Payday Loans: Learn Your Rights and Responsibilities

Payday loans are a convenient way to quickly acquire needed cash however it is important to educate yourself about your rights and responsibilities before you apply for a payday advance loan. During the repayment period it's also important to understand your responsibilities and the difference between collection and harassment from the loan provider.

Advance payday loans usually allow a person to borrow between one hundred and one thousand dollars unsecured upon the agreement you will repay the loan in lump sums usually direct debited from the borrowers' bank account. Advance payday loans are easy to apply for; where a person only needs to fill out an application online, provide bank details, photo identification and confirm all information in the application is correct with the loan lender.

Your responsibilities about repayment

Once you have reached the repayment period you must repay the loan and the agreed fees or interest of the loan, usually this is by agreed direct debit. If you do not repay the loan amount the lender has the right to contact the person to arrange repayment. Should a direct debit fail or the borrower has unauthorized the direct debit not only can the individual incur fees by their bank but also be in breach of their original loan agreement.

Your rights about repayment

If you have agreed to a payday loan contract you have the right to enquire about a reduced repayment method should you not be able to meet the agreed repayment loan amount. A lender can contact an individual about repayment however lenders must not contact the borrower more than three times a week, must not frighten or make threats towards the borrower. Should this incur the individual has the legal right to report the lender for harassment. A lender can also only contact borrower's between reasonable hours, usually business hours.

What can happen if you refuse to repay an advanced loan

If for any reason a borrower fails or refuses to repay an advanced loan a lender has the right to take the matter to small claims court if a repayment cannot be agreed upon. If the lender takes the matter to small claims the borrower may also be responsible for the lenders legal fees, however in some circumstances the lender may not take the borrower to court if the loan amount is small. If the original loan agreement was for an unsecured loan the lender cannot reposes items such as furniture, protected items under the law, however if the borrower has reliable income the court may garnish wages until the loan amount if repaid in full. If the borrower is not working and reliant upon welfare a court will not force a borrower to sacrifice welfare income as welfare is strictly for living expenses only does not cover debt repayment. If you are reliant upon welfare you can refuse to repay the loan until you are receiving a working income.

Responsibilities of the lender

A lender is responsible to make the terms of the loan agreement clear to the borrower as well as post any legal warnings on the website which can be accessed before applying for a loan. In Australia lender's must include an FTC warning about borrowing disclaimer on the website. When applying for a loan, explore you are applying with a responsible lender that provides a warning about borrowing FTC legislated statement on the website.get now