If you happen to be behind on your payday loans and your checks keep bouncing, you may be worried about facing criminal prosecutions. Some “payday” lenders have been known to call and threaten borrowers to “pay or go to jail.”   As a result many “payday” loan borrowers are terrified by threats of criminal prosecution.  But if you are in this situation, you should not be scared by these “loan shark” threats.

It turns out that in the many states, including the state of Arizona, writing post-dated checks is not within the scope of the bad check laws. If they were in the scope of the “bad checks” laws, then you could be criminally prosecuted.  Fortunately for you, a “payday” lender cannot press any criminal charges against you.

However, a lender can still take you to small claims court to collect your debt as a “delinquent loan.”  This means that you will eventually have to pay off these lenders no matter what.  The good news is that you will usually be allowed to make payment arrangements, depending on the amount you owe.  Therefore, even though you may still be liable to pay for the loan, you will not be liable for criminal charges.

Stephen Trezza – Southern Arizona Bankruptcy