I need help in Florida

pyb, I'm posting the Florida state law for us to look at and see what's up. I can tell you right now to treat your store front completely different than the internet pdl's. Store fronts are normally licensed/legal and abiding by the state laws or their license would be yanked. So, until we figure out what's going on, wait on the bank account deal. We don't want you getting into any trouble regarding the store front pdl that you have. As for your internet ones. I see that you listed them; however, can you list them to show only what you borrowed (principle amount only) and how much you have paid back so far. It makes it much easier to figure out how much you would legally owe. Some of your internet pdl's aren't even licensed/legal. We can go from there in a bit. Take a look at your state law, then post what you borrowed and what you paid each one of them. Include the store front also. We can go from there! :D

your state info here
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/paydayloan/explain-pdls-laws.html

Okay.

Payday Select was originally $500. I have paid $292.50 leaving me owing $300.

CashnetUSA was originally $900 I have paid $1050 leaving me owing $800.

FastCash USA was originally $150 I have paid so far $90 and I still owe $150.

ameriloan $435 paid $135 still owe $435.

I have to do further checking on the others because right now I am not sure how much interest I have paid, but they are all still at the original amounts.

pyb, thanks for posting those; however, I see that you're including the fees you paid and then stating that you still owe the principle amount. Don't do that because some of these pdl's shouldn't even be charging these "fees". Post them with the name, the amount you actually got the loan for and then the amount you have paid only. Just what you borrowed and what you've paid. I'm saying this because some of the unlicensed/illegal companies shouldn't be charging you the fees, so don't include them. Example as to what to post:
Cash America borrowed $300 paid $180
That's all you have to put. We can figure it out from there.

sorry.

ameriloan borrowed $450. Paid $135.
Payday Select borrowed $500. Paid $292.50.
INT/B.I.G. borrowed $300. Paid $165.
Loan Point/Geneva Roth borrowed $300. Paid $180.
Impactcash borrowed $300. paid $180.
Fastcash USA borrowed $150. paid $90.
Cashnet USA borrowed $900. Paid $1050.
Advance America Borrowed $500. Paid $385.

Don't be sorry! :D It just makes it easier to see what you've paid towards the principle to see what you would actually owe. From looking (and I'm not a Florida expert), ameriloan is not licensed (they are part of MTE Financial - nightmare), BIG is not licensed (major illegal company), Loan Point/Geneva Roth I'm thinking is not but I'm not positive (from what I've read they are a nightmare), CashNetUSA might be licensed. I think they are, but again, not positive. We'd need to check on the other ones to see if they are or not. I'm going to ask you to hang tight. I'm going to pm frogpatch, who is also in Florida and has dealt with some of these pdl's. He's really good. I'll send him a pm to check out your posts and he'll let us know if the others are licensed and also give you expert advice, as he's in your state and probably has knowledge of these pdl's. So hang in there & frogpatch will get my message and give you more Florida information. I do believe we can help you out! :D

I closed my bank account 10 days ago to take back control of my finances from some of these same pdl companies. I need to know how to handle the next phase of this process. In most cases I have already repaid double the amount borrowed. Can I add my info to this topic?

Of course you can...or you can start a new topic...and then please follow the same format as above. Tell us where you are loacted, the loans you have and whether they are internet pdls or store front, then just list the amount you borrowed and the exact amount you have paid so far...don't bother with separting fee's...just like above: I borrowed 300 and paid back 200 for example...:)Someone will come along and post answers to whatever questions you may have.

salank, please start a new post. That way it'll catch more members attention. You'll have to post what state you reside in, distinguish between if they're internet or store front pdl's, and as morningstarr stated, put how much you borrowed (principle only) and how much you've paid back so far. We can go from there! :D

pyb, I'm pm'ing frog again. Hopefully he'll be along to assist us further! Hang in there!

