Alexandra’s Blog

To some people, buying a pair of shoes is an everyday norm. You go to the shoe store, try on a pair of shoes that you like, pull out your cash, check or credit card and walk out of the store with ease.

For me, buying a pair of shoes was a gift from God.

For an entire year, I have dealing with payday loans from hell and was never able to have enough money to buy a decent pair of shoes. I would buy shoes only if I needed them and regretted the decision later when I couldn’t afford to put gasoline in the car. I remember a time when I didn’t have enough money to buy a dollar pair of socks. Or clothes or shoes.

And today, I had enough money to buy a pair of shoes. So many times when I would buy something that I actually wanted, I would take it back because I needed the money after I was depleted thanks to the PDLs. I remember a time when each payday would come and go and almost three hundred dollars would come out of my account to support a PDL I had.

I couldn’t afford to shop on Black Friday, Cyber Monday or the day before Christmas. I was struggling most of the year dealing with debt. I would want to go places and enjoy things, but my debts always came first and I was getting nowhere.

But today, I actually went out and brought me a pair of decent shoes. They aren’t the most expensive pair like Jimmy Choo and Donna Karan but they were shoes that I could actually wear and at a price I could actually afford. It felt good just to buy a pair of shoes. Just like last week, it felt good to have money in my pocket to buy gasoline. Just like it really felt good to have something in my pocket to pay the utility bill.

Things are beginning to look up for me. And it all started because I was able to buy a pair of shoes.

And I do mean annual fees. You know it is amazing how credit card companies want you to get a credit card with them so bad that they send you lovely reminders in the mail, invade your email like a virus and call continously to take advantage of what their credit card can offer you. But no one ever mentions the annual fee. Nope. No one.

The annual fee is placed so nicely in the paperwork, sometimes you see it and then sometimes it jumps out at you. But being that I was bankrupt and thought that I would never see a credit card let alone use one, I thought that I was in heaven and not paying attention to the annual fee.

Folks, what I am trying to say is that the annual fee has snuck up on me and I didn’t expect it. In fact, three of my credit cards have snuck up on me with annual fees.

In June, I was the unfortunate victim of the annual-fee-that-caused-me-to-over-credit-limit bug. Thanks to fine outstanding people at Orchard Bank, they not only allowed my account to go over $59 but added an additional $30 for the overlimit fee and a whooping $15 in finance charges. Due to the fact that they had just charged me an annual fee, they decided to waive the $30 charge. How nice of them considering the charge reappeared the next month.

This month, it felt like Christmas for those other two lovely cards I have, ah, Applied Card Bank and First Premier Bank. With Applied Card, I was lucky. I actually put $50 on my credit card payment. Unfortunately, that $50 was going towards paying the credit bureau for a hospital bill. I am just glad that Applied Card got their money first and the other charge was just pending. So I won’t get charged an overlimit fee.

However, with the outstanding individuals at Premier Bank, I wasn’t as lucky. Premier Bank also decided that I should be charged an annual fee this month of $48 which caused my account to go over. Not only did they charge me the $48 annual fee, but they also charged me $30 for the overlimit fee and $10 for something I have no idea for (the claim it was my participation charge but they had already taken that out). Now I am overlimit by $83 and they are looking $103 payment in December. And to think that I was going to actually buy Christmas present this year.

Since I didn’t want to add another fee for those fine people at Applied Card, I had to go to a finance company, where I had only three more payments with and borrow more money which means for the next nine months, I am having to pay $68 which I was going to use once I was through with them to pay off my PDLs with T&C. How great is that?

So to help anyone else, let me tell you right now. With Orchard Bank, you have $59 annual fee. With Applied Card, it is $50 and with Premier it is $48. Please make note of the month that your card expires each year so that you won’t have the problems that I am having. Like they said, they informed me that I would charged next month and I didn’t see the writing on the paper. I was just interested in paying the bill. And look at where it got me.

Sometimes, I wonder if I will ever get ahead. But having faith and the power of prayer, I will. After all, somehow, the Lord blessed me with eight dollars in my purse today and I have no idea where it came from.

Whenever I first received my first credit card, I noticed that they would always send me emails and letters recommending that I sign with a company that would monitor my credit report. Oh, the credit card companies would send you checks (usually between $5 and $8) that have you signing up for a month free. Then after that it would range from $9 to $12 per month. I use to think first of all, why would a credit card company offer you this deal and second of all, why in the hell do I need to monitor to my credit report considering that I had bad debts and of course, the bankruptcy. Who in their right mind would want open anything in my name and use my credit? My credit was so bad, it was hard for me to get a smile when I would apply for a store credit card.

