Douglas Smith from this number told me I was gonna be wanted fro check fraud with Ace!!!!!!!!
Complaint
kaila
Country: United States
OK...
About 2 weeks ago, I just so happened to go to my parents house to visit. My mom had told me I had a message waiting and said it was not a good one...I listened to it and it was from a Douglas Smith..I dont remember who she said she was with but she represented Ace Cash but was located in Georgia. She left her number...(678)369-4703 and told me to get in touch with her asap because it was about a pending check fraud case agaist me when I got a loan from Ace about 2 years ago for $100 and was unable to pay it back. So the next day, I called her up and she said there was a pending case for check fraud against me and that she had 48 hours to talk to me and make a judgement on what should happen. She said I now owed them $252.00 and said she would have to have my credit card number or a prepaid debit card number as a way of payment. Well, since I dont have a credit card, I gave her my prepaid debit card number...and said that I would put the full amount on the card on the 27th of December. She said ok that was fine and told me to give her a call the day before just to verify that the funds were going to be on the card. She told me that she didnt want to have to press charges, so thats what the courtesy call was about. Well, I have been getting kinda suspisious and whatnot, so I decided to google about whether or not they can really press charges and I have found a bunch of stuff on them from other people who have posted about Ace. And then today, I tried reverse looking up the number and I found that the number was unlisted but it was a landline....Shouldnt places such as who was calling me be listed? Her name was Douglas Smith. What should I do? Believe her and pay the funds so I dont get arrested or ignore her because she might be a scam?
About 2 weeks ago, I just so happened to go to my parents house to visit. My mom had told me I had a message waiting and said it was not a good one...I listened to it and it was from a Douglas Smith..I dont remember who she said she was with but she represented Ace Cash but was located in Georgia. She left her number...(678)369-4703 and told me to get in touch with her asap because it was about a pending check fraud case agaist me when I got a loan from Ace about 2 years ago for $100 and was unable to pay it back. So the next day, I called her up and she said there was a pending case for check fraud against me and that she had 48 hours to talk to me and make a judgement on what should happen. She said I now owed them $252.00 and said she would have to have my credit card number or a prepaid debit card number as a way of payment. Well, since I dont have a credit card, I gave her my prepaid debit card number...and said that I would put the full amount on the card on the 27th of December. She said ok that was fine and told me to give her a call the day before just to verify that the funds were going to be on the card. She told me that she didnt want to have to press charges, so thats what the courtesy call was about. Well, I have been getting kinda suspisious and whatnot, so I decided to google about whether or not they can really press charges and I have found a bunch of stuff on them from other people who have posted about Ace. And then today, I tried reverse looking up the number and I found that the number was unlisted but it was a landline....Shouldnt places such as who was calling me be listed? Her name was Douglas Smith. What should I do? Believe her and pay the funds so I dont get arrested or ignore her because she might be a scam?
Comments
https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/AhqoGLCYYwDpLAjLL5IZ4A
It is unlikely they could have you prosecuted for "check fraud". It is not their decision whether to prosecute anyway, since that is up to a district attorney, and they may use a different definition of "check fraud".
If you gave them a post-dated check as part of a payday loan, they knew it was no good when they accepted it. You took out a loan, and unless you did so intending to not pay it back, you committed no crime. Failing to pay a debt is not a crime, and it is unlikely a district attorney would treat it as "check fraud". Everyone knows payday lenders make loans to high risk people with poor credit who might default, charging high fees and interest to cover their losses. $100 becoming $252 in 2 years is 59% APR.
Assuming you intend to pay back the payday lender, the real problem is ensuring you actually pay what you owe, and to the right party. In many cases, the people calling are not even employees of the original lender, but an independent debt collector, such as the one referenced above. That particular debt collector has a pattern of reports of illegally threatening arrest in connection with collecting on Ace payday loans.
Threatening arrest and prosecution, when they know you haven't committed a crime, is probably a violation of state and federal law even if the original lender makes the threats, but if it is a third party debt collector, it is specifically a violation of FDCPA as well as similar state laws. See the text of the FDCPA on the ftc.gov site.
A debt collector is required to notify you in writing of your right to dispute and request validation of alleged debts be obtained from the original creditor and sent to you, allowing you to determine what you actually owe and to whom.
There have been numerous reports of rogue "debt collectors" with apparent access to old loan information, threatening consumers with arrest to extort payments either on already paid loans, or from the wrong people. The West Virginia Attorney General has a warning on his website.
You might want to contact Ace directly, to detemine what you actually owe and get it in writing, and determine where to send it.
You should also file complaints with FTC, your state AG, and the Georgia AG for the harassment and arrest threats. Some states have actually driven payday lenders out of their states.