If you add 10 percent to the amount you borrowed from each one of these plus a 5.00 application fee that is what you at least morally owe to these companies under Florida law. The only one operating legally in Florida is Cashnet. You have paid them back a reasonable interest and prininipal. Write them a nice letter and tell them you would like your account marked paid in full. Send it certified. They will totally ignore it most likely but at least you will have something in writing to them. Eventually they will try to settle with you. BIG forget about for now. You can't deal with them. They will start all kinds of harrassment. When they do just file a complaint with the FTC along with hundreds of others. Do not talk to them. They are criminals. The best one here is Payday select. They will work with you. they are actually nice people. I received a refund from them. I urge you to write a letter to the CFO of Florida at CFO(at)fldfs.com and implore Ms Alex Sink to take an agressive stand against these IPDLs. Florida enforces there laws with dilligence when it comes to storefronts like Amscot and Ace Cash but then allows the internet lenders come here and totally trash the system. What is the point of laws if they are selectively enforced? Please PM me with any questions you may have. I generally am only online between 12:30 and 1:30. It is important that you keep all you communication to written and documented with these companies. Do not take their calls especially at work.

Thank you, frog! pyb, you are in excellent hands now! :D

Thank you. I will start working on the letters now.

pyb, if you need any help, just post. We can get you through this.

Okay I am confused. Reading through other posts and such, cashnet usa is not a legal pdl in florida, but are legal in florida as a cso. So how do I deal with them?
Thank you for any help.

This is part of a post that Goudah made on Aug. 2...I think you will have to treat them similar to a store front?? I would PM Goudah for more info

pyb, from what I understand, if they are operating as a CSO, it means they are licensed. Unlike other pdl's who are not licensed/legal. If they are operating as a CSO, I would consider them legal/licensed. I'll pm frogpatch and goudah and have them respond. This whole CSO stuff has me all whacked out. Hang tight.

There is news developing out of Florida. According to a rep for the FLDFS that has been in touch with our member and Floridian Bublefan, they are looking at using the Florida Consumer Finnce Act s 516 as the law that applies to IPDLs. The internet lenders fall into a slightly different definition as they are either borrowing and relending or acting as brokers and charging fees rather than interest. The The FCFA requires licensing in the state, limits interest on all loans under 25000.00 to 18 percent anually and says that loan made from outside the state with interest over that amount are unenforceable in the state. This would virtually tie the hands of the IPDLs becuase it applies across the board to all lenders and includes rules for fees also.

Unfortunatly, this wouldn't affect the CSO model of payday lending.



So I would bet that with this happening in FL, more and more ipdl's will change over to the CSO model. Your state needs to be warned about this, as the CSO industry is very unregulated.

I would deal with Cash Net USA as if they were a storefront. They are a legally operating company, and could pursue collections against you.

I would try to set up some sort of payment arrangements with them. I've heard they can be very difficult to work with, but that if you send them a money order every month of what you can afford to pay, they will cash it.

I sent out all the ACH revocation and wage garnishment revocation letters. Have to take copies to my bank tomorrow. Hopefully then the manager will do something, even if it is reverse any bank charges that occur from this point forward. She told me Monday that she is not allowed to do anything with the account besides let the charges go through. She told me the only thing that was possible at this point is closing the account, but that would not necessarily stop any ACH charges. I can't do that because of the store PDL that I have. SO when I get my check on Friday which is no longer being direct deposited I am going to be looking at opening another account somewhere else and switching my storefront pdl to the new bank. She says that once my account which is in the negatives is closed as long as I make at least a $5.00 payment every month they won't report or go after me legally.

You're on the right track. Although it burns me up that your bank said they "can't do anything". That is sooo not true. Whatever. At least you're getting a live check Friday. Take it to a different bank, to hell with the unhelpful bank you are at. Open your new account. Be honest/legal with the store front (you already know this). And since you're account is in the negative, the pdl debits won't go through. However, is your stupid bank going to keep adding NSF fees for every debit they bounce? That's a concern of mine. The pdl's will keep trying to hit your account. And if your stupid bank won't do anything to block them, are they going to just keep adding fees to your already overdrawn account? Unbelievable.

I would take your letters revoking authorization down to the bank. Tell them that any charges from here on are fraudulant. If they don't stop them, you need to file a complaint against your bank. Depending on what kind of bank they are, national or local, you would file the complaint at the OCC, or your state's DFI.

