Online loans from Western Sky Financial and Cash Call
My friend David in the State of Florida was going through some serious hardship. So serious that 3 of his vehicles were repossessed and his electricity was turned off. The vehicles were impounded and the cost to take them out was a total of $12,000.00. His wife went into a very depressed time and was in bed for almost 2 weeks straight not wanting to eat because of the situation. He didn't want to see his family go through this situation and saw an advertisement on TV from a company called Western Sky.
They offered him $10,000.00 cash advance with a payment plan of $743.49 a month @ 89% interest rate. David did not have any financial concept or understanding as to what this meant. He was under the impression that his payment of $743.49 was going towards the money he owed. After 3 months of making these payments his wife saw the statement and realized that the balance on the account was increasing tremendously instead of decreasing. She flipped and started to cry because she knew he had gotten himself into a much deeper whole instead of getting them out of hardship. She called me and ask for help.
I informed that she should try investigating the laws in Florida regarding cash-advances because there should a cap on the interest they charging.. I know for a fact that hard-money can only go up as 18% interest in most states.. but I am not familiar with the laws in Florida regarding revolving accounts or cash advances.
When Western Sky contracted David to give him the loan, another 3rd party company by name of Cashcall based out of California is the one that who is actually withdrawing the money out of his account every month. Why do they have two companies I'm not sure. So I dug a little deeper and found that Cashcall is a registered company in the State of California (C2210310 01/28/2001 ACTIVE CASHCALL, INC. NATIONAL REGISTERED AGENTS, INC) but Western Sky is not.
At this point we don't know what to do to protect David's rights as a consumer or who to go to get help. He does intend to pay the money back, but he wants a fair and decent amount to go towards his principal. I think at this point he's getting ripped off. Can you please help David?
How do we act on protecting David's consumer rights and how do we help him avoid getting ripped off?
—Claudia Torres
Short answer
The interest on these online loans is illegal in many states. Western Sky Financial argued it was a tribal lender operating from the Cheyenne River reservation in South Dakota, and that argument has not gone well in the courts. If the payments are not affordable, the realistic options are to pay only toward principal, close the account the drafts come out of, and file a complaint with your state regulator.
Key points on this page
- Western Sky Financial appears to operate from the Cheyenne River reservation in South Dakota. The same operators have ties to several other online loan brands, including Payday Financial, Big Sky Cash, Lakota Cash, Great Sky Finance, Four Seasons Cash and Red Stone Financial.
- The amount and rate of interest these loans charge are illegal in many states. The tribal lender defense raised against state, federal and individual actions does not appear to be going well.
- One option is to keep paying, but only in an amount you can afford, and only up to the principal of the loan.
- Other options are closing the checking account the payments are auto drafted from, and filing a complaint with your state financial regulation office.
- At the time this page was written, Western Sky was not licensed in Florida, and the state of Florida had an active lawsuit against them.
- Expect collection calls and letters from Western Sky, CashCall, or both, if you stop paying. If finances stay tough, or things reach the point of vehicles being impounded and power cut off, it is time to speak with a bankruptcy attorney.
I am sorry to hear of your friend’s predicament with Western Sky Financial and CashCall. Going further into debt with what most of us would consider usurious loans, like those offered over the internet, offer a temporary measure to fill a cash gap, but are more akin to digging a deeper financial hole. But I get the reasons people will treat the loans as a life line.
I have followed some of the different developments with payday lending, offshore online lending, and so called tribal lenders. I have not kept up with recent events in this area of the debt markets. Your question gave me an opportunity to read up on a good 6 months of developments in the courts and elsewhere.
Western Sky Financial Operates in South Dakota
Western Sky Financial appears to be operating from the Cheyenne River reservation in South Dakota. The same people operating Western Sky appear to have ties to several other online loan operations: Payday Financial Big Sky Cash Lakota Cash Great Sky Finance Four Seasons Cash Red Stone Financial.
Why is their location of any importance? The amount and rate of interest Western Sky Financial, and other payday and internet loans charge, are illegal in many states. The argument Western Sky Financial is making in courts around the country (in order to defend court actions brought by state, federal, and individuals), is that they are tribal lenders. Having caught up on some reading as a result of your question, that argument does not appear to be going to well.
