pay day loan nightmare

[julie2013]

hello everyone has anyone got any advice for someone who has foolishly got herself into a pickle with pay day loans surely i cant be the only one. it all started in Jan when i got a full time job after being unemployed for a full year previously, i was due to be paid at the end of the month so you guessed it i went online and applied for a pay day loan, now i currently have four payday loans which are costing me horrendous amounts of interest per month i am in bits i just dont know where to turn as i thought now i am working my finance would be easy to get in order i am out of my depth and dreading getting paid this month as all my wages are going on payday loans and i just dont know how to get off the gravy train.

can i write to these companies and get them to come to an arrangement and stop the interest the same as i can with say credit card companys i cant go on like this.

[gravytrain]

Re: pay day loan nightmare

No believe me you are by far not the only one.

The situation is that they will keep taking money off you for as long as you keep paying and also keep adding interest.
You need to contact each and tell them that your circumstances have changed since you took out the loan, tell them that you have other debts and you will be paying them all on a pro rata basis.

Tell them that you are preparing an income and outgoing financial statement and will require a terminated balance on the account and that they are to discontinue adding interest and charges.

It will not be as easy as it sounds and you will have to persevere, have most of these loans been rolled over, who are they with.

Can you give us details ?

[labman]

Re: pay day loan nightmare

The very first thing you should do is phone your bank and instruct them to stop the Recurring Payment Authority on all the loans, follow this up with a letter sent recorded delivery. Often it still makes sense to get your salary paid into an account with an unrelated bank to your current one.

Secondly, for this particular situation I would suggest you go to NEDCAB http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/dmp.asp which will enable you to do a self managed debt managed plan. For Payday Loans, self managed is best as you have total control over what, if anything, you pay them.

Thirdly, remember these loans are NOT priority debts. You MUST pay your priority debts first, then if there is spare income, distribute among your other debts on a pro rata basis. The site will generate a letter for you asking for them to freeze charges and interest, though it is unlikely a PD Loan company will agree to this - don't worry!

Pay as you can, and when you have repaid the loan total plus a 'sensible' amount of interest (perhaps 2-3 months), stop paying and write to them saying if they want any more they will need to take you to court.

Be prepared during this time to be absolutely bombarded by emails, letters etc... threatening all sorts and stating that you owe ridiculously large amounts. If this gets too much for you, post up again and feel free to drop me a pm stating you have done so with a link to this post.

[labman]

Re: pay day loan nightmare

Sorry Gravytrain - crossed post!

[gravytrain]

Re: pay day loan nightmare

Sorry Gravytrain - crossed post!

Quite alright much more comprehensive advice anyway

[julie2013]

Re: pay day loan nightmare

thank you so much guys you have made me feel so much better. i will take up your advice and maybe this month i will not have all my hard earned cash taken by these loan sharks. I can take control of my finances. i just feel so dumb getting into this situation.

i have about 4 different payday loans one with wonga, swift sterling, cash lady and the money shop all charging interest rates that are off this planet and all taken out because of the first payday loan i took out to tide me over till i got paid.

what is worse perhaps is i panicked and started looking online for a loan to cover the payday loans at least then i thought i could pay less each month over a longer period of time but i was scamed by loans direct uk who took near enough 70 pounds sterling from my bank account for alledgedly finding me a loan.

you know something else i spoke to debt help companies who said they could help me to get interest rates stopped and payments lowered but they wanted their cut first it just goes on and on.

anyway at least now i can get control again. thank you again i dont know what i would do without a site like this to give me advice

[labman]

Re: pay day loan nightmare

I would make an almighty fuss to Loans Direct and get your £70 back! They have not found you a loan and so they should refund your money. They will argue, but if you are a big enough thorn in their side, they do refund the money.

Don't feel embarrassed about the situation, hundreds, possibly thousands get into the same situation every day of the week. THE PDL Companies cause a lot of misery and worry. At least you're taking control again. Just make sure you either open a new, unrelated account or tell the bank to stop the RPA. If you bank with Nat West, change the bank your salary goes into as they tend to ignore customer requests to stop RPA's anyway.

[CleverClogs]

Re: pay day loan nightmare

If you bank with Nat West, change the bank your salary goes into as they tend to ignore customer requests to stop RPA's anyway.

If the buggers ignore a formal, written notice revoking the customer's authority for the payments to be made, doesn't that make the "bank" liable?

[labman]

Re: pay day loan nightmare

If the buggers ignore a formal, written notice revoking the customer's authority for the payments to be made, doesn't that make the "bank" liable?

Yes, indeed it does, but getting the money back from Nat West is harder than just opening another account and having your salary paid there. It's a hassle people can do without in this situation. :beagle: