People take out payday loans because they’re in a bad financial situation. Sometimes, your financial situation gets better and you just pay off what you owe to the payday loan company. And sometimes, the financial situation never gets any better.
Many people come to me because they couldn’t afford to make the payments on those payday loans. That’s not surprising, since the interest on those loans averages between 380% and 410% (at least on the ones I see here in my Dallas offices). Here’s a typical question I get from people who come in for a free consultation with me:
I got a very rude and angry call from a debt collector who handles collections for one of the payday loan companies that I have money from. He told me that CRIMINAL CHARGES would be brought against me because the check I gave them bounced and that it was a “theft by check” which they said is a FELONY. They also said that the contract I signed says I’m not allowed to file for bankruptcy and I will get in trouble if I try to file a bankruptcy case. Can I get arrested for not paying this payday loan?
The specific situation described usually will not qualify for the Texas theft by check statute because the payday lender will have taken a postdated check. Since the check is postdated, it cannot satisfy the statute’s requirement that you “represented” to the payday lender that the funds were actually in the account on the date it was issued.
The payday loan companies say these things all the time– scaring you is the only leverage they have to get you to pay them. I hear this same story from my bankruptcy clients almost every day. Many of them have several payday loans and are using the new ones they take out to pay off the older ones.
If you file a bankruptcy– either chapter 7 or chapter 13– the whole problem goes away. In fact, most all your debts will go away.
When you’re ready to get out from under the crushing debt load and begin a new debt-free life, contact Dallas bankruptcy lawyer Rustin Polk by clicking here. Tell our Appointments Coordinator, Allison, that you are a website reader and she will set you up with a free, no obligation appointment to learn how we can help you get out of debt.
I have this person calling me that said i owed $1800 for a payday loan that i do not remember getting,I called him back to set up pmt.arrangements and then he said i owed $3000.This was in the matter of 2 days the amt.went up $1200.He could hardly speak any english and what is a DV letter.