Taking out online loans from Western Sky, or any of their other entities, does result in getting money. Anyone taking out this kind of usurious loan is likely doing so because:
- Your credit score is too low to qualify for traditional loans.
- You are maxed out on credit cards.
- Your debt load is too high to get additional credit – even with a good credit score.
- Like your friend Dave, these loans are only considered when there are immediate hardships and expenses to cover.
My point is, you need the money at the time, found a way to get the money to fill the immediate cash void, and use the loan to get by. As screwy as this is to point out when talking about an online loan that will likely be found to be illegal in many instances, Dave got the money and used it to get by. He may regret the decision later, and learn that there were problems with the loan being made to him as a Florida resident, but what to do about the fact that he got something from Western Sky Financial?
How to Deal with Illegal Online Loans
Some options for Dave to consider when compared to how others have talked about handling repaying, or not repaying, Western Sky Financial would include:
- Closing your checking account payments are being auto drafted from.
- Making payments to Western Sky Financial, but only in the amount you can afford, and up to the principal of the loan.
- Contacting the Florida financial regulation office where you should learn that Western Sky Financial is not licensed in Florida, and file a complaint they can investigate: https://www.flofr.com/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?id=4228
There is an active lawsuit filed against Western Sky Financial by the state of Florida.
If your friend stops making payments to Western Sky Financial and closes the bank account any payments may have been being drawn from, he will need to be prepared for some blow back from either Western Sky Financial, or CashCall, or both. Collection calls and letters are to be expected. It is clear from what you shared that he cannot make the payments, and to do so even if he could, would be paying usurious interest to what is likely an illegal lender in Florida.
If it were me in Dave’s shoes, and I had the money in my budget to pay back something toward the loan every month, I would take a businesslike approach and contact Cash Call and Western Sky to let them know I will only be paying xxx.xx amount each month until the principal is paid. If I did not have the money in my budget due to further setbacks, I would wait and see if things turned around financially and then make an effort to pay the principal, or settle with CashCall or Western Sky or less. If finances remain tough, it may be time for Dave to speak with a bankruptcy attorney. If Dave is at a place where vehicles are being impounded, and power cut off, it may be time to consider his options with bankruptcy now, rather than later.
Anyone with questions about Western Sky Financial, Cash Call, or similar type of online loans and payments, is welcome to post in the comments below for feedback.
1/10/14 Updates to this reader question can be found throughout the comments below. A comment posted by Carol contains a link to more detailed information for Florida residents dealing with Delbert Services, Cash Call, and Western Sky loans. I replaced the previous link to the Florida action against these companies with Carol’s.
About Michael BoveeMichael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry. He is available to speak with you about your financial struggle and helps people resolve their debt problems daily.
i received a call from a Roger Stern from San Antonio TX. he told me his client Cash Call had hired him to file 2 charges against me in court. i called cash call and they had no ideal who he was. they told me they had sold my account to a CCI Acquisitions out of Miami Florida. when this Roger Stern called me back i told him that cash call had no ideal who he was. He then changed his story to “he had purchased the debt”. that he was going to sue me. Have you heard of this lawyer? i can not find any record of him or his business ” nationwide Legal Services in San Antonio TX. i do find it hard to believe anybody from Texas would come to California to file a small claims matter but who knows. my first thought was he was a scam. that is why i called cash call in the first place. Any idea who any of these people are and what i can or should do?
CCI Acquisitions is real enough, and thanks for posting about Cash Call selling accounts to CCI.
As far as the debt collector in San Antonio, Roger Stern, and Nationwide Legal Services, I could not turn up anything reliable.
I would encourage you to file debt collection complaints with the CFPB regarding all that you shared. And because debt collection scams have recently targeted people with legitimate past payday and internet loans, read more about what to do if contacted by a debt collection scammer.
I will be curious how CCI responds to any communication the CFPB sends them when investigating your complaint. If you do file, please post an update about how that all progresses.
I just found the call odd. He had a good amount of information. I insisted he send me a letter telling me what his offer was. He did. My first flag went up when there was no formal looking letterhead. my next flag went up when it came from a g-mail account and not a business e-mail. that was when I called cash call to see what I could get from them. they were actually very friendly about it. much better then when I had lost my job and fell behind. I then started searching the web to see if I could find anything on this guy. no information. I think it was a scam but I kept the e-mail and the file he sent me. The sad part is I’ve paid the principle and then some. I will never make this kind of mistake again.
