in the process of filing for bankruptcy" and "That is not true we have the right to take your entire pay for the amount owed plus court fees until it is paid in full so what do you want to do!!?" I told her that I have no money to pay anything and that I was actually in the process of filling out the paperwork for bankruptcy and speaking to a bankruptcy lawyer and she says to me "No you are not!"

Who is she to tell me what I am or am not doing? I told her to send it to collections and stop calling me and before I could finish she hung up on me!!

I understand that I owe these people money, but my god they are rude and disrespectful and will say & do anything to scare you!

Melinda,

First of all, there is no debtors prison. They cannot have you arrested, and you cannot go to jail.

Second, it takes more than a phone call to your employer to garnish your wages. And, even if they are successful, it can only be a % of your DISPOSABLE income. In your case, that would be nothing.

Hurry and open a new account at another bank before yours puts you in Chex Systems, if they haven't already.

Send them a letter to stop contacting you at work, as your employer does not allow personal calls, and it puts your job in jeopardy. Send this letter by certified mail, return reciept requested. Put the certified# on the letter itself, and keep a copy for your records.

Change your phone# to an unlisted one. You can do this for free if you tell your phone company that you are getting threatening calls from an UNKNOWN caller.

They cant collect any fees such as court fees unless they sue you and win and the court permits the fees. They are stupid if they do this as I am sure they know the garnishment laws.

They prey on the ignorance of uneducated consumers. It is really in your best interest to learn the laws that affect the things you do. Learn your rights. Knowledge is power!

Don't pay those freaks anything. Let them spend the time and money to sue you. Then they still get nothing.

In response: Yes, they can attempt to garnish your wages and your bank account.

1. You cannot go to jail. We do not have debtors prisons here.
2. You can google your state's laws about garnishments (enter something like Connecticut garnishment laws and see what comes up. Here in Idaho, there's a 25% max that you can have garnished OVER a certain amount. If you make less than that, they are SOL.)
3. You can also google CT bankruptcy info. You can get all the paperwork and file bankruptcy on your own. It isn't that difficult, it's just ALOT of paperwork that you can download from the local bankruptcy court. And there are fees to file, but you can petition the trustee and the court to either waive the fees due to your financial situation, or to make payments. As soon as you file the bankruptcy, ALL COLLECTION/GARNISHMENT ACTIVITY MUST LEGALLY STOP. If you fail to make payments to the trustee/courts, however, they will dismiss your case and you will be back where you started - well, worse actually because they will have tacked on more fees.

You can do this...don't let the bums win. And for HEAVENS SAKE, do not EVER take out a payday loan again. And filing Bankruptcy is not as bad as it seems: it's a new beginning. Take advantage of it, don't screw up the second time!
Take care and good luck!

All you have to do is send them a do not contact letter. Tell them that your employer does not allow such calls. If they continue tell them that you will file complaint with the FTC and sue them in court because 9/10 they are breaking usury laws. They cannot call the cops on you or anything of the sort. The worst they could do is turn it to collections. I would also file a compaint at the bank and tell them you did not authorize these continued debits. These loan companies are on their way out. You really have nothing to worry about other than being harrassed y whatever collection agencies they turn you over to. Payday loans are scams all of them.

All you have to do is send them a do not contact letter. Tell them that your employer does not allow such calls. If they continue tell them that you will file complaint with the FTC and sue them in court because 9/10 they are breaking usury laws. They cannot call the cops on you or anything of the sort. The worst they could do is turn it to collections. I would also file a compaint at the bank and tell them you did not authorize these continued debits. These loan companies are on their way out. You really have nothing to worry about other than being harrassed y whatever collection agencies they turn you over to. Payday loans are scams all of them.

All you have to do is send them a do not contact letter. Tell them that your employer does not allow such calls. If they continue tell them that you will file complaint with the FTC and sue them in court because 9/10 they are breaking usury laws. They cannot call the cops on you or anything of the sort. The worst they could do is turn it to collections. I would also file a compaint at the bank and tell them you did not authorize these continued debits. These loan companies are on their way out. You really have nothing to worry about other than being harrassed y whatever collection agencies they turn you over to. Payday loans are scams all of them.

All you have to do is send them a do not contact letter. Tell them that your employer does not allow such calls. If they continue tell them that you will file complaint with the FTC and sue them in court because 9/10 they are breaking usury laws. They cannot call the cops on you or anything of the sort. The worst they could do is turn it to collections. I would also file a compaint at the bank and tell them you did not authorize these continued debits. These loan companies are on their way out. You really have nothing to worry about other than being harrassed y whatever collection agencies they turn you over to. Payday loans are scams all of them.