Defrauding customers
Complaint
Vernon Usher III
Country: United States
So by now most folks know that payday loans are never worth the time it takes to get one. Once you get them, you practically cannot get out of them. Zip19 issues payday loans without any sort of "pay-down" schedule. Instead, they will remove the entire loan amount plus the service fees in two equal amounts (basically they take the total, cut it in half and then remove them both at the same time).
The reason for this? The only answer is so that if the funds are not availabe in your account, then they can charge you TWO NSF fees instead of one. On my first time using this company, I experienced this because their website incorrectly displayed the dates on the calendar, thus making me choose an incorrect day for payback of the loan. Ultimately, they waived the fees, so I continued to use them. But my story actually gets better.
On the 17th of June at approximately 11am, I submitted a request to zip19 for a payday loan. I have been using this company for close to 9 months now and they have gotten a substantial amount of money from me. Per their own contract, if you cancel within 24 hours, they are supposed to cancel the contract and that should be that.
On the 18th of June, at 9:36am I submitted a request for cancellation. The date and time stamp on the fax confirms this. Even on their own website, they verified that the date and time stamp exist on the form. However their supervisor stated to me that they did not receive it until after 5pm that night. She stated that even though the fax "may" have come through at 9:30am, that they have to use the date and time that "THEY" (meaning the supervisors) got it. So it was posted to their website at 5:06pm.
Thier customer service is horrible. When waiting for a "supervisor" you are placed on hold for an inordinate amount of time. And even then, once you've spoken to them you are given no recourse of a higher entity.
Basically your only recourse with these companies, once they bare their teeth and show their true colors is to close your bank account and hope for a day in court. Otherwise you're stuck paying for something you didn't need.
The reason for this? The only answer is so that if the funds are not availabe in your account, then they can charge you TWO NSF fees instead of one. On my first time using this company, I experienced this because their website incorrectly displayed the dates on the calendar, thus making me choose an incorrect day for payback of the loan. Ultimately, they waived the fees, so I continued to use them. But my story actually gets better.
On the 17th of June at approximately 11am, I submitted a request to zip19 for a payday loan. I have been using this company for close to 9 months now and they have gotten a substantial amount of money from me. Per their own contract, if you cancel within 24 hours, they are supposed to cancel the contract and that should be that.
On the 18th of June, at 9:36am I submitted a request for cancellation. The date and time stamp on the fax confirms this. Even on their own website, they verified that the date and time stamp exist on the form. However their supervisor stated to me that they did not receive it until after 5pm that night. She stated that even though the fax "may" have come through at 9:30am, that they have to use the date and time that "THEY" (meaning the supervisors) got it. So it was posted to their website at 5:06pm.
Thier customer service is horrible. When waiting for a "supervisor" you are placed on hold for an inordinate amount of time. And even then, once you've spoken to them you are given no recourse of a higher entity.
Basically your only recourse with these companies, once they bare their teeth and show their true colors is to close your bank account and hope for a day in court. Otherwise you're stuck paying for something you didn't need.
Comments
Title 16 - Commercial Practices. CHAPTER I - FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. SUBCHAPTER D - TRADE REGULATION RULES. PART 444 - CREDIT PRACTICES. § 444.2
Unfair credit practices.
...it is an unfair act or practice within the meaning of Section 5 of that Act for a lender or retail installment seller directly or indirectly to take or receive from a consumer an obligation that:
(3) Constitutes or contains an assignment of wages or other earnings unless:
(i) The assignment by its terms is revocable at the will of the debtor, *or*
(ii) The assignment is a payroll deduction plan or preauthorized payment plan, commencing at the time of the transaction, in which the consumer authorizes a series of wage deductions as a method of making *each* payment,
if you did not originally agree to pay back the loan having EACH payment solely from payroll deductions (odds are you did not, it was an ACH), then the assignment by its terms MUST be revocable at the will of the debtor.
Simple as that. Now, can they take you to court and obtain a garnishment? It's possible. Maybe, maybe not... that all depends on what state you live in, besides, maybe you feel it best to go to court over the matter.
My point is an assignment is revokable, a garnishment requires a court order.
That being said, I still stand by my original comments. Zip19 is quite reputable and fair. Actually, I'd even go so far as to say they're the model to which all such lenders should be held accountable. Still, it's important to know your rights in the event you find yourself dealing with a not-so-reputable lender.
"Lenders that allow loan extensions or rollovers represent a sure debt trap as they allow you to accrue a substantial debt. A much better option is responsible payday lending, where you can only apply for an additional loan once the outstanding loan has been paid in full."
who else says this??? It's the TRUTH.
I mean no offense to any of you guys, but this is the model to which ALL payday loan companies should be held. Yes they charge considerable interest - no argument there, but they also know the temptation is great to just kick the can down the road, and isn't that what got our economy into the mess it's in currently? I think so. They proactively cut the serpent off at its head knowing full well they COULD just let us dig ourselves in deeper, watch us close our bank accounts (which is really a bad deal for more than just you and I) and make HUGE profits from doing so. That IS responsible lending. I don't pretend to know the circumstances of your complaints (they might be valid) - but if you look around this forum you'll see people owing $5,000 or more on $1,000 debt... all because unethical, unlicensed, and illegal pay day lenders enabled them to... Zip19 is simply not one of those companies.
Here, the way I see it - it's like that drunk friend who complains and moans for not letting them have one more shot, or for taking their keys away when they "say" they're OK to drive... if you're taking out payday loans, you're NOT OK. Period. You may not realize it, but you're not. Zip19 is that company that's going to tell that friend "NO" even when they're not trying to hear it - because it's best for all involved... in the long run. They don't, in the first place, offer anyone loans that can't be paid back. We're talking $300 max to start. The link above is their policy statement, and I know times are tough, but that's their stance - take it or leave it.
PS I have no affiliation with Zip19... I do not work for them... nor have any vested interest in their company, I'm stating this purely from experience as a debtor.
Of course, I'm probably having no probelms with them because I ACTUALLY PAY THEM BACK! From my perspective, if you go into this intending to stiff the company, you can't complain if you have issues with them afterwards. I know everyone will think I'm a shill because I'm defending them. LauraS on here probably is a shill, but she's not wrong. Don't take loans you can't pay back.
Also, I noticed one time when I tried to find them using goolge as opposed to typing their address right in to my browser that there are a LOT of different companies using the name Zip19. There's the one I use which is www.zip19.com (that I like), and then there is zip19.com.com and myzip19.com and a slew of others, so we might all be discussing completely different companies.