STATE of MARYLAND READY to FIGHT PAYDAY LOAN LENDERS

After numerous complaints from Maryland payday loan victims, The State of Maryland is ready to fight payday loan lenders in court. The Maryland State Commissioner of Financial Regulation's Enforcement Unit has been investigating MTE Financial Services aka 500 Fast Cash, aka United Cash Loans, aka NoFaxingPaydayLoan, aka Ameriloan, among the few aliases that are known, and it's been determined that MTE Financial Services have been conducting business illegally.

The Enforcement Unit has tracked the owner back to an Oklahoma Indian reservation, which in itself will pose problems in enforcing Maryland State law. It looks as though MTE Financial is a tribal entity and thus immune from law under the doctrine of tribal Sovereign immunity; in other words, in most cases state laws cannot be enforced upon them. However, the investigation is in its infancy stage.

MTE financial services have been sued in numerous courts in several states because of their lending practices and non-compliance with state laws. The West Virginia Attorney General's office and Colorado State have both sued MTE, however, when you have a company that has no brick and mortar storefront and relatively no business license anywhere, what repercussions can you expect? You'll never see the owners show up in court, the owners never answer any court subpoena, and they basically dismiss any judgments.

Any Payday loan lenders doing business in Maryland are required to register with the Commissioner of Financial Regulation and be in compliance with the State of Maryland before lending or collecting any money. Nonetheless, these companies have sought to evade Maryland law by making usurious payday loans to consumers in their homes over the Internet via interactive web sites.

WHAT CAN MARYLAND PAYDAY LOAN VICTIMS DO?

If the Pay Day loan lenders are continuously calling you, tell them they are acting illegally; Call your telephone company and tell them you are receiving harassing calls from an illegal company AND tell them you want the number blocked or investigated and give them the telephone number to the Maryland Office of Commissioner Financial Regulation's Enforcement Unit, 410-230-6073.

Maryland is taking steps in enforcing laws against these companies that believe they are above the law simply because they operate over the Internet.

While pay day loans can provide people access to emergency money when they have no other resources, they also take advantage of typical customers who are low-income and creates a cycle of borrowing money that sinks them deeper into a spiral of living from paycheck to paycheck.

Avoiding the Pay Day Loan Trap

If you find yourself behind in bills, before contacting a Pay Day Loan lender first find out if you are able to get an extension on your bills.

For those individuals in Maryland who must refer to a payday loan, the best advice is to shop around and check and see if the payday loan lender is a registered business in Maryland.