Alleged Harassment Expensive for Payday Loan Company

Payday Loan company pays big

A payday loan company in Washington is paying a hefty price after customers filed a class-action lawsuit against the company for harassment.

The company settled the lawsuit out of court, which means they do not admit to any wrongdoing on their part. However, the company must fork over a total of $2.5 million to be split among 10,701 plaintiffs.

Allegations

Pacific Financial Holdings Inc. is based in Federal Way, Washington, and owns Loan Ex.  According to The Spokesman-Review newspaper in nearby Spokane, Misty Schleve accused Loan Ex of making harassing phone calls after she was late repaying $200 for a payday loan.

According to Schleve, she got a barrage of phone calls from the company in which they accused her of being a thief and used profanity. She says they also contacted her relatives regarding her debt.

Settlement

The terms of the settlement dictate that the company must pay all customers who may have been subjected to similar treatment. This amounts to every customer who defaulted on payday loans between Aug. 18, 2001, and Aug. 18, 2005.

The suit was filed in 2005, and a county judge approved the settlement this month, on Feb. 18. The company has until May 1 to notify all eligible recipients in the suit.

Negotiation

Pacific Financial and its subsidiaries admit no guilt. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Alleged Harassment Expensive for Payday Loan Company"