First, next time he calls get his name and full name of company and address. Ask him to send you documentation of the debt. If he cannot provide documentation of a valid debt it is quite possibly a scam .Once you have his Company Name and Address send him a cease and desist letter saying that you do not want him to call you or your relatives and only want information regarding this matter by mail.
Rarely do creditors actually sue and don’t be intimidated into paying. Most courts will only make you pay back any principle due and/or a reasonable interest rate.
This is a start.
Michael…has anyone mentioned anything about Delbert Services being “out of business”? I noticed when i went to their website yesterday to look at my loan and get a printout, the website will not come up anymore. Also, I have not gotten any emails, letters from them but I am now getting emails from Cash Call again. How can they go back and forth and aren’t they required to provide a letter or something to the customer that the handling of their loan has been changed to a new “servicing” company? Also, have you heard anyone being sued for default on the loan by Cash Call? And if they think that their loans are being done legally, why haven’t they sued people? I am in the process of writing a letter to the Texas Department of banking also.
I would only be guessing at the benefits of doing the Delbert Services/Cash call dance. I do suspect the company switching two step is regulatory and compliance related, at least partially.
I have a couple of pages on the site relating to collections in the court that see hundreds of readers a day. I do not see Cash Call lawsuits to collect being posted.
Why don’t they sue? There is more to that decision than surviving challenges from the consumer bar about the legality of the loans, but I suspect that is a large part of the decision in many states.
Please do post an update with any response from the department of banking in Texas.
I am curious as to if any one has heard anything in regards to Texas and a lawsuit being filed? I recently ready that the AG in Ny won the settlement suit against the company for charging outrageous interest as well as deceptive licensing!
I have several questions and Michael feel free to chime in.
has anyone from Texas had any success?
is it true that Delbert services has gone out of business?
how can they go back and forth between Delbert and Cashcall when it comes to making offers on payoffs etc.?
if all these loans are so “legal” why have the not sued anyone?
thanks
In November of 2012 I took out a $2600 installment loan from Western Sky. The loan was transferred to Delbert Services, then too CashCall Inc. I have paid $8,116.17 of the loan with 27 payments remaining if I cannot come up with the payoff amount of $2, 350. After two years I have only paid $150 toward my loan and the ret toward interest. I have filed a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 1-855-411-2372 and the State of Ohio Attorney Generals Office 1-800-282-0515.
The loan is against Ohio Law because it is from an unlicensed provider, under the sum of $5000 as well as over the state cap for interest at 21%.
I cannot find a single class action lawsuit in Ohio. This loan is absolutely crippling and embarrassing. Any further ideas. I have not missed a payment and I still receive phone calls. I also never sign the ACH giving them permission to draw the money from my account yet they do anyways.
What about the state of Illinois? I took out two loans with Cashcall/Western Sky. The first loan was paid back, The second was for $10,000. I paid them $13,687.00 and then made no further payments. Does anyone know the status of the State of Illinois litigation against this company.
Thanks
I had a loan with Western Sky, transferred to Cash Call, then to Delbert. I paid back the principle amount plus a substantial fee beyond that before I cancelled my bank. I sent a cease and desist and reported them to both the FED and my State (Oklahoma) consumer protection group. I did not hear anything from Delbert for a long time, but recently got an email from Cash Call wanting to settle. All of them were not and are not now legal in my state to make online loans. Has anyone had any contact from CAsh Call after all this time?
Update for those of you in Missouri: https://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/61281/
Your attorney general shut down some payday loan operators, got refunds, cancelled out existing loans, and got trade lines deleted from credit reports.
This is great for Missouri!! WHEN is the AG for the State of NJ EVER going to step up and help those in New Jersey… this has been pending with the state for almost 2 years!
I also have a loan that was from western sky. I live in Pennsylvania. Does anyone who I can contact about this lawsuit? I also feel I should not have to pay this back. I took out a loan for 2500 and pay 295.00 each months and have been paying it since 2012. thanks
hey Bernadette—-Im in Pa too–already received settlement for my delbert–ie cashcall–ie western sky loan I haf taken out—send email to [edit: email removed]–I’ll give you contact I used and address to mail to in harrisburg—–Paul J
You can post those details in a comment if you like Paul. I rarely keep email addresses people post in comments.
