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If you live in Pennsylvania and you had dealing with Advance America, the department of banking is going to seek restitution for it's residents. just go to "http://www.banking.state.pa.us/banking/lib/banking/news_and_events/pres…;
If they delete this link, just google pa department of banking. It is on the first page.
Thanks for the tip Goodnatured! I live in PA and had just noticed that they had recently closed one of their offices in my area. I wondered why because they were always so busy there but now it makes a little more sense.
Who is this company. The name sounds like a type of payday lender.
I am really interested in this because they also stated that they are looking for restituion for the residents of Pennsylvania, this company was one of the ones that I was dealing with when I was in my payday loan cycle of hell. I am following this and I hope that others from Pennsylvania are too, so that we can keep each other updated. Gosh, if they do restitution of those fees at almost $150 a month, that company will owe me a pretty sum of money.
Fireyone, they are a payday lender that used to operate a storefront operation here in the state of Pennsylvania, they are all over the united states though. Pennsylvania forced them to close down there storefront operations through a lawsuit that the Pennsylvania Department of banking filed on behalf of the commonwealth for not complying to Pennsylvania lending laws, then they turned around and changed their product, calling it a participation fee and the Deparment of Banking went after them again and won. They were not happy about being forced to close their doors but it happened in a days time across the state.
You can follow it all on the Pennsylvania Department of Banking webpage, they are a very powerful entity here and do what they can to protect the Pennsylvania residents.
Hi Fireyone
Advance America one of the leading pay day loan companies which provide people with payday advances to meet their immediate financial obligations. It is also a member of New York stock exchange. Recently Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania had a ruling against this pay day loan company directing this company to suspend all its operations in the state of Pennsylvania.
Yes, Goodnatured is right. There was a lawsuit filed against Advance America by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking because firstly the company was not working as a licensed lender in Pennsylvania and secondly they were charging very high interest rates and fees which are beyond the limit permitted under Pennsylvania law. I think it is the first step to stop the collection agencies from charging high rates of interest and pushing borrowers into vicious circle of debt.
Then what I read and posted here from the newspaper is correct. theywere suppose to start the reform and give companies till Feb 2009 to be licensed and lower the iterest rates. For this I see it as a big win for the little guy. I can only imagine what relief some people are feeling. I hope they continue to keep up with these things. People are struggling to survuve and if they see a lifeline out there at a really hard period they are going to grab it. It may not seem sensible later but I am sure it did at the time and that is where these places take advantage of someone.
The article that I read about advance america was on the Pennsylvania department of banking web page. It said that they will seek restitution for the residents of Pennsylvania. We need to follow this, these fools will be sending a check my way if the department of banking wins. My hopes are up and my hand is out!!!!!!!!!!! :twisted:
Who was this Advance America GN? I was figuring a payday lender. Am I correct. I hope if it was they have to pay back all the people they took advantage of. It in my view would serve them right. Please keep us updated. Any small victory is still one for the good guy.
Yes they are a payday advance company that had storefronts here in the state. I hope the do try to get restitution for the customers, my god they would owe me a pretty chunk of change.
It will be great for everyone that has been taken advantage of by these thieves, they deserve to have to pay back all the money that they over charged. keep us updated goodnatured, hope you get a pile of money back.
I am waiting on my check???
They should repay some of that enormous interest back I have never heard of 99% interest in my life.
Well we can only keep our fingers crossed that they will be forced to pay back, if I would get 5 minutes through out the day I would like to call the Pennsylvania department of banking and ask them, I don't want to call and ask with all the ears around me at work.
Don't you hate that when you have to make an important call and you can't? This use to happen to me at the greenhouse I use to work at. Seems like everyone grew bunny ears when you were on the phone.
advance america victim
I took out out a 500 loan from advance America in Aug. of 2006. I paid 149 dollars every month plus a payment of thirty dollars toward my 500. This company who claimed to help people who are in need were big time crooks. tThey charged you a 149 dollar fee for the loan every month, and to top it off, you have to write them out a check for the full amount of the loan plus the monthly charge of 149 in case you bail out of the loan. I made payment s on time on the 30th of every month for about 4 months until I got a call saying my payments were due on the 15th instead of the 30th of the month, I told them my payments arent until the 30th, they cashed my check anyway without my knowledge and when I went to pay them, they took my payment plus the fee and told me they cashed my check because I did not pay in time. They admitted the error but since they cashed my check without my knowledge and their mistake, I had to borrow again from their company to put money in my acct. to cover for checks already written to cover the amount they took out. I know they did this on purpose so I would have to take out another loan, and to top it off they took my payment anyway knowing full well they had already cashed my check!!!! All in all, for a 500 loan I ended paying 1,400 dollars in fees and payments. They defintely are crooks and I hope we do get compentsated for the money they stole from us!!!!
Are you from pennsylvania???
Wow I wonder if they did this so you had to take out another loan. This would be very decietful. If you are from PA there are some laws to protect you. Let us know the state.
