payday loan? HELP!!

[AngelinaCatHub]

These guys are unfrickin'believable. That is Chutzpah with a GIANT C
Michele, YOU are in the driver's seat. Do NOT be intimidated by this creep.
PLEASE pretty please go get these shysters!
Cash in your pocket at grand a crack. Go for it.

Not only our OP would be applying "poetic justice" but may just get a bit of reward to start her new start off right. If she can work a deal on contingency a 60/40 split would be worth a lawyers time. The application of a punitive sanction of these 400% interest goons might make them go honest for a while. Like till the next call. 'Hub

[keepsmiling]

These guys are unfrickin'believable. That is Chutzpah with a GIANT C
Michele, YOU are in the driver's seat. Do NOT be intimidated by this creep.
PLEASE pretty please go get these shysters!
Cash in your pocket at grand a crack. Go for it.

[mountanddo]

They said that they are not trying to collect on my debt, rather they are going to take legal action against me for closing my bank account when they were trying to debit it (it was a payday loan company online).

You have some nerve closing your account just when they are about to debit it and take all you have. Shame on you! LOL

Seriously? Stop worrying, no one can get you for fraud but YOU can get them. Will you?

[AngelinaCatHub]

Fact is, many people have been paniced in like fashion when they were not even in bk nor in debt. It is a blatant scam. I get threats quite a lot and when I ask whom my be at the end of the line, or what are you talking about (as of today) I get a "I'm sorry for the mistake" and a hang up. Cell phones I have noted, have so much of this kind of "spam" crap. 'Hub

P.S. (Picture a fish facing a worm on hook) If you do not open your mouth, you will not be caught.

[IamOld]

These guys are are scammers and scum...Do not talk to them..Cal your Atty and like the others said maybe your Atty or a good consumer's rights Atty will have some fun with them. OH and report them to the new Consumer Protection Bureau!

[mountanddo]

I really don't want to deal with the hassle with opening an account -- what are the chances that the debt collector can find out my new card number? They don't have my checking acct number, only the cancelled debit card number .

Boy was I gonna yell at you if I hadn't read farther since the FIRST thing you should of done was go close your checking account whether you thought it was comprimised or not so I'm glad you did that.

I am ashamed to admit that the first thing I thought when I read this was the nigerian scams and how easy it must be for them to make millions scaring the hell out of people. We all make stupid mistakes and hopefully this will stop someone else. Never give your bank information to ANYONE over the phone. Wait for them to sue you. If they are legit they won't have any problem showing up in court legally. Otherwise, hang up on them when they call.

[LadyInTheRed]

I agree with JB, you should go after these people. If you don't feel up to doing it pro-se, try contacting the attorney you consulted with and ask if he is interested in doing it pro-bono or on a contingency basis.

Whatever you do, don't get into a discussion with these people when they call. Ask for their name, company name, telephone number and address and log the date and time of the call. If they have the guts to sue you, let them. You'll have a nice cross-claim. Don't let them scare you. It may help to read about the affirmative defense of "unclean hands" http://definitions.uslegal.com/u/unclean-hands/

[justbroke]

No! And shame on them for using that excuse to attempt to collect the debt! I would be very very (personally) motivated to re-open my case (for free via fee-waver) for sanctions! That is nothing short of wrong. The bankruptcy code even states that if it was fraud, then they should have filed in the Bankruptcy court to have it non-dischargeable! If they are that certain, they can still file to re-open and file fraud charges.

I think this is a shakedown. I'd put them on warning, in writing, that should they again attempt to collect a debt or coerce or otherwise threaten legal action, then that is in violation of the permanent discharge order.

[michelle1181]

Hi everyone, wanted to provide an update on my situation. My BK was discharged Aug 2011 (hooray) and I thought that I was home free. I even got an attorney to look into this matter for me (pro bono) and he says that it's just a bunch of ppl preying on debtors. It's been a long time since I've heard anything, but today, I got a call from an office, saying that they are going to file 3 bank fraud charges on me in my county. They said that they are not trying to collect on my debt, rather they are going to take legal action against me for closing my bank account when they were trying to debit it (it was a payday loan company online).

