You can get tons of info here:

http://www.sse.gov.on.ca/mcs/en/Pages/Payday_Loans.aspx

If you want the piranhas to go away people should not feed them and they will close down.

Saving emergency funds has always been a priority for me also, but it's really hard to save. With prices going up on just about everything we use on a day to day basis, it is no wonder that our buying power is shrinking and everyone is looking for ways to cut back on expenses.Our economy has become fluid, meaning money flows like water. We were taught to spend today and worry about it tomorrow. The problem with that is that it works for some people, but not for everybody. Even people with good jobs and businesses are feeling the pinch, and they are struggling to keep their heads above water. The truth is, it is hard to save money, but we must try. anyway thanks for your suggestions...although it has been told to me several time by many people but i like your way..

hi sabastian... I guess what i'm saying is this... is there anyway you can create emergency funds so that you're not continuously on the edge financially?

Is there a way that you can take some money out of your current spending and sock it away for a rainy day?

IMO... payday loans service people who aren't well planned... people who never take the time to plan and save money...

Is it at all possible for you to squeeze some money out of your current budget and then lock it away?

you can't go away from the fact that payday loans are the cheapest temporary solution to the problem..may be you know people who have enough savings or other sources they can borrow from to cover situations where they need extra cash to cover bills, but i don't..of course bank offers some sort of loan, but it takes a few days to approve the applications and that wouldn't help.. and many who use payday loans are people who can barely afford to eat, but there’s also another set of people who use them once or twice a year for true emergencies, and pay them off within the 2 week period...i agree that their rate of interests are very high But again, if someone is in an emergency situation, the rate of interest won't really matter much...

stuart,

can you give some examples about how much the average payday loan is... and the amount of interest/fees that are involved?

who are the people that are using these loans? why are they using these payday loans?

I completely agree with JTrenton. PayDay loans must only be taken incase of any emergency where you really need them because of their high cost

See section 8(1)(d)(vi) of the Consumer Reporting Act of Ontario. With Deanna Natale's (old?) connection to the Ministry of Consumer Protection and Brian Pitkin, the Registrar of Collection Agencies in Ontario, being an ex bailiff officer and speaker at creditor banquets, maybe we should call it the Creditor Protection Act.

It pretty well entitles anyone who has paid their credit bureau dues to acess and submit whatever info they want about you. Remember, credit reporting is big business. See my Reuters post about how the CEO of Equifax USA, Robert F. Smith, "earns" over $8,000,000 a year and the head of Equifax Canada used to be the head of iQor, Inc formerly CBCL - Canadian Bonded Credit Limited - Now Iqor Collection Agency Collections.

Sections 13 and 14 of the Act deal with how to tie them up in tribunal hearings, a tactic that will only work under certain circumstances.

Often, the best way to correct wrong information on your credit report is to harangue the creditor until they fix it. Every delinquent debt involves 2 separate problems (or 3 if you include the moral): (1) potential legal and (2) potential negative credit reporting consequences. In your case, I was 99% certain they wouldn't take you to court, but uncertain whether they report to the bureaus. OK, apparently, they do as a means of blackmailing people into paying.

With regard to the first, legally, there isn't much to worry about, but the second (negative credit reporting) can be more troublesome. The problem is this: due to outrageous and slack rules (mis)governing payday loan companies, you probably still owe them some money, legally. The only restriction on these shysters is the 60% annual interest rate limit, so called the "usury cap.

The problem is that legally, you still have an outstanding debt with them. And doubtlessly, they've ballooned the previously inflated amount even more by now. If you decide to dispute, you'll have to decide on what basis.

Will you dispute the amount they claim you owe or that you even owe anything? You need to decide because the 2 bureaus will call the contact number or person they deal with at Cash Money. Their rep will give them some account info concerning payment dates and amounts and the bureaus will create a written file with a dedicated dispute file number. Further, no matter what rubbish, the creditor reports, the bureaus will accept it as solemn truth and likely send you back a boilerplate notice that the information on your file was verified to be accurate as is. Calling "Dave" at Cash Money? That's supposed to be verification?

And such nonsense is just what the bureaus get away with despite officious denials to the contrary. The reason is that it would cost them too much to properly investigate a dispute. Disputes for a credit bureau are nuisances and an unfortunate cost of doing business. Something that generates no profit needs to be gotten rid of asap as cheaply as possible. Anybody disagree?

That's the practical or logistical problem incurred when you don't have any account statements or other evidence to back you up. When that happens, often, all is still not lost. The debtor can and should harangue the creditor to correct the information that they've sent to the bureaus. Initially, they'll will get rid of you, but as Total Credit Recovery's motto states "persistence wears down resistance." If you persist (be a pest) long enough and forcefully enough with any creditor, it's amazing the results that sometimes obtain, as any collection agent will attest.

