pdl help...this has been tearing my life apart

Dennis...Did you take out these loans online? Chances are if you did, they are illegal anyway.

Step 1. CLOSE YOUR BANK ACCOUNT....Open a new one, preferably at another bank.

Step 2. Find out if these companies are licensed. If you can not find the information online, call your State Dept. and they will tell you if they are.

Step 3. Arm yourself with knowledge--What are you states rules for payday lending--Terms, Interest Rates, Finance Charges, Length of loan, etc. Anythign and everything you can find.

Figure up what you've paid on each loan. If you've paid more than is allowed in your state, they can't do anything to you. Regardless of what they TELL you, the loan originated in your STATE, not wherever the loan was from. If they take you to court and are not licensed, they can be arrested. And YOUR state laws will take precedence anyway. If you've been overcharged, you will not need to pay more.

Don't get down on yourself..Many of us are in the same boat. We've got your back.

Dennis...
Close your checking account,deny those leaches access!As you will read in this forum you are far from alone.

Knowledge is power!

Hi Dennis

My personal view is to contact all the payday loan companies and request for an itemized statement of the loan account. After you have reviewed all your payments, you will understand the actual status.

Send a letter in writing requesting for the info. After the details are reviewed and if you owe them, offer a reasonable payment plan. Most of the lenders will be willing to work if you can explain the situation and stick to the payment plans. If they sound un-cooperative with you, close your checking account and set up arrangements according to the situation thereafter.

All your moves should begin after you have got the complete details of the account.

Dennis---Do not feel like a failure. You have just come to one of those small bumps in the road called life. I know that sounds cheesey, but if you think of your situation as something that will eventually work out it might not seem so devastating. You have made a start by coming here and trying to find a way to begin to repair your life and credit. I (and others) have found this site to be an invaluable resource concerning our financial situations. Sometimes its just comforting to know someone else identifies with you and your experiences as they have been through the same thing.
As far as your wife's pregnancy---does Maryland have a type of state or county run program providing free medical care for pregnant women? I know California does. You might check with your county's social services department or organizations that are pro-life (Birthright is one) would undoubtedly have information for free or low-cost pregnancy health care.
You are strong and will prevail. No one is a failure who can admit their shortcomings and then remedy their situation.

Payday loans violate Maryland code under title 12,

As far as I know, most states will cover prenatal care even if the family wouldn't otherwise be eligible for Medicaid or similar programs.

And please don't feel like a failure. So many of us here fell into the same cycle of loans, and none of us are stupid. Just in a bad place in our lives, and that seemed like a good option.

Dennis..Close your account immediately! Pay your mortgage and try to catch up with other bills. Those PDL's will still be there whether you pay them this week or not! You still need a roof over your head and need to eat.
Get ahold of your AG's office and file a formal complaint on all of them.
Find out, and google all of this, who the business and professional regulation departments are in your state of Maryland. These are the people that regulate these companies...call them immediately and tell them everything...they will try to help you.
Write each one of your pdl's a letter explaining that you can not pay at this time and would like other payment arrangments that are affordable for you right now.
In the meantime, start researching on your state's government pages your usury laws, deferred presentment provider and money transmitter statutes and codes.
In the meantime, try to pay what you can and don't sweat it! Until you can get these guys to agree to your overpayments and close your accounts with them, just keep on them. It's a lot of work, but worth it.