Can you tell me if Western Sky Financial or Cash Call is legal in the state of Ohio?
How do I check the status of a lawsuit in the U S district in South Dakota?
Try using pacer.gov in order to locate the case information you are looking for.
I have one of these loans I just cant keep up with payments What are my options,Please help I’m in Ohio.Thank you
There is a lawsuit filed in the US DISTRICT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA against PAYDAY FINANCIAL, LLC. … WESTERN SKY… CASH CALL… AND MARTIN A. (BUTCH) WEBB, owner. The states listed in the lawsuit are: TEXAS, MINNESOTA, AND VIRGINIA. It was filed on July 11, 2013. I have yet to check the status of the suit. It states that Western sky, etc. cannot charged interest rates higher than the % allowed by each state for installment loans. 18% in tx.
Maria, where did you find this? Has anyone else had any further success in the state of Texas?
I haven’t heard from any attorney’s I’ve contacted regarding this matter and I don’t know if anything will be resolved. Luckily, I haven’t had any harassing phone calls but I definitely don’t want it to affect my credit. I had no idea there was a suit where Texas was listed… Is there a way to find out the status of this suit?
Thanks Michael. Good read and good to know!
I just got an interesting letter from Delbert today. It stated that my account had gone into charge off as of March 31, 2014 with the amount being $3559.69 and now has been sold to a company CCI acquisitions, LLC. Whom I’ve yet to hear from. What makes this interesting is the fact I didn’t hear from Delbert all through April until May 20th, in the amount of $4970.76 and monthly from then on, with the amount going higher each month. The last one being September 16th, for $6089.25 I thought once an account went into charge off, they couldn’t charge anything else to the account?! I just emailed Tom Irons to see if he was interested in any/ all of the emails from Delbert.
Generally speaking, account charge off does not necessarily mean default interest must stop. That can be governed by contract. I am setting aside any legal question with regard to the debts Delbert deals in when I say that.
I simply do not want to leave folks with the impression that charge off legally stops a debt from ballooning. For more about charged off debts see my article: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/charge-off-and-credit-card-debt-what-it-means-to-you/.
I live in Texas and Ihave a loan with Cashcall, then it became Western Sky, then Delbert. I have been paying for over 2 years and my loan has never decreased. I have a $10,000 loan with a 89% interest rate. So this summer I started filing complaints with any company who would listen: Texas Attorney General’s Office, the Consumer Finance Protection Board, Texas Department of Banking, the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner, Better Business Bureau and The Federal Trade Commission. I sent 3 certified letters (one to each of their locations in Vegas, California, and North Dakota). They sent 2 back unopened/unsigned. The 3rd is still out there somewhere, yet to come back to me. But after I did all of that and did a ton of work on my side, they called and wanted to work out a deal. Wow, a little complaining goes a long way. They dropped what I owe down $7300 with a 30% interest rate. Now most of my payment is going to principal and not all going to interest. I will be making double payments and will hopefully have this paid off this spring. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND GETTING A LOAN WITH THEM AND I WILL HELP ANYONE WHO HAS ONE GET RID OF THEIRS.
I got this email this morning and wanted to share it. There’s also an attached letter as well. But I can’t cut/paste that.
Dear Consumer:
Please see the attached letter issued by the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions. To our knowledge neither Western Sky, Cash Call nor Delbert was/is licensed to make and/or collect consumer loans in Indiana.
We have filed a lawsuit in this matter and will try to seek relief for consumers such as yourself.
Sincerely,
Tom Irons
Office of the Indiana Attorney General
I replied back to Tom Irons to bring to his attention about the latest emails I had gotten from Delbert and to ask what I should do about them and my current complaint. He replied back asking the names of the collectors and said if I get any more emails/letters over the next few weeks, to forward them to him to keep with my current information. He also said if I needed to file complaints against these new collectors, it could be done later on.
It looks like the AG office is really wanting to get as much info on Delbert as possible! So if anyone is getting any new emails from Delbert here in Indiana, let them know about it.
