payday loan place harassing my relatives

[thethirdtwin]

What is the name of your state? IA
I got a payday loan a while back and it was the dumbest thing I've done financially, it turned into a race to them every payday so they wouldn't try to deposit my check and screw me over with fees. After experiencing some unforeseen medical problems and losing some time from work, further limiting my income, I finally said enough and called them to tell them I'll pay them but I can't afford to keep paying those exorbitant fees every 2 weeks to renew the loan. They got crusty with me and said they would deposit my check so I had the bank put a hard hold on the account so they couldn't rack up a bunch of bank NSF fees that I can't afford to pay, and which would also cut into what I could pay them back. Now they got the check back from the hard hold not letting it go through, and they are calling me like 5 times a day spitting venom. I attempted to explain things to them again and told them I would pay $100 a check or more if I can afford it, until they are paid. That wasn't good enough. Now they are calling my 2 brother's houses, and talking with my sisters in law (who were listed on my application as references) yelling and even swearing at them, and telling them I'm going to jail for bad check writing and theft by deception if I didn't get in there by 3pm to pay my loan in full. She said one lady who didn't pay them just got out of jail after doing 30 days because they pressed charges on her. They disclosed the amount I owe as well. My sisters in law both called me asking what was going on, concerned that I'm going to jail. I explained that the check place is mad because they aren't getting paid as fast as they want to be paid but they are getting paid. They have called my relatives 5 times in 3 days and spoke once with each sister in law. If my brothers had been home at the times the calls came in, they both would have torn a new one for this psycho calling from the check place!
Isn't it illegal to do what they've done? Calling my relatives and disclosing the type of debt, the amount, and threatening to put me in jail? They know where I live, where I work, etc., and frankly I'm a little surprised that one of them hasn't been over here knocking on my door because she lives in the same mobile home court that I do. That will probably come next. If it does, I will involve the police to remove her from my property. Thanks in advance to those who respond!

[Chien]

Unfortunately, there isn’t a great deal to tell you. Your state has allowed predatory lending to proliferate and regulation is done through the Iowa Division of Banking. You can send them a complaint, but that’s probably less than you’re looking for. You can also register a complaint with your Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division in Des Moines (tele: 515-281-5926).

Only Utah’s law prohibits threatening criminal prosecution. Yours is non-specific, and some states allow criminal prosecution if a check is NSF. Mississippi is an example. Others, like Arkansas permit it, if the check is returned for a closed account or a stop payment order. Then, there’s another half-dozen states that specifically allow it if the check is drawn on a closed account.

In states where payday lenders have been permitted to flourish, more than 30% of users are regular users, paying interest rates exceeding 300-400% APR for the privilege. To a cynical person, banks, legislators and payday lenders might appear to all be in bed together. I know it’s not the help you wanted to say “kick them out of office” nor is it helpful to say “stay the hell away and don’t use them” but, until they’ve committed a crime under your state’s laws (and your post doesn’t show one), it’s about all that can be said. You can talk to the police about harassing calls or try for civil restraints, but I don’t expect you to get far.

If you’re thinking the calls and the disclosures are some FDCPA violation, they aren’t. This is a form of lending that your state has authorized. These are the lenders talking to you and your family.

You say it's the dumbest thing you've done. I sincerely mean no offense when I say that there are many who might agree. Find a way to get them off your back as quickly as possible. If that means short-term loans from family, I doubt it will cost as much or create as much turmoil.

[thethirdtwin]

Thanks for replying. I've done some research and the information I've found on actually prosecuting someone in this state for writing a bad check is kind of grey. Some sites say they have to notify you of the returned check by certified mail, then you have 30 days to get it paid before they can actually start prosecuting, if they even can...I've seen stuff on sites that say if the check is a post dated one or for a payday loan it is not prosecutable, it would have to be handled civilly.
I'm not sure what's right and what isn't. The check itself is for $394. I'm paying back $100 a check. By the time they get me to anywhere scary, it will be paid off. If they cash the certified checks from the bank they are accepting payment and they can't prosecute anyway is what I'm told. Is this accurate or not?
Getting a loan from my family is not an option, we live in an area that is very economically depressed and almost everyone around here is just getting by, living paycheck to paycheck.
So you are telling me it is legal for these people, who know exactly where I am and have all my contact info, to call each of my brother's homes 4-5 times a day and scream and swear at whoever answers the phone, in addition to threatening my prosecution? Seriously.

[Chien]

Section 3-104(2)(b) of the UCC, defines a check as "a draft drawn on a bank and payable on demand." A postdated check, since it is not payable on demand, does not satisfy this requirement. Consequently, it has generally been held by most states that the giving of a post-dated check does not constitute a present fraud nor is it within the scope of the bad check laws.

But the UCC is not a federal Act. It’s a system set up to structure commercial transactions and, while all states have adopted some version, not all have adopted the same version. That being the case, it’s prudent to look to state check law to see if it’s more stringent.

Your state permits civil penalties on a bad check of treble damages not to exceed the amount of the check plus $500. It permits criminal penalties of up to 30 days in jail or a $100 fine for a misdemeanor and up to a $500 fine or one year in jail or both for a felony (multiple instances can earn up to seven years in the penitentiary).

Where you come down is hard to say. In most states statutory provisions provide that it is prima facie evidence of insufficient funds (or of intent to defraud) if: (a) the check was not paid by the drawee (bank) on presentation for payment and (b) the drawer did not pay the check within a specified number of days after written notice to the drawer of dishonor of the check.

Sect. 714.1(6) of the Iowa Codes defines theft by check as follows:
A person commits theft when the person does any of the following:
Makes, utters, draws, delivers, or gives any check, share draft, draft, or written order on any bank, credit union, person, or corporation, and obtains property, the use of property, including rental property, or service in exchange for such instrument, if the person knows that such check, share draft, draft, or written order will not be paid when presented.
Whenever the drawee of such instrument has refused payment because of insufficient funds, and the maker has not paid the holder of the instrument the amount due thereon within ten days of the maker's receipt of notice from the holder that payment has been refused by the drawee, the court or jury may infer from such facts that the maker knew that the instrument would not be paid on presentation. Notice of refusal of payment shall be by certified mail, or by personal service in the manner prescribed for serving original notices.
Whenever the drawee of such instrument has refused payment because the maker has no account with the drawee, the court or jury may infer from such fact that the maker knew that the instrument would not be paid on presentation

I saw the 30 days as well, but apparently the inference of intent to defraud arises at 10. It’s at that point that a complaint can be filed. Whether it is and whether it’s prosecuted are different matters. Bad check passing is prolific. So much so that prosecutors are overwhelmed with more significant matters, and diversion programs have been enacted in most states. Your state has one.

I’m not sure what you mean by a “hard hold”, but this is just a longer way of saying what I did originally. There is a potential for problems. That can be affirmed by the statute. Do everything that you can to get out from under the problems. I don’t doubt that these people will use every legal remedy available. The industry isn’t built to look the other way.