I just got back from the bank. They refuse to do anything. Said I have to get any returned fees charged because of NSF from the company that is charging us. Yeah right like that is going to happen. Seeing that they won't return the fees, can I add the fees to what I have paid toward the PDLs or just report the bank? OOOHHHHH, I am so pissed!!! :x

When I put together my ACH revocation letters, I planned my budget for the next 3 months. So for the next three months I am going to be on a tight budget but it will catch me up on bills and get these pdls paid off (hopefully). So on these letters I gave them a date that I would have them paid by. I faxed them all because right now I do not have the money to send them certified mail. ameriloan just emailed me accepting my terms!! One agreement made, 7 more to go. Thank you for your help I don't know what I would have done or how long it would take me to get out of this if i had not found this site.

pyb, you're doing good! If you can, email them also. I understand not having the money to mail all these letters. When you have a lot, it costs a lot! LOL! But, if possible, try to email them. You already faxed them. I say you can't cover yourself too much!

You all will love this one. Just got an email from usfastcash. below is what they had to say:

Fax Number: 1-800-803-8796
Email Address: customerservice(at)USFastCash.com
We have received your application but have a few questions regarding your application.

Please call us at 1-800-640-1295.

Thank you for your interest in USFastCash.

Thank you,

USFastCash


Well needless to say I did not send an application. Do I call them or just ignore this email or what should be my next step with them?

Please, take it from a USFastCash expert. Ignore it. Do not delete it! Keep the email. Keep all emails. But, please do not respond to this one. They want to you to contact them. They want $5,000 on that loan. They're NUTS. You can do whatever you like. It's totally up to you. But, my experience with them? Lies, runaround, more lies, then ignore.

Cashnetusa just replied. They are still going to try and process payment tomorrow. They state if it is returned then they will start proceedings. There is nothing there to get. I have no extra to pay them. After my mortgage (2 months behind) is paid with my next check and I pay electricity and phone I am going to have $150 left to feed my family of 5 and get school supplies for 2 of my kids. It won't be so bad after this because I won't have a $1400 mortgage payment.

Well one is working with me, 2 aren't, the rest are up in the air still. It can only go up from here!

pyb, I'm am just so frustrated with your so called "bank". Refusing to help you. As goudah stated, I would file complaints against them. This is uncalled for. Also, just personally, when my bank tried to give me grief, I wrote a letter to their corporate office blah, blah'ing the whole story to them. They actually contacted me. I directed it to the president of the bank. They tried to give me grief over the phone, blah, blah. But I held my ground. Then I emailed my bank branch manager (a million times)and informed them that I had been in contact with the corporate office. Within two weeks, all the unauthorized pdl debits were reversed and all the banks fees were credited back. It got me back to zero. Then I put a hard debit block on it and it's sitting there now. No action. Just sitting there. Fight with that bank. If you feel up to it, send a letter to the corporate office. Email your branch manager and tell them you've contacted corporate. It may/may not help, but it sure will draw attention to your situation. If you have to, call the corporate office. They are insane! At least (on a positive note!) you will have a paycheck on Friday. You need to pay your bills, get your food, take care of your kids. That is your priority. And you can do it and hold your head high. The pdl's will hound you, but guess what? Having a place to live, having electricity, feeding your family, and having gas to go to work is a hell of a lot more important than giving these pdl's (who more than likely aren't even legal) that money. I'm sorry. I'm venting regarding your bank.

Don't worry you haven't said anything I haven't thought. I am planning on going to corporate but am waiting to see how many actually try to debit. I just got an email from payday select and they say they will honor my request and agree to my payment terms. It makes me feel better that I am not going to have to fight with every one of them. The ones that want to argue will be the last to be paid. The ones willing to work with me will get paid first. Thank you all for your support.

Honey, you've got my 100% support! And you're doing good! You've got some pdl's working with you. That's quite an accomplishment! Great job! Now, I'm about ready to start a petition against your bank! LOL! :lol:

Yes, please file complaints. The bank can and should be doing something to help you stop these UNAUTHORIZED and FRAUDULANT transactions! There is no excuse for the banks actions.

If it is a national bank then you would file a complaint with the OCC (office of the comptroller of currency) If it's a local bank, then you would file with your DFI.

Okay I need advice please! Below is what ImpactCashUSA emailed to me. How do I respond to this? Do I ignore or compose an email back to them?



