Short term loaner and debt collector reach settlement with WV Attorney General

In West Virginia, a settlement reached between Government Employment Credit Center and P.D. Recovery will result in the cancelled debts and refunds of more than $300,000, insideARM reports. In 2006, Attorney General Darrell McGraw investigated GECC in response to numerous complaints that the organization offered illegal online short term loans in West Virginia. While GECC agreed to halt its unlawful practices, the organization wouldn’t submit to the Attorney General's request to disclose the details of past loans with its consumers. In West Virginia, the interest rate cap for two-week loans is set at 18 percent. GECC was charging 25 percent to its customers, which compiles to an annual interest rate of 650 percent. GECC sought out P.D. Recovery, a debt collection agency, to acquire funds from defaulted accounts. However, P.D. wasn't licensed to operate in West Virginia and was investigated by the Attorney General as a result. P.D. has since gone out of business. The settlement will cancel the debts and reimburse interest charges of 348 West Virginian clients.