C
Charlie Hay
Guest
What is the name of your state? Louisiana my wife and i took out a "payday" loan in baton rouge in november 2001 the amount we borrowed was $500 we had to give a voided check and sign a contract allowing them to withdraw $597 from our account 14 days later, or we could come in and pay just the "interest" of $97 and "buy" 14 more days, we could do this up to 3 times with the "interest" decreasing each time $97/1st time, $92/2nd time, $85/3rd time. then on the 4th visit back we had to pay the loan in full which was about $547.00. at that time we could re-apply for the the same loan of $500 and this cycle would happen again each time until june 2002. we weren't able to pay the full amount and walk away until then which was june 2002. essentially, we paid back $1,784.00 or more within 8 months for a $500 loan. we thought this was an outrageous amount but we had no choice but to pay. on 2/28/03 we received a check enclosed with a letter from this 'company' for $109.09. in the letter they stated that due to my one or more small loans that i took out with them between the dates of nov. 2001 and june 2002 that i was being refunded part of the finance charges, stated as if it were a reward for doing business. also stated vaguely in the letter that by signing and cashing this check that we were releasing them from any claims we may have against them. this was also stated in small writting on the back of the check under the endorsement line. so i checked into louisiana laws on interest and learned that in 2001 the senate passed a bill sb:260 that stated: "a licensee may charge a fee not to exceed 7.5% of the face value of the check issued or in the case of a small loan the equivalent rate of interest not to exceed $25" this tells me that they were charging me a highly illegal rate of interest. how would i go about pursuing this?? thank you very much.