Advance America Goes Down in PA!

And here's the press release!

Goudah - I have been so busy I haven't really been able to visit the forums in a week or so...but I was going to post this after I made my payment on Friday to Advance America. They had a printed note that advised consumers of the court's decision.

Isn't this great news?

It's awesome news! Especially the part about them going after refunds for PA customers!

Thanks for posting the info.

Can you please post the link to the website? We can read a few more pages of that website.

The website is listed at the bottom of the Press Release. Since we can't post active links the www is taken out.

goudah2424,

Your article gives me power and makes me stronger. I feel we are all in a fight for our financial freedom and we will beat them. WOW!! Im so excited!!

Thank you, but I can't take credit for the article. I mearly posted it.

But it is great news, especially for PA residents who could potentially be getting some refunds!

Your welcome and very nice things happeing for that person, really is an inspiration for us all.

It was actually the state that sued them. What happened was this: PA made it illegal for any pdl located in PA to operate. So Advance America started giving out "lines of credit" instead of payday loans. They would only charge about 6% interest, but you would also have to pay a $150 "participation fee" each month. They thought that they could get around the laws prohibiting pdl's this way, but the state acted and the courts ruled in their favor.

This could mean that every PA consumer that took out a "line of credit" with Advance America in the last couple years could get a heafty refund . . . . .

I hope that happens in every state with every payday loan store front or internet for everyone everywhere. Im so happy I want to cry!!!

That is truely awesome news for Pennsylvania--but Advance America can't be the only outfit that's offering "lines of credit" in PA, right? Fedup, are there other places in your state that are doing this, and is the state going after them as agressively as Advance America?
Advance America is brutal in collections and has made many people's lives hell, so hopefully this will be the start of something big in the USA.

That is great news! I will be so glad when all states make these these companies illegal in all states! Their practices are so shady. What started out as possibly a good idea ended up turning into a racket that has gotten out of control. Thanks for posting goudah!

YES! yesyesyesyes!! :D

Thanks for posting that article, Goudah! I hope the recent rush of legislation and articles we're seeing regarding payday lenders going down is the beginning of a trend!!

Hooray!

What does the ruling exactly mean for current customers who have loans?

I would think it means: If you live in PA...pay back the original loan and the 6%...then cc: a letter to your state AG....or call them and ask...if the loan is listed as illegal, I don't know how they could persue you...

I have to say I smile every time I see this thread...Advance America was a BIG thorn in my side during my PDL crisis...they hire managers and train them to be alternately nice or rude, depending on if there are NEW customers in the store at the time you come in to make payment arrangements. Obviously, they don't want to jepoardize new business.

I can't wait to see them go down in the rest of the country, and the rest of the PDL's behind them.

I'm with you Sue--and wasn't Advance America the outfit that actually had some of their store managers making "housecalls" to people who had defaulted on their PDL's in the Midwest? And my personal experience with them was that the people in the store were usually OK, but their corporate was total pain in my side while I was paying them off.

Morningstar - This isn't a normal payday loan case. Advance America was disguising their loans as lines of credit to get around PA's law about no physical locations. It still doesn't mean that internet pdl's are illegal.

so what does that mean? For someone who already has a "line of credit with them? yea i was desperate and went there and they said i could skip last months paymaent because of this? Where would I find out anybody know?

I would contact your AG's office and ask them. I know that they are going to try and get refunds for all those that overpaid them, so you want to be sure to get your name and info to them anyways.

I would guess that it will be one of two things:

1. The loan will be null and void.

2. You will only have to pay back the legal amount, which would probably mean you have already paid back what you would owe them.

But check with your state's AG office first. They would know exactly what this would mean for you. Good luck! :D

Thanks Goudah...I guess I still have lots to learn..:(

This case is just a bit different - Because they were doing "lines of credit". That is why they were sued. They were trying to get around PA's laws against physical locations.

Goodah,
Where should we be watching for refund information? If you are watching this case, will you be posting it here? just curious. Sorry about the repeat on the post, I was so excited, I didn't see this one. I will watch this one for any updates. Thanks in advance for any information you can dig up.

Yeah, I will keep my eyes out. I'll post anything about this story I find.

I would also recommend contacting the dept of banking, and asking them if you need to do anything. You would probably have to file a claim or something to get a refund.

And no big deal about the repeat post. It's very exciting news! Advance America is one of the big players and to see them lose is awesome news!!!

The lady that used to work there said they are very upset because they will have to pay back over 50 million dollars in fees to customers. She is looking for a new job, she has always been really nice. But she sees no wrong in what the company did. I can't really get into it with her at work, just probing for information. She actually thinks the banking industry thinks of them as competition. She actually stated about banks charging outrageous amounts for bounce check fees, I don't know why she would compare the two, I didn't question it. I am just trying to help her get a better job.

I've seen a lot of payday loan sites and commercials justofying their high fees by saying it's still less then a bounced check fee. Um, that doesn't make it right!

Yeah, I guess they have to try and justify it somehow. The lady that has been coming in said that her boss look like he was going to have a stroke when they laid her off and took him from salary to hourly wage and then cut his hours. I guess he will have to work now like the rest of us. She said that they will probably go back to payday lending. I hope they make them close up shop. It is a shame how many low income folks go there and it has got to be worse on them than it was on me, My income is a little higher, I just started overspending and did not stop till I hit rock bottom and ended up at the payday lenders. I hope for their sake, they close the doors for good.

Wow, I think first off, that all of their customers will probably get formal notification from the state with claim information and where to file if they are pursuing a claim for a refund, like any class-action suit. And the bad news is I'm sure, that it's going to take some time to do this.
What they would have to probably do is examine the assets of the company to see what kind of a fund they have to do this. And once legal fees, other overhead, etc is deducted and depending on the size of the class that responds, that will determine how much money is paid out individually.

Thanks for the update Goudah

Amazing....and how can this branch manager say they have 90 percent customer satisfaction? Based on what data?? So the customers are smiling as they're getting screwed?
And isn't it interesting that the PDL industry is now crying that it's getting shafted--but has no problem doing it to customers?

desperate people say the strangest things, she probably really believes that she has done a good service.