Payday Loans

How To Effectively Stop All Payday Loan Harassment With Practical Steps

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

If you have failed to pay back the loan you took from a payday loan lender, you are probably receiving payday loan harassment calls every single day. While it is true that lenders offering instant cash loan can provide a very useful and highly beneficial service, they are not very accommodating when borrowers fail to repay the loan on the exact designated date. This is when collections agencies come into the picture and the harassment starts.

Payday loans are to be paid back on the very day you get your next salary. Therefore, many lenders ask for a post dated check. In case the check bounces and you are not able to pay the loan back, lenders will often turn a deaf ear to your pleas and the matter would go to a collection company. This is when debt collection harassment begins.

It is important to remember that as a borrower you are protected by certain laws that have been designed to make sure that debtors do not end up facing payday loan harassment. If you ever find yourself being pursued and hounded by collection agency representatives who threaten you continuously, research these laws so that you know that even though you owe money to someone, you are protected and do not have to be a victim of debt collectors harassment.

Stopping Harassment Inflicted By Agencies

There are some practical ways in which you can try and stop the payday loan harassment that you might be facing.

• Try asking the lender for an extension on your loan terms. While short-term payday loans require you to pay back within a mere two weeks, long-term ones give you a little more time. Request for some more time and assure that you have a regular source of income and you will pay the loan back at the earliest point possible.
• Borrow the money from a friend or relative so that you can pay back the loan. If you cannot pay all of it immediately, try paying small amounts. You must remember that instant cash loans carry a very high interest rate and the more you delay repayment, the heavier the loan will get.
• As per the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act, you can always send in a letter to the agency that demands the representatives should immediately stop calling you and not harass you over the phone anymore. Debtors are often contacted by collection agencies several times a day. Once they receive the letter, they are obliged under the law to stop all calls.
• Make sure you record all the conversations with the representatives whenever you get a call. If there are any threats and/or disrespectful words or phrases, you can always countersue for harassment if you are taken to court. Do not delete any nasty voicemail.
• Keep making small payments as many times and as frequently as possible.

You can and should fight payday loan harassment. Just because you have been a little delayed in repaying the money there is no reason for anyone to threaten you. Get a legal expert’s help if required.

Payday Loan Bankruptcy – Not As Unlikely As You Assume

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

Obtaining payday loans has become so easy that it tends to become a bad habit. A small amount of principal, the expectation of being able to repay by the next payday, promised discounts in payday loan fees for regular customers – these factors are likely to encourage repeated use of payday loans. Borrowers tend to forget that payday loans are an emergency backup plan. They should not be used for maintaining an expensive lifestyle or repaying other loans. Repeated use of quick cash loans can result in payday loan bankruptcy.

Does Relaxed Eligibility Lead to Bankruptcy?

In 2008, there were more than 10 million successful applications for payday loans. Getting a loan of this type is fairly easy. As long as you are a U.S. citizen over 18 years of age and have a full-time job, you can get a loan approved in as little as one minute.  Loan stores that formerly operated next to strip malls have given way to more accessible lending websites that do not even require the borrower to fax documents for obtaining a loan. The temptation proves too much for some people to resist.

If these loans can be returned quickly, generally within a month, why are numerous borrowing facing payday loan bankruptcy? The answer lies in a combination of factors. Once the borrower has successfully repaid the first loan, they are tempted to borrow again, even if they can get money elsewhere. Some borrowers start using these high interest loans to finance an unsustainable lifestyle.

High Interest Rate

The high payday loan interest rate also plays a role in the rising number of bankruptcies. Payday loan fees can be as high as 25% of the principal, meaning that you pay $25 on every $100 you borrow. This should be reason enough to deter most people from borrowing a second time, unless there is an emergency. However, many lenders offer “knockdown” rates to repeat borrowers, for example, 15% interest rather than 25%. The comparison seems attractive, and the unwary borrower walks into a loan trap.

Multiple Difficult Debts

Another reason for the popularity of payday loans is the lender’s promise to ignore the borrower’s credit history. Someone whose credit history is bad to start with cannot afford another high-interest loan. Accept a cash advance of this nature only if you are sure you can repay the loan by next payday.

If you have debts other than cash-until-payday, bankruptcy becomes an even bigger possibility. In their rush to clear their paycheck advance, borrowers forget to repay monthly installments of other loans. Credit card loans, for example, have a high interest rate as well. A combination of multiple high- interest, short-term loans can spiral into a problem of unmanageable proportions, often ending in payday loan bankruptcy.

Should you then stop taking out cash advances until payday? A better answer would be to use these loans more carefully. Borrow only when you need to, when no friend is in a position to lend you those precious few hundred dollars within the next 24 hours. Used the right way, payday loans are a great help during emergencies. Used the wrong way, they lead to payday loan bankruptcy.