Okay that’s who i had talked to before and who had sent me the original letter that you posted, also regarding this issue. Thankfully I have not gotten any additional contact from Delbert or 3rd party collector. Did you make sure it was off your credit report?
Nikki,
I haven’t done that yet. Not sure I can get a free report again. I had to use a service for potential job that they said was needed. It was free for 7 days then I would’ve been charged. That’s been months ago. I know I can get a free one yearly. Just don’t know if I can get another one.
I think it’s only showing on the Experian reports now i would say submit a dispute anyway based on the old one that you have and if you don’t get a resolution file a complaint on Experian.
TY Nikki. Will do!
I just got this email from Delbert’s complaint Department. Interesting that the other email I got, it says my acct was being handled with CCI Acquisitions and the following email says it’s with a different one. Who do you believe in this twisted game!?
November 12, 2014
VIA U.S. MAIL
TK
15835 Foothill Farms Loop Apt 2113 (old address)
Pflugerville, TX 78660
RE : Loan #27725704
Dear TK,
We are in receipt of your inquiry of November 12, 2014 regarding the above-referenced loan. We
have investigated your concerns and have confirmed that all credit information for this debt has been
reported accurately. In summary, the debt is valid. Enclosed herein is a detailed payment history
for your records.
Please be advised that Cuzco Capital Investment Management, Llc now owns the debt referred
to in your correspondence and your request has been forwarded to it. Please direct all future
correspondence to Cuzco Capital Investment Management, Llc:
Cuzco Capital Investment Management, Llc
111 Great Neck Rd
Suite 306
Great Neck, NY 11021
516-717-4499
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 888-983-3523.
Sincerely,
Complaint Resolution Department
Cc : Cuzco Capital Investment Management, Llc
111 Great Neck Rd
Suite 306
Great Neck, NY 11021
516-717-4499
NOTICE: RESIDENTS OF CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, MINNESOTA,
MAINE, NEVADA, NORTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, AND UTAH,
PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING PAGE FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
This communication is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.
As required by law, you are hereby notified that a negative credit report reflecting on your credit record may
be submitted to a credit reporting agency if you fail to fulfill the terms of your credit obligations.
If anyone has dealt with this company, please let me know. I googled them and the BBB gave them an F rating. Michael, If you can find anything else on them, let me know as well.
Tammy I had gotten a similar notice from another co, but i ignored it i think it’s just their attempt to get payment at this point.
finally read the complaint very interesting findings
I have a loan with Western Sky/ Cashall and was unable to find any info on the lawsuit filed in Indiana.
Hi Kelly B,
Trust me, the court filing is there. Got to the AG website, Click on Indianaconsumer.com and then a list will come up. Look for consumer lawsuits. Then click on ‘search by defendants by first name or number’. Search by year, which is 2013. Scroll down til you see Cash Call. There you will see it all.
I hope this helps.
Hi Tammy thank you so much I found the case, didn’t know the AG office had took action like this, when I spoke with the rep at the office he didn’t bring this up! Hopefully something happens soon!!!!
You are so welcome Nikki! I was actually surprised I found it. I hope by posting about it, that it helps give others an idea what to look for from their own state AG office. Western Sky/Delbert Services needs put in their place big time. So let’s all band together on this and keep helping each other out!!!!
Hi Nikki,
All I know is I was able to find the court filing from the AG’s website. It was filed July 23, 2014; cause # 49D011407JL024699. It is very interesting to look at. It did take a little looking to find it. Look under Consumer lawsuits. Then by Defendant name, which you can then go by name or year. When I couldn’t find it under 2014, I went to 2013 and found it under Cash Call’s name. That’s when I filed my complaints with the AG & CFPB. Also, filed a complaint with Delbert. Which I now learned my acct. is with some other company. Very frustrating!!! So I’m trying to decide if I should call the AG office to let them know this latest development or not.
Any suggestions appreciated!
HI Tammy,
when i spoke with the rep at the AG office a couple of weeks ago to get an update ( i filed my complaint in Feb) since i hadn’t heard anything. He did say that they were hoping that the settlement would possible prevent CashCall/Delbert etc from selling the debt to another collector. I havent talked to him since. If you talk to someone will you please post and let us know if you find any additional information regarding their case against Cash Call.