For NYS residents who have fallen into a pay day trap

   February 22, 2013

   Re: Letter to all debt collectors operating in the State of New York:

   This notice is to remind all persons and entities collecting debts in New York that they should not seek to collect on illegal, usurious loans made in New York, including payday loans. This includes illegal, usurious payday loans made in New York over the Internet and via phone and mail. In New York, under General Obligations Law § 5-501 and Banking Law § 14-1(1), loans or forbearances under $250,000, made by non-bank lenders or New York chartered- banks, with an interest rate of 16 percent per annum or greater, constitute civil usury and are illegal. Further, under New York Penal Law §§ 190.40-42, loans made in New York with an interest rate of 25 percent per annum or greater constitute criminal usury.

   Payday loans are illegal in New York under both civil and criminal usury statutes. Payday loans are short-term loans, typically an advance on a future paycheck or other income source. When the fees are annualized, the interest rates are extremely high, often as high as 400%, and hence these loans are usurious.

   Subject to the provisions of General Obligations Law § 5-511, loans offered in New York by New York-chartered banks or non-bank lenders, with an interest rate above the statutory maximums, including payday loans, are void and unenforceable. Debt collectors should take note that attempts to collect on debts that are void or unenforceable violate state and federal law. The Department of Financial Services will continue to monitor lenders and debt collectors to protect consumers from usurious lending, including payday lending, through aggressive enforcement of law violations.

   Very truly yours,

   Benjamin M. Lawsky
   Superintendent of Financial Services

I have talked to them. I'm convinced they are a scam outfit. They said I owed money on a payday loan which I paid off. They called two days ago saying it was my last chance. I said let's go to litigation!

I just called and tried to get their fax number so that I could fax a do not call request and formally ask for something in writing. She would not give me the fax number without my name.  This does not seem right at all. There is NO contact information on the webiste.  Has anyone actually talked to them?

Many payday loan consumers live in fear everyday because of unpaid payday loans. The reason why is payday lenders sometimes threaten customers to pay back their payday loan debt within a short deadline or they could face serious consequences if they do not come up with the money on time.

We have heard several threats and here are some of the most commonly used ones:

- We will sue you for check fraud.
- We will have someone arrest you.
- We will make sure you go to jail.

Are these true? Can a payday lender really sue, arrest, or put you in jail for a payday loan? The answer is no. Defaulting on a payday loan is not a crime and cannot result in criminal charges. This means that you cannot be prosecuted, arrested, or put in jail check fraud, breach of contract, or anything else that your payday lender might threaten you with.

Making false threats to collect on a debt is illegal in every state. If your payday lender has threatened you with the statements above, or something similar, it is likely that your payday lender is conducting business illegally and is unlicensed. This is usually the case if you received your payday loan from a company online. 90% of internet payday lenders are unlicensed, which means that they do not have the legal ability to take civil action against you. For this reason, they threaten customers into paying them because they know that if they are not successful on collecting the debt themselves, then there is no other way for them to get their money back. They also cannot take you to court if you live in a state where payday lending is prohibited. The states in which payday lending is not allowed are:

- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- Vermont
- Washington DC
- West Virginia

If you were served papers...they are false...you CANNOT be served papers or go to court over a pay day loan. Of course it all depends if they are legal in your state. I believe Resnor, Klein and Associates are an outlaw company. Shame on them for scamming people ....

Number called saying claim against me and ask for my home mailing address and employer.

I just got served paperwork after ignoring these calls.  FABULOUS.

I hope these idiots know that it is illegal for any debt collector to call anyone other than you, according to the FDCPA.

They called my working Claiming to be a Jonathan Burlow 877-285-5275 called my manager asking for all my information. Call the number back it goes to a Resner Kline and Associates, Look up the website there is no phone number on the website. They said that they would show up to my residence in person. So I am just going to sit back and wait.

What lesson? That stupid attempts to intimidate your intended victims on this site doesn't really work? I don't think you've learned that lesson yet!

I got a call from a locator at my job I figured it was a scam and never called the law firm. Then a week later I was served papers at my home to appear in court in jan ....... lesson learned

I received a threatening call that I would be served at work tomorrow. Threatening, wanted my social security number (last 4 digits). I said serve me, and I'll have an attorney respond.

got a threatning call saying I was going to be served at work...for what???

Same here when i answer  no one on line. They called my office and asked my supervisor to giove me a message and  a claim number.REALLY!!