But to my surprise, you will be surprised at what appears on your credit report. Each year, you are entitled to a copy free of charge from the three reporting agencies. Take a look at your credit report, regardless of whether you have outstanding credit or you have so much bad credit that it would make your head spin.

Pull your Experian, Equifax or Transunion credit report and sit down and analyze it carefully. You might be surprised at the number of errors on your credit report or the number of times there have been inquiries to your credit report. You might even be surprised to find that someone has been opening accounts or at least trying to open accounts in your name.

Millions of Americans each year are targets for identity theft. Millions of americans do not know that they are a victim until they try to apply for a credit card, a loan or try to purchase a car. Identity theft has become one of the highest rated crimes in our country, often times because we, as consumers, do not inquire as to what is on our credit report.

And there are mistakes. Creditors whom you have paid off in full are still listed on your account as debt being owed. A delinquent debt or a debt that is placed in collection can cause your credit score to drop tremendously. Again, millions of Americans suffer from this each year because they fail to acquire their credit reports.

That is why credit monitoring is such a convenient tool for the individual who has A+ Credit or the individual, like myself, whose credit was severely damaged. Credit monitoring services alerts individuals of any activity (and I do mean ANY ACTIVITY) that is occuring or has occurred on your account. I didn’t realize the benefit of a credit monitoring service until I decided to participate in one myself.

A friend of mine from school’s aunt was a victim of identity theft. The aunt had used her credit card online to pay a bill. An individual who lived in Seattle (the aunt lives in Louisiana) had obtained her credit card information and used it to make a $400 purchase at Wal Mart and a $200 purchase at Best Buy within a matter of minutes. The only reason the aunt had found out about this activity was because she went to check her credit card statement online. She immediately placed a fraud alert on her credit report using her credit monitoring service.

There was another incident where someone attempted to obtain a credit card using someone else’s confidential information. To that person’s surprise, the credit monitoring service she used alerted her of this action via email.

I would highly recommend that you invest a few dollars in participating in a credit monitoring program. Regardless of your credit status, it is beneficial to have. It alerts you of possible frauds and errors on your credit report that can hinder you in the long run.

After almost a week of waiting and wondering, I finally called  ACA Recovery and awaited on their decision: whether I can pay the debt monthly or in full or in a settlement. First, let me give you a little back history.

 In March 2006, I was introduced to what would be my last payday loan company, Ten Dollar Payday Loan. Ten Dollar Payday loan was just that: ten dollars for every $100 you borrowed. You were only allowed to borrow $300 on your first try. Ten Dollars per every $100. I thought what a great idea. Get a new payday loan company and eliminate the ones with the higher interest rate. Ten dollars for every one hundred.

What a freakin’ joke.

 First of all, everything that glitters isn’t gold and Ten Dollar Payday (or 10 dollar) is more like cubic zicrion. For one thing, the $10 thing only last for two reborrow periods (two paydays). They will only take out $10 (or $20 or $30) for only two paydays. Then reality kicks in. If you have $300 loan, it will cost you $90 (like my other internet payday loan companies). $10 per $100…what a joke.

Well you know what comes next if you have involved yourself internet payday loans. You reborrow for the first five times and then they start taking their payments in increments of $50 plus the $90 interest. You end up paying these people hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars for one simple amount of money.

$10 for every $100….well you get the point.

In August, when the fine outstanding individuals of debtconsolidationcare.com introduced me to the world of debt consolidation, I decided to first place Rio Resources d/b/a Ten Dollar Payday Loan in consolidation.

After making my initial payment, I contacted my bank and requested a statement of unauthorized debit placed on my account. I really recommend that you ask your bank about this particular form. It is NOT A STOP PAYMENT. With a stop payment, you are charged $29 to stop only one particular payment from one particular company from debiting from your account. However, a statement of unauthorized debit allows you to completely stop the company altogther from debiting any amount from your account. Be aware, banks do not want you to know about this form because they CANNOT CHARGE YOU A FEE TO STOP DEBITS FROM YOUR ACCOUNT.

Believe it or not, I didn’t know about this until I actually contacted my bank. They told me to request this form inside the bank from one of the people that sit at the desk.

Anyway, I placed a stop payment on Rio Resources d/b/a $10 payday loan. A few days later after the payment was rejected, I received a call from a clerk at Rio Resources. I told her that their account had been turned over to debt consolidation company (there are debt consolidation companies who take on payday loans). She said that Rio wanted to be paid in full within 30 days; I told her that would not be possible.

