Legal Question in Criminal Law in Alabama

Early last year I was in a really desparate financial situation so I starting searching online for a cash advance company. I found one (U.S. Cash Advance) that was going to loan me something like $350 or $400. I agreed to take the loan at first, but then after I got to looking into it some more, that amount was not going to help me and I felt like I would be in worse shape trying to pay it back. So I called the number I had for them and told them I wanted to cancel the loan. They said that I could and there was a form that I had to sign and fax to them saying I wanted to cancel the loan. I thought it was done with at that time and it's my pure stupidity, but I didn't keep the form. To my knowledge, I never heard from them again. Now, over the past few months, I have been getting phone calls from the so-called "Federal Legislative Department" saying this company was pressing criminal charges against me for 1) Violation of Federal Banking Regulations, 2) Collateral Check Fraud, and 3) Theft by Deception. One of the phone calls I received, they told me the date that this money was supposedly deposited into my account so I pulled my banking records and of course, I didn't find any deposit near that date for that amount. Unfortunately, I threw the paper away that I had written this information down on. Today, I got another phone call and they refused to give me the date. I tried to explain to the man that I did not ever receive this loan and had tried to cancel it. He just kept arguing with me and then hung up on me. So I called back and continued to get nowhere with these people, they just keep asking for my attorney's information and threatening me that I am going to loose my job. They have my name, my email address, my social security number, my bank account number but say that they cannot send me anything in writing about this situation. Do I need to hire an attorney to fight this? I don't have any extra money laying around and can't afford to spend a lot of money fighting something that didn't happen, but I can't let this continue fearing that they really will press charges against me. Please help me! What should I do?


Asked on 3/16/10, 10:30 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Kreitlein Robert Kreitlein, Attorney at Law

Get as much information from these folks as you can. Then find a local attorney and present all this information.

It sounds like what these folks are doing is attempting to collect a debt illegally. They're just trying to scare you into paying them money. You cannot be put in jail for failing to pay back a loan, even assuming you received the money. It's a civil matter.

You might be able to sue these people for violating the Fair Debt Collection and Practices Act (FDCPA). I would speak to a local attorney and present everything you have on this so that attorney can make an informed decision.

This answer is based on the limited information given and is for general information purposes only. �Legal advice� is informed advice based on specific facts and knowledge of the complete situation. Therefore, this does not constitute �legal advice�, no attorney-client relationship is created and it should not be regarded as a substitute for direct consultation with an attorney based on the specific details of your situation.

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Answered on 3/21/10, 2:13 pm


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