4. Complain if you have a problem with the payday lender

Payday lenders have to follow certain rules. For example they:

• can’t charge fees that are more than $15 for every $100 you borrow
• can’t charge interest on overdue loans that is more than 2.5% per month
• can’t lend you more than 50% of your net monthly pay per loan
• can’t ask you for collateral or a guarantor
• can’t offer you other services when you apply for a loan, like buying your gold or jewellery, or cashing cheques
• can’t give you a new loan until the first one is paid off
• can’t contact you more than 3 times a week or on statutory holidays
• can’t take money from your paycheque to pay the loan

And payday lenders must:

• put your loan agreement in writing
• say in your loan agreement that you have 2 business days to cancel the contract if you change your mind
• give you a copy of the loan agreement as soon as you sign it
• give you the money right away if you signed the agreement at their store
• make the money available to you within 1 hour if you made the agreement online or over the phone

If you think your payday lender hasn’t followed one or more of these rules, you can file a complaint with the OntarioMinistry of Government and Consumer Services.

Lenders who haven’t followed the rules might get a warning or receive a fine. They can even lose their licence.

You can also ask the Ministry to investigate and to prosecute the lender under the Payday Loans Act. This has all the rulespayday lenders must follow. If the lender is convicted, they might be ordered to repay some of your money to you. They might also have to pay a fine, or even be sent to jail.