
Graham of Waverly, IA on Aug. 5, 2011
Satisfaction Rating: 5/5
To begin with, I am an unemployed teacher who works part time during the fall and winter term teaching at a local college (3 hours per week). I've been scraping for work for the past 2 years. It's been tough indeed, especially since I'm over 60 and during the past 2 years we have depleted our savings.
Okay, there's my back ground statement.
We were running short of funds and I decided to go online and borrow some quick cash and use my monthly disability payment to provide a source of repayment. I had applied for $350 from Payday Loan Yes and it was deposited in my credit union account.
But, we found our account had been illegally accessed by something called "Platinum Group" and $99 was illegally taken from our account, which caused overdrafts and unpaid bills. We were advised by our credit union to close our account immediately because the hacker (Platinum Group) was so sophisticated they could access my checking account through bogus check numbers.
We closed the account and I emailed Payday Loans Yes about the closing and explained why. I informed them I was opening a new account at a local bank and they could contact me about the account info for repayment.
Well, I didn't hear from them for a few days and I was so busy trying to sell personal items to cover the money illegally taken from our checking account ,I had not given Payday Loans Yes a thought.
Eventually, I received a call from a foreign voice claiming his name was Dave (suspicious) requesting I give him my checking account and routing # to pay Payday Loan Yes. I offered to send him a check and he refused and hung up. I called his number and got a recording regarding "Talk Telephone".
A day later, I received a call from a Mr. ** (who sounded legit) and he requested my debit card # to pay off my Pay Day Loan Yes account. My wife had the card at the time so I wrote down Mr. **'s number to call him back with my debit card # when my wife returned home (I did call the number but when I asked for Mr. Johnson, I was told there was "no" Mr. ** at that number).
Well, my apprehensions were on the rise, especially since my credit union account had been hacked! A couple of hours after my call to Mr. **, I received a call from a female who asked for payment on my Payday Loan Yes account. I told her about my previous 2 calls and she confirmed she hadn't heard of Mr. ** and warned me that some other customers had complained to her about bogus collection calls from individuals claiming to be Payday Loan Yes agents. They were also requesting payment, so my experience wasn't exclusive. The lady on the other end of the phone told me "not" to talk with any other callers claiming to be Payday Loan Yes' agents and she would have her manager contact me directly.
On Friday, 8/4, I received a call from a lady who informed me that I was going to be in a "court hearing ASAP" regarding my unpaid balance at Payday Loan Yes. I must admit, frustration with Payday Loan Yes was at an all-time high.
Now, Payday Loan Yes was threatening me with a court hearing (lawsuit). I tried to explain to her that I was doing what I was told to do from my previous call to Payday Loans Yes to "wait for a manager to call me".
The lady on the end of the phone was very short and ended our conversation with, "Okay, I'm taking your file to our legal department." I'm old school and believe staying out of court is a good thing.
I again called Payday Loan Yes and talked with a very nice young lady who also confirmed that other customers had been called by agents claiming to be Payday Loan Yes. After a bit of explanation of all the events surrounding my Payday Loan Yes account and why I had closed my credit union account (this information was emailed to them the day we closed the credit union account), we finally came to an agreement that I would repay over $700 for my original $350 loan due to the fact I needed to bring my account current and pay levied penalties and late fees.
I will have $186 taken from my $1,325 disability check through October 2011 plus I had to pay $182 at the close of our conversation. I understand late fees and penalties on borrowed money but over the $350, above the origin borrowed amount?
I'm the victim, I'm the fool, but if I can warn you from borrowing online, then this account is worth your reading time. I'm not as upset with Payday Loan Yes as I am with myself. We were compromised when money was illegally drawn from our account and I reacted to quickly looking for a quick fix. Maybe if I had borrowed from Payday Loan Yes and we weren't forced to close our account and thrown into such a quandary trying to cover overdrafts and bills and had proceeded as planned, allowing them to access our credit union account for repayment, I wouldn't be writing this epistle.
But, this was not the case. Warning! Read your contract when borrowing from online agents and stay away from the lending pages that "find" you lenders! Stay far away from them! I know many of you are in the same boat we are, we lost our home, lost our jobs (my wife is working thank God!), lost a car, the list goes on! Desperate times cause desperate measures! I now believe borrowing online is treading in dangerous waters. Be careful! I hope your caution is enhanced by reading this account.
This was my experience. It is a costly final solution! Lesson Learned!