I live in Maryland and I am married to an immigrant. I found out I was pregnant, but I did not have any health insurance. Tell your wife to go to the health department and sign up for the Maryland Children's Health Program http://www.dhmh.state.md.us/mma/mchp/
They paid for everything. My hospital bill was $10.00 and that was for the TV. They still provide my son with health care. Even if you don't meet the income requirements, they have it so you can pay like $50.00 a month and still get coverage. They will not refuse a pregnant woman with no insurance. hope that helps.

wow, thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement. heading over to the bank after work to get them to switch my account number. hopefully i can get the bank to do something tonight, so i can prevent them from taking any of my money tomorow... with luck...

i spoke with oneclickcash today, and found out that my loan with them was for $400, taken on Dec. 13th. Since the end of February, I've paid them $700. i've likely paid over $1000 already for this loan. i asked the woman if she could email me an itemized statement and of course, she said that she couldn't. since, i was driving and had already found when i made the loan and what it was originally for, i didn't bother to pursue this... what are my chances of seeing any of that money again?

i think i've found all of the information that i need to start sending my lenders notice that their loans are illegal, including section numbers of the md commercial law code...

should i send the pdl companies a letter to tell them to stop debitting my account? if so, is there a sample of this letter anywhere?

the tip on the mchp is also great, and i'm going to give them a call this afternoon as well.

again, i want to thank everyone... i'm starting to get the feeling that i might be able to get through all of this...

felartwell--I knew that there had to be something available regarding women's health/pregnancy care in Maryland. Thank you for posting it---I know he appreciates it.

Dennis - congrats on step #1 of PDL recovery. Realizing that you are getting ripped off and should not have to pay that much interest. Now you will have plenty of money without those fees.

Now get ready for step #2. Which are harassing phone calls. Plenty of advise here for that as well. Some lenders are easier to deal with than others.

Keep in mind there is nothing they can legally do to you as long as you have paid more interest than your State allows. And they certainly cannot get you on check fraud as we are dealing with post-dating checks and checks for the purposes of a loan. Some may try to tell you that.

I wish I could tell you its over but now the fun part begins - collections. Kind of reminds me of Jeff Goldblums line in Jerassic park 2 "It always starts with oohs and aaahs and ends with a lot of yelling and screeming".

Perhaps if you post your PDL lenders and your home State then others will help. Matter of fact I know they will.

In addition to closing your account I also recommend getting caller ID.

Good luck. We have all been through it and survived.

Dennis,

You are not alone in the payday loan cycle. I too went through it and I have survived. Now, oneclickcash has not been hard for me to deal with since they are not licensed in my state. They claim to be out of Nevada and they are not licensed there either. I would close your checking account and get a new one. I've paid these companies thousands of dollars and tried to work with them through debt consolidation. Some were willing to work with me and some harassed me to no end. It really depends on the lender. I paid some off and some wrote off my balance after I had legal grounds to sue them. I am no longer in debt consolidation with these loans since the remaining ones I have overpaid and are not licensed in my state. Learn the laws in your state and arm yourself with knowledge.

All of my lenders were online ones. There is one that I am currently dealing with where I had multiple loans from, which is illegal in my state as well. I've added up the funds and fees that I've paid them and they owe me money by my calculations. They claim to be out of Delaware but are not physcially located in Delaware. I am waiting to hear back on more complaints I filed against them.

Dennis...
Check you pm in a while..I've got a great letter for you!

erzeke1 - thanks, i'm going to try and send that one out to everyone today...

can someone double check to make sure that i'm right on this one before i send this letter... i got my legal information from lexus nexus (http://198.187.128.12/maryland/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=fs-main.htm&2.0), Maryland Code -> Commercial Law -> Title 12 ->?? 12-306. Interest on loan. the language regarding the maximum interest rate for md states that:
Quote:

Sounds about right if you've been paying on these loans and paid more than your state's allowed. Check their usury laws as well, and don't forget to contact your Attorney General's Office..they may be able to give you more specific information.

Yep, $860 paid for the $750 loan made on Feb. 28th...

I just faxxed them the letter, and also let them know on the cover sheet that they would also be receiving a copy through certified mail. We'll see how this goes...

I wasn't able to get a new account number yesterday, because a rebate check I had deposited still has a hold on it... I told the person at the bank that I was worried because they would be taking more money from me tonight, and he told me to just come back in and fill out some forms to get them to reverse the charges. I also did the next best thing, namely emptied all but $2 from the account, so they can't get the money anyways.