I wish I could be more exact, but this stuff, like stock investing, is as much art and psychology as science. Unfortunately, unlike the US, we don't have the legal recourses in Canada that blogger "Tankboot2" (Duane "Ahab" Davis ) was parading last month to tie credit bureaus and creditors up in court. The Consumer Protection Act of Ontario (which ought to be called The Creditor Protection Act of Ontario) is all we have to work with. And when one doesn't have much to work with, one must be resourceful.

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http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90c33_e.htm#BK10

To whom credit reports on individuals may be given

8. (1) No consumer reporting agency and no officer or employee thereof shall knowingly furnish any information from the files of the consumer reporting agency except,

(a) in response to the order of a court having jurisdiction to issue such an order;

(b) in accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom the information relates;

(c) in response to an order or direction made under this Act; or

(d) in a consumer report given to a person who it has reason to believe,

(i) intends to use the information in connection with the extension of credit to or the purchase or collection of a debt of the consumer to whom the information pertains,

(ii) intends to use the information in connection with the entering into or renewal of a tenancy agreement,

(iii) intends to use the information for employment purposes,

(iv) intends to use the information in connection with the underwriting of insurance involving the consumer,

(v) intends to use the information to determine the consumer’s eligibility for any matter under a statute or regulation where the information is relevant to the requirement prescribed by law,

(vi) otherwise has a direct business need for the information in connection with a business or credit transaction involving the consumer, or

(vii) intends to use the information for the purpose of up-dating the information in a consumer report previously given to the person for one of the reasons referred to in subclauses (i) to (vi). R.S.O. 1990, c. C.33, s. 8 (1); 1997, c. 24, s. 210.

Idem

Ray

I am sending in my dispute form to Equifax as we speak. We'll see how far I get. I'll have to see if it's on Transunion too and dispute it with them if it's there. It's just frustrating because any company can pretty much go into someone's credit bureau and put anything they want there. Then when I want my own credit report sent to me I have to send them all this proof(identification) that I am the person I say I am.

I looked over the agreement that I signed with Cash Money and from what I see no where does it say that I authorize them(or someone working on their behalf) to access my credit bureau report(s).

Just to let you know I live in Ontario.

I wasn't sure if a lowlifes like Cash Money report to the bureaus, but it seems they do in order get back at people who don't keep on forking over money. They know what a negative impact having an outfit like themselves will have on credit reports. It's the easiest way for them to try to gain leverage when collecting a debt.

Yes, as I said, anybody that's a member of the credit bureau can enter any data they want about a client. And all we can do in this country is dispute the item's validity to the credit bureau in their dispute forms.

Anyone, or their agent, with a "valid business reason" (or one that is claimed to be) can acess anyone's credit report under the rules of the various provincial consumer reporting acts. See the [non]privacy quiz thread.

Disputes, although they sound like they favour the client, because of the reverse onus requirement on the creditor to verify the information on the report, aren't necessarily that way. What happens when you dispute an item is that the bureau calls the creditor at a prearranged contact number to have them fax back the details of the account you dispute. But all that occurs then is that the creditor sends the same details back that you were disputing in the first place.

The bureau puts that in a file along with an assigned dispute file reference number. They do that to make it sound official and appear they are following the consumer reporting acts. However, they won't send you a copy of what they received or what investigation they made under the lame excuse that someone at your home might open the correspondence and violate you privacy. Er right. Then, why, by law, are they required to send out free copies of your credit report via regular mail to you on your request in the first place?

The real reason is to save money because it costs a lot to properly investigate disputed credit reports, and they have to pass that cost back to the creditors. Often, the most they will do is the perfunctory minimum required by law and discuss with you over the phone how the information was verified by them with the creditor - and so will remain unchanged on your report.

As stated, in effect, all that's happened is the creditor has resent the bureau the same erroneous information that was there in the first place. The bureau will shunt responsibility by telling you to take it up with the creditor and have the creditor/collection agency call back the bureau with the amended information. Good luck with that.

That's why, if you have old account statements or some such thing to present to the bureau with the right information, things become a lot easier. Then they will have little choice but to make the correction or make a serious effort with the creditor to corroborate the info.

I don't know what province you are in but, generally, there is the consumer option of putting in a complaint about the credit bureau reporting disputing items and requesting a tribunal hearing with the Ministry. This is very time consuming for both the bureau and the creditors and so they abhor it when somone resorts to this. But you will have to have at least some half decent reason for requesting such a thing.

Ray