Help, I have a creditor threatening to go to the state's attorney and charge me with fraud. I used one of those cash advance places. I now know how stupid I was for doing this. Anyway it just got to be too much for me to handle and I made arrangements with them and paid and paid. Still owe money to them. Things have not been real good and I have not made a payment for 8 weeks. Believe me I would if I could I want to get rid of these people. Today they called up and said that if I didn't pay up they would go to the state's attorney and charge me with fraud. Can they do this? I live in Illinois and am not sure what the law is regarding this.
Search for your state's payday loan laws. You might also look under consumer protections, and deceptive business practices.
To prove fraud they would have to prove your intentions at the time you gave them the check - taht you fully intended it to bounce. That would be difficulkt at best since you (a) had an impending paycheck coming in and (b) gave them a check against it. The fact that it didn't work out the way it was supposed to does not constituter fraud. This is just a bill collectror making threats toi scare you, and it sounds like it's working. I suggest you read my posts "Understanding the Collection process" and "Understanding the Collection Agency" parts 1 and 2.
Thanks jlynne I'll see what I can find about the payday loan laws. Yes, they do have me scared, very. Who knows what they will do.
I have not found out if they can charge me with fraud but I did find some interesting stuff here. http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=1974 Such as the following "Illinois, unlike mosts states, does not put a limit on the amount of interest a payday loan company can charge" and "Payday lending is a relatively recent phenomenon in Illinois. In 1995 there were no payday lenders operating in Illinois; by 2002 payday lenders outnumbered McDonaldâ??s restaurants in Illinois!"
Re: Re: Threatened fraud charge Parent, WE know what they'll do. All they want is their money. What Flying said was; there MUST be an INTENT to commit fraud, or the AG won't waiste his time. Your situation is mitigated by the fact that you're trying to make it good. Relax.
Didn't you hand them a post-dated check in the first place? from http://www.ckfraud.org/faq.html 7. WHAT DEFENSES MAY BE RAISED TO BAD CHECK PROSECUTION? Post-dated check - a check with a date after the date on which the check was presented is considered a post-dated check and may not be prosecuted criminally. The post-dating of the check creates an extension of credit, even if only for a day, and converts the case to a bad debt situation.
Look at #6 as well... Present consideration does not include: * Post-dated check. * Payment on an installment account or on an open account for goods/services previously received. * Request by Defendant to Victim to hold check, expects to deposit soon to cover balance. the first and third of those applies. It was a post-dated check, which they were requested to hold because you were expecting a deposit soon, the premise of the 'payday' loan places.
AG's don't generally prosecute individuals just as they don't generally enforce on behalf of individuals. That threat is an FDCPA violation, I say, actually several! Sassy
Told ya. Thanx Connada, This opens a whole new can of worms. I don't know of any of these check cashing places whereupon, having trouble getting their money, let pass the opportunity to THREATEN FRAUD CHARGES. Sounds like a violation to me. .
Re: Re: Threatened fraud charge This is true. I'm in a northern Illinois town and these places are popping up all over. Town's with 15,000 people have 4 or 5 of them.
Re: Re: Threatened fraud charge oh shoot, That was definately a brain-fart, nodding, ty for the correction. Sassy