I fell on hard times, and I was not trying to defraud anyone, I had to close my account to be able to stop the overdraft fees from happening. Can they really file something against me, even if my bk has already been discharged so many months ago?

[sunshinepa]

Frankly, I don't think the calls are coming from the original lender. I think the scammers have got your info now and are going to keep up the harrassment. If they were legit, they would not have said ok and hung up, you would have gotten papers by now. Think about it, they say they will be coming to your home or job???? Seriously, the company you took the loan from probably was not even located in CA.

My bet is they are the scammers that are getting peoples information that was sold to them by the payday loan companies. I read several forums on this, it's unreal the money they have gotten from folks.

Relax, if you do get papers which I seriously doubt, just call the court where they came from, give them your case number and bam, it's now mute!

[michelle1181]

All -- An update!! They have persistently been calling my work number (I blocked my cellphone) and have left numerous voicemails. The latest one I got today was from a bogus number in my area code, saying that they are going to be serving papers to my home address on Thursday between 2-4, if no one is there, they will be coming to my place of employment.

I've had enough -- I got the first person on the phone and basically yelled at them to cease and desist -- and the fact that they even contacted me in the first place was a violation of the automatic stay. The person on the phone said "OK" and then hung up.

Is there any validity at all to what they are saying? Are they actually going to "serve" any paperwork? I checked PACER and a copy of the bk petition, was in fact sent to the address of the firm.

[debee]

He kept saying that it is NOT dischargeable and the fact that I authorized a post dated check, well in this case, a post dated bank transfer, it is considered fraud. He also stated that there is a clause in the contract that I signed that said "I don't plan on filing bankruptcy on this matter."

I filed pro se so I don't have an attorney -- thankfully I have this forum to ask my questions. Who can I report this to since I don't have any representation?

Since you filed pro se, you are the attorney. So they can call you and tell you they think the debt is non-dischargeable. If you had an attorney, they would be able to contact your attorney and say the same thing. So they're allowed to call. They can also try to work out a settlement over this debt so I don't know if you have a case right now. But if they persist after the 60 days, then you would.

As others have said, Payday loans are dischargeable. It doesn't matter about promises to pay, or post-dated checks, or signing a doc that says "I don't plan on filing bk" because the key word there is "plan". At the time you signed the document, you weren't planning your bk.

This guy is trying to scare you into paying. Ignore him.

Once the 60 days is up, you'll be discharged and any attempt to collect the debt from you then will be a violation of the permanent injunction.

(I sent you a pm with the link to a bk attorney in SF who graduated from Max Gardner's bootcamp. They like to sue creditors. However, I don't think there would be a case for that unless they persist after the 60 days.)

eta: Might be something there with the threats of affidavits, etc (if those threats cont'd beyond the first call) because the proper thing for him to do is file an AP complaint through the bk court, which he won't do because he has no case.

[IamOld]

Hi all, an update -- these people are STILL calling and leaving msgs!! PATHETIC!

Michelle - any luck with finding an atty? I smell a nice lawsuit in your favor!!!!!!!!

[michelle1181]

Hi all, an update -- these people are STILL calling and leaving msgs!! PATHETIC!

[IamOld]

I really don't want to deal with the hassle with opening an account -- what are the chances that the debt collector can find out my new card number? They don't have my checking acct number, only the cancelled debit card number .

Michelle, if the do NOT have your a/c, it's 99.99999999% unlikely that they can get it - if they do, it is actual bank fraud, and they're not going to go that far. That is why you do NOT talk to them any more - they're going to try to pry info out of you.

There is ZERO % chance that they can find out your debit card number!!!!

Report them, then look for a good lawyer to go after them!!!