Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

Relax and don't panic. It depends on what kind of payday loan this was. There are legitimate payday lenders, Native American tribe lenders and rogue payday lenders.

Here is a link to an article that I wrote: http://www.rachelhunterlaw.com/articles/article_9_Pay_DAY_Lending.html

Since you are in PA, payday loans are governed by 2 PA laws. Payday lenders are legal in PA provided that they are registered in PA. If they are not registered, then they can only collect a maximum of 6% interest and you would not owe any more than that even if you did take out the loan.

If the lender is not registered and wants to collect more interest than that, its not possible for them to sue you because they would be committing a crime and they would not wish to incriminate themselves. So the likelihood of a lawsuit, even if you did borrow the money, is very slim. Whatever you do, do not pay a penny under any circumstances. The payday lender is lying to you so don't believe anything that comes out of their mouth.

It matters not when the loan was taken out but when any type of payment was last If that was in 2009, then the statute of limitations will run next year.

However, you claim that this is not your debt. If you are correct, it either means that you have been the victim of identity theft or fraud or that they have found the wrong debtor who has the same or similar name as you and they are just grasping at straws. If the former, get a copy of your credit report and see if there are strange accounts. If not, you were not the victim of identity theft but someone could have falsely used your name when they applied for the loan. It is unlikely that you would ever find out who perpetrated this.

Either way, the problem with rogue and tribal lenders is that they don't follow US laws in general or the fair debt collection practices act in particular. With overseas lenders, you cannot even find a valid US address to write to them at to tell them to cease and desist calling or to dispute the debt. The attorney general may or may not have more success depending on if there is a valid US address.

If it is a lender that has a valid US address, you can try sending them a dispute letter or contact the attorney general's office and have them send a letter. This will require you to initially talk nice to the lender (don't admit that you owe the debt) to try and get them to indicate who is calling and where you can send the money - you need a physical valid US address. If its an overseas lender, they will insist they can only do Western Union or they will want access to a bank account. Tell them you don't deal that way and hang up in that case. If you can't get valid information, you can file a complaint with the attorney general but if its an overseas lender, nothing can be done. They are beyond the reach of US laws.

The good news is that they will not sue you or see you in court or put you in jail. I suggest having a little fun with them. If you start doing things like answering the phone when they call by saying (Joint Task Force VII - Agent Smith - asking how they got the number) or going to the bathroom, flushing the toilet and holding the phone next to it and saying you can't hear and hanging up - they will quickly stop calling.