Thirty days later, I receive a letter in the mail from ACA Recovery or as they call themselves, THE LAW OFFICE. My bill, which was for $390 had jumped to astounding $695. I was floored. I immediately contacted my debt consolidation company and they took action.

During this period, I received calls at home and at my place of employment from one of the LAW OFFICE’s representative who told me the company was seeking payment on behalf of Rio Resources. I told him that the account had been turned over to the debt consolidation company, gave him the phone number and left it at that.

Well, he kept calling, and calling, and calling. He left messages on my voice mail, left messages with my grandmother and whoever else he could find.

It wasn’t until a month later, while heading to the gym (after all, the debt consolidation was saving me enough money that I could actually spend my money on things that I could enjoy again), I received a call from the debt consoldiation company. They informed me that even though Rio Resources d/b/a $10 payday loan d/b/a ACA Recovery d/b/a THE LAW OFFICE, had received my proposal and will be accepting my payment each month but that would not stop them from litigating the case. The representative recommended that I contact ACA Recovery myself and try to make arrangements.

At first, I was hestiant. I didn’t want to deal with these companies anymore but I had no other option. So I called them and I spoke with a woman who was very cordial and kind to me. She said that they are trying to work out something whereby, get this, I might be able to settle my debt for lower than what they had. She had to speak with her supervisors first. She said that she would call me back.

So I waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. Being persistent, I decided to call her back. Then we kept missing each other’s calls.

Finally, we reached other today. She said that they were willing to settle my debt for $425. She said that the company will be willing to accept a monthly payment, the same payment that I was sending to my debt consolidation company. She said if I chose to send more, then that would be great. She said if I have any problems, to contact her and she would be able to work something out. I know she is the enemy, but she was very cordial and respectful. She wasn’t pushy and bossy and persistent. She was just calm. We had a pleasant conversation.

However, there was a slight problem. I requested, as I have done with all my PDL’s and the debt consolidation company, she send me a letter explaining our plan for payment. She said the company will not allow her to do that. I wouldn’t agree to the arrangement until it was placed in writing. I explained to her firmly that I intended to pay the debt as promised but I wasn’t going to just take her word for it. I’ve learned that in everyday life, never just trust the word of the person. Put it in writing.

After five minutes of the debating, she said that she would send the letter in the mail stating the debt and how I intended to pay it. I said “As soon as I receive the letter and specifies exactly what we discussed, I will be more than happy to send payments: BY MONEY ORDER.”

Never, ever, give them any account information. Send money orders and keep the receipts.

So I await on her letter. And wait. And wait.

$10 for every $100. What a joke.

In September 2006, I consolidated my payday loans. Next, I contacted my bank and put a stop payment on any further action from the internet payday loans.

Then came the phone calls and the emails. CashnetUSA sent emails and called me up until last week when they received the proposal of payment from the company and their first payment. Rio Resources d/b/a Ten Dollar Payday Loan called me continously and then sent my loan to ACA Recovery who said that they will take the payment but will still proceed with a suit. Cash Central called me yesterday to let me know that they had accepted the proposal and got their first payment and would stop calling me as long as the payments were coming through. United Cash Loans have not called me nor harassed me.

As for the storefronts, I have worked out arrangements with them and will pay them off accordingly. One calls frequently to remind me that my loan is due but they are not bothersome.

There I go again. After years of being out of debt with loans and credit cards, fate has reared its ugly head again six years later. For years, I have been careful with my finances and my credit report. Then I returned home after moving away for three years.

I got a better paying job upon returning, living at home again after living by myself which was suppose to be temporary. However, my grandmother who I live with is getting older and I couldn’t leave her alone in the house. I decided to come home to live with her. Maybe I got too comfortable. Maybe things were too easy. Suddenly, pay day was coming and I didn’t have enough money to pay a bill.

And that’s where it starts. I decided to get one payday loan. I went to one of these storefront ones at home. I borrowed $100 and paid it back for $110. Then something else came up and I went back and borrowed $200 and paid back $240. I was tired of having to stop at some place on payday and pay back money. So then I went on the internet and ran across Quikpayday.com (which is now Cash Central). I borrowed $100 from them for $130. Well, I didn’t realize that on payday that they would only take out the $30 and not the full $130. So I let it went for a few weeks. Then I needed more money, along came CashnetUSA, then United Cash Loans, One Step Cash and Ten Dollar Payday Loan. Within a matter of months, I had three storefront payday loans and five internet loans.

Pay day would come and wow, how quick $900 would be gone. There $90 to Ten Dollar ($300), $90 to One Step, $108 to CashnetUSA, $60 to United Cash Loans and $94 to Cash Central. One pay day, I was so drowing in internet payday loans that I didn’t have enough money to pay storefronts and had to take out loans. By August of this year, I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t have enough money to buy gas, groceries, clothes, nor pay my car insurance. Imagine if I was living in my own place!