Quote:

I would respond back that you have already talked to your state officials, and they already explained to you how the laws work. And that internet based pdl's still have to be licenesed in your state. The pdl can say what they want, but that doesn't change the facts. You trust the government officials that enforce the laws more then someone that works for a pdl. Also, per your state's officals, you will only communicate through letters or email. You need written documentation of what is going on.

pyb, listen to goudah! Email them. Do not call them. You want documentation of EVERYTHING. Tell them you do understand your state law. Tell them you have contacted your state AG and have a complete understanding of pdl's. Tell them to email you anything they "wish to discuss" because you must have documentation of all communication, so telephone calls will not be permitted. And, what the hell? "Push forward"? What? Be more illegal than they already are? Good Lord. Email them. Be firm. Stand your ground. They will say their state law applies. They can bite you. You are correct. Compose yourself, send the email, and only corresponde via email or USPS. Do not talk to them on the phone. And make it a point to tell them in your email to only communicate via email or USPS because you have been advised to get everything in writing.

We opened a checking account at a different bank. Now we are just waiting for 9/3 to roll around for our other account to close. It floors me that the bank told me they would not do anything even with the paparwork revoking the pdls right to debit in front of them. The bank manager told me not to make any payments to the bank right now let it stay in the negatives and the bank will close it on the third of Sept. I am now on a strict budget but will be out of debt by November if all goes as planned. Oh I hate banks. The only reason I even opened another one is that my paycheck is written on an out of state bank and i have to have an account to caash it.

PY...sounds similar to what my bank did with me...now after they closed it I was in the red for over 1K...loss pprevention did make payment arrangements with me and also said after a few payments I could petetion the president of the bank to remove some of the fees. I am in the process of writing them a letter now...and if I get no response I will be contacting the OCC. Just make sure to ask them not to list you on Chexsystems...my bank complied with that request as long as I am making payments etc.

Send Cashnet certified letter telling them that according to the laws in the State of Florida that you have pais them more than the interest rate allowed. Demand that they mark your account paid in full.

Originally I only faxed, but now that I have gotten a paycheck and actually hae some money i plan to send cshnet a certified letter. They are the only ones that I faxed to that tried to debit my account, every other one listened to my fax (at least for this week).

pyb...watch your account closely...all but 4 of mine with held debits when I first notified them only to come back and try like 10 more times after.

Oh I am definitely going to watch that account. After reading the horror stories in this forum, I think I would be crazy not to. Thanks to this forum I am not nearly as stressed out, but i will still be much happier once these PDLs are taken care of for good. I will never take a PDL out again. I won't fall into that trap again. I would rather starve for a week before going through this again.

Cashnet according to my interpretation of the law is in violation of the law regarding credit service oganizations. The law states in so many words that a CSO cannot collect fees if the credit obtained is not better than that avaialble to the General Public. In Florida anyone with a job can walk into a storefront and get a loan for 500.00 if they have a job, with a 10 percent fee. Cashnet is not offering a better deal so therefore they are in violation. That is how I interpret it. Below is from the prohibited section of the Statute

2) Charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration solely for referral of the buyer to a retail seller or to any other credit grantor, who will or may extend credit to the buyer if the credit that is or will be extended to the buyer is upon substantially the same terms as those available to the general public;

I'm in agreement with some people about bank accounts. I wish we didn't need to have one at all. But what are we going to do? Stash our money under our mattress? Carry cash around in our shoe? What about employers that require direct deposit? It just bites. Because the more I read, and the more I get the run around, I keep thinking "to hell with them" but then I'm like "well, what would i do then?" They've got you between a rock and a hard place.

Employers are not allowed to require direct deposit although many State agencies do anyway from what I read. I joined the Eastern Florida Financial Credit Union and have found them vert personable to deal with.

If you work for the state of florida you are required to have direct deposit, but not all of their agencies strictly enforce that requirement.

Sorry above was me. Did not realize that I had gotten signed out.

I have heard that. That is the state thumbing their nose at federal law I guess.

Cashnetusa has this on their website

Looked at my old bank account last night. 4 more NSFs from PDLs. This morning Cashnet tried again with 2 separate ACHs instead of 1. Called corporate office and they are looking at it and are supposed to call me back. They seemed kind of suprised that the branch manager would not help me. So now it is a waiting game again.

pyb, is you "old" account not totally closed yet? Or does it have a "block" on it? Or is it still open/active?