I am from PA and got stuck in their loan for about 3 years. What are the chances that the money will be returned to the customers. I bet i paid $5000.00 in intrest to them over that time.
Since cash advance is basically a payday loan and payday loans are banned in PA, you can stop paying them. I don't think that you will get back the money once you have made the payment, but you can definitely stop any further payments. This is because in a recent judgment the Commonwealth Court at Pennsylvania has asked Advance America to close all its operations in the state.
I am glad to hear this. I am from PA and hate these loan sharks. I do not believe though that the original poster listed where they are from. Lets hope its PA.
So if you own this company money, and they all of a sudden shut their doors down. Can they collect there money that they are owed by a resident of PA?
hi wendel34
Even if the company need to shut down its operation in PA due to the court order, you need to pay back the debt which you have already taken. They can also sell off the debt to any collection agency who can collect the debt from you. So if you can afford to pay off the debt now, you should always pay it off since if you are late, interest and other charges will add to it, thereby increasing the debt amount.
If it would go to court how could they possibly win if it is illegal to even give out the loan in the first place? This would be like me stealing something and selling it to you and then you don't pay so I sue you. If it was gotten illegally in the first place how can they hold you to it?
Hi Fireyone
When you have taken the loan, the company was not declared as illegal. Only because they have violated some laws of the state, it has been declared illegal and so you owe them money and you need to repay it. Now if they sell it off to any CA, they may report the debt to the credit bureaus who in turn will list it in your credit report, if you don't pay them off.
Okay..thanks for explaining. Never dealt with these places and never intend to just thought I would ask.
I too had a vicious cycle of loans from these people. You can't get away from it. They did close their store where I live. I received one letter asking for their money months ago and never heard another word from them. ??
Hi Bonvogel
Since they have already send you a letter claiming the money, you should have asked them for debt validation within 30 days of receipt of their letter. However, since you have not yet asked for debt validation, you should pull out your credit report and check whether the debt is listed there or not. However, if you find it listed you can ask for validation of the debt. If they validate your debt, you should go for a settlement agreement with them to repay it off, else a judgment can be brought against you by the creditor to recover the debt.
Yes, I agree with Carol. You should pull out you credit report immediately and check the listing. I think that they might have sold off your debt to another CA since they did not contact you till now. But if you are in payday loans, the outstanding amount might have doubled by this time. Another thing is that you must check whether the SOL in your state has expired or not. If the SOL has expired you need not pay back the debt. We can help you out here if you can tell us your last payment on the debt and the state you live in.
Bon, you are correct, payday lender loan are the absolute worse loan to have. If you had an account that they were withdrawing funds from through a bank then you should close that account so they do not dip into it and take money. Hopefully your loans are past the SOL. I really also think you need to check your report and make sure thay didn't put any marks on it. Justin is correct when he says the debt could have doubled by now. It seems like a lot but they can do it.
I live in Pennsylvania and I just checked all my credit reports....Advance America is no where on my reports.
Is the letter you are talking about has been send by Advance America. If it is send by Advance America, then you should immediately send a debt validation letter by certified mail to check whether they have actually bought your debt. If they can validate it properly, try to get a discount on the loan amount first and then come to a repayment agreement to pay off the debt. Advance America might not have listed it in your credit report till date, but they may do so if you don't send a DV letter and once it gets listed it will stay there for seven years from the date you became delinquent.
Yes Bon, even if they are not there doesn't mean they won't be on there later. Is this a recent debt? I would follow Justins instructions and get that validation letter in the mail certified post. If you do owe it and do not want it on your report it is best to hurry and catch it now before it does go on. Just make sure it is not past the SOL.
If the CA is not in your credit report and in fact has send you a letter asking you to repay back the debt, you can ask for debt validation by certified mail. However, you should only come to a settlement plan only if the CA validates you debt else not. Again before paying off the debt, you should also check whether the SOL for the debt has expired or not. If it has expired, you need not pay it off. However, if it has not expired, you need to repay it as soon as possible because if you don't repay it off the creditor can sue you to the court and bring judgment against you which may lower your credit score.
They can and usually will take you to court if the SOL is not expired. Some don't get the proper proof so even if it isn't wexpired you may want to make sure you get the DV and they possilbly may not show if there isn't any proof.
thanks
Thanks for all the info....I will definitely into this further!
I don't know if the statement the payday loans are illegal in pa will help you or not, you can try and go that defense. You may want to call the dpartment of banking to get there take on it, since there were law suits filed on Advance America and the departmentment of banking won. Go to their website, google Pa department of banking and red the lawsuit, it is all there.
Is there a number maybe the poster could call that you are aware of? Bon, go to this website and see if you can find any listing or even a way to e-mail them. You could explain what is happening and maybe get some good advice there. I hope you do and come back and let us know how this is working out for you. If there are any other questions let us know. good Luck.
advance america
If you didnt agree with the fees and interest then why did you take a loan out with this company??