Plus, I didn’t think that no one was going through the issues I was going through with but there was. I would see some of the same people at these storefront pay day loans, reborrowing like I was and hiding their faces in shame. And these weren’t just your average low income individuals. Once I saw a woman who was running for a local political office in town. One time, I even saw my co-worker but she didn’t see me. One of the storefronts would call my house the day before my loan was due telling my grandmother that this was a “friendly reminder”.

And there I was getting depressed again. Getting sad again. After fighting to keep up my bills and my life, I was fighting again the same old demon: debt. I felt as if I was going to die again. I hated that same old feeling of rejection and fear. What if someone found out? What if someone knew of my suffering? What if someone saw me at these PDL’s as they are called?

So one day, I was at work trying to figure out a way to be debt free again. I typed in “payday loan help” on Google. After shifting through pages upon pages, I came across this website called “debtconsolidationcare.com”. There they had a forum called “Debt consolidation”. What I saw there was amazing.

There were people who were having the same trouble asking for help with their credit cards and payday loans. There were individuals on there who had been in debt and found a way out and we were sharing their stories. I read for what felt like hours of posts by individuals, men and women, who were sharing their suffering and wanted a way out. They told the stories of how payday loan companies were calling their homes and their employers, threatening litigation and some threatening to sue their employer to get paid. People gave me advice and told me what direction I needed to go into.

Finally, I found solice and a way out.

In May 2000, I went to bankruptcy court. If you have never been to a bankruptcy court creditor’s meeting, let me explain the format.

A creditor’s meeting usually occurs on a Tuesday. You enter into the courthouse (this was pre-September 11, so there wasn’t as much security as there is now) and you head down the hall to this room. In this room, you had about twenty chairs and two tables. One located in front of the room, another one over to the left. The table in the front was the table where the case administrator, or the person who announces the cases, and the Chapter 7 Trustee. The other table was the attorneys who represented either the debtor or the creditor.

You are in this room with other people who sit in the audience, who all are filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. There are also some creditors who probably will stand up and contest against the debtor for their debt. Most of the time the creditors don’t show up but you do have a few show up.

Each person is called up to the table. They call you by your name and they talk to you in front of these other people. They ask you about the debts, which ones you want to keep and which ones you want put in the bankruptcy. NO STUDENT LOANS CAN BE PLACED IN BANKRUPTCY. After about ten minutes, then they sign off and send you on your way. Your attorney may show up (mine did not; never saw the man again). Most of the time, the attorneys sitting at the other table are talking to each other or reading the newspapers or other files. It was just that simplistic.

A few months later, I received my discharged papers. Actually, I was discharged from all of my debt on August 8, 2000.

As for the newspaper public thing, if people saw it, they didn’t say a word to me about it. I even told one of my co-workers and she said that AT LEAST I WAS DEBT FREE. She said that bankruptcy was financial freedom, not financial failure. The only time I ever talk about it is when it appears on my credit report. I have been able to get credit cards, loans and vehicles. I pay more in interest but it is helping to rebuild my credit.

Bankruptcy is on my credit report for ten years. Most of the things that have appeared on my credit report have basically fallen off since then.

In 1993, I was injured in an accident and had received a settlement check for my injuries. Since I was one of the types of who could keep a dollar, I assumed that the $16,000 would always be there. I brought a car, pay off my credit card bill and since I got the money at Christmas, brought everybody Christmas gifts. By the fall of the following year, I was drowning in a sea of debt.

Phone calls began occuring because I wasn’t paying on my bills. I was harassed by phone and by mail. At the age of 19, I was already in debt well over $10,000. Plus, I was in college at the time and I was only getting student loan and pell grant. I was living at home but still was struggling. Add to that I was struggling alone. No one in my family knew of my suffering and my struggles. I was depressed most of the time, angry a lot of the time and alone.

When I was finally able to get a job, it was 1999 and I was drowning further. I would pray, ask God to send me more money to pay off this debt. I was gaining weight, crying constantly and forced to keep this dreaded secret from family and friends. No one knew of my suffering. I didn’t ask for help, like I should have. I just thought that I could handle the problem myself. Pretending and living a lie.

Smiling at Christmas. Crying Christmas night. For five years, I didn’t have any peace in my life and in my heart. I asked God to be released from my debt.

That’s when I decided to file for bankruptcy. March 22, 2000 was the beginning of my independence.

The Day I Filed For Bankruptcy