The Cash Store (Canada)
reviews and complaints

L, I took out a loan & I got approved for $400 I didn't have a bank account at that time & I told them that before I took it out & they said that was fine, then I went up there I was working with my job at that time I wasn't working longer enough to file for unemployment & I called them the same day it happened & told them that I lost my job (before I had that job I was selling hair but someone I lost all my money due to my website) they then told me to come in to make one more payment & I will be done I did that I get a call the next 2 weeks after saying I have to come in & do a payment I then said is there some kind of confusion going on because I was told that was my last time I would have to pay from me losing my job, so I borrrowed money from a family member to take money up there for a payment again I did that then they kept calling weeks after weeks now it's going in to everyday now I told them I had to keep borrowing money from people to pay them all the payments I made added up too 400 that I payed I payed on time everytime even with me not having a job I still found a way to pay so one day my aunt looked them up &a me myself also coming to find out they are a scam & are ripping people off taking money out of peoples bank accounts & after people paying them off they are still calling asking for money from them i'm just not trusting nomore i'm really stressed now & in a deep hole because of them being a scam now i'm getting harassing phone calls from different numbers of them saying they corporate office & they threaten that they will have to pay a lot of money to take my car which when I took the loan or I told them that I didn't haven't a bank so they ask did I have a car & I said yeah they said I could use that since I didn't have a bank account at that time

I had been diagnosed on July 13 with Hep C (although I have never been sick a day in my life it was detected during an examination for the Canadian Cancer Foundation research project). I was told at the time of diagnoses that it would be a minimum of 6 months wait for treatment which was fine by me. But on August 23, the specialist informed me that I was approved to begin immediately and that if I didn’t take this opportunity for government funding, it may not be an option in the future. On August 25, 2012 I went into the Cash Store to pick up the paper work for illness insurance. I was informed that I would have to make a payment but that the insurance would cover me for the last payment which would come due in 2 weeks. I paid the specialist the $75 for the completion of the form and dropped off the papers to the Office Manager Elyse within the 5 days after starting treatment. In early September I received a message to call the Yale store, which I did, due to some kind of problem with the dates. When I called the office, I was told not to worry as they had “figured out” the problem. I never heard anything further from the Cash Store.

In late October, almost 2 months after dropping off the papers and being assured all was well, I get a call saying they need more paperwork. By this time I am pretty much bedridden, going out only for doctor appointments and blood transfusions at the hospital. The new paperwork was picked up and again I paid $75 to the specialist, as well supplied the paperwork copies from my employer and from Sun Life Insurance (through my employer) who were covering my treatment/meds costs of $5000 per month. When I dropped these off, the staff then told me that when I made the payment, there was no insurance paid. I ALWAYS take out the insurance and they confirmed this from all of the previous loans (which have been many over the years). They then said I had to pay the money and wait for reimbursement. This is ridiculous! I argued that this was the biggest reason that I had wanted to get everything taken care of as I knew my condition from the Treatment Side Effects would become worse as the treatment went on. The specialist couldn’t understand how there was such a problem. The illness is not why I was off work, but rather the Treatment Side Effects. Trans Global Insurance had declined the coverage due to the diagnoses of Chronic Hep C in July. Since Chronic means something you have for a long time, it is obvious that the Hep C was not the reason for me being off work but rather the TREATMENT SIDE EFFECTS! Direct to the point...THE LOAN WAS TAKEN OUT BEFORE THE TREATMENT BEGAN AND THE INSURANCE IS SOMETHING THAT I ALWAYS PAID SINCE I BEGAN USING THE SERVICE IN 2004.

To cut to the chase, now the staff informed me that it will go to collections unless I can pay at least $20. Being unable to go myself, I sent my son down and while he was paying them, he was told that it wouldn’t even cover the amount of interest that had already accumulated. They already knew that I had been on medical leave since August and that my return to work would not be until approximately April 1. To my dismay I have been informed that they balance of $257.68 will grow immensely by the time I have a pay check the April 14. The outstanding balance will then be almost doubled. Possibly back in September, had I been informed of the situation, I might have been able to do something but now I have no income, am confined to home or hospital, and no return to work in the immediate future. I am informed that I can either allow it to collections or agree to payback practically double the initial balance. Now I face daily calls from the staff wanting to know when I will pay the balance owing (even though I have told them I have no income and no money).

I asked why they even offer the insurance when obviously it has so many loopholes, and was informed that really it works better if you are hospitalized for 48 hours or more, injured as in an accident or laid off from your job (as long as you have been at the job for more than 90 days - which they don't tell you until you try to collect on the insurance.).

I have been dealing with the Cash Store for many years and never had a problem with your company. Regularly I used your services with confidence and even recommended your services to others.

I had been diagnosed on July 13 with Hep C (although I have never been sick a day in my life it was detected during an examination for the Canadian Cancer Foundation research project). I was told at the time of diagnoses that it would be a minimum of 6 months wait for treatment which was fine by me. But on August 23, the specialist informed me that I was approved to begin immediately and that if I didn’t take this opportunity for government funding, it may not be an option in the future. On August 25, 2012 I went into the Cash Store to pick up the paper work for illness insurance. I was informed that I would have to make a payment but that the insurance would cover me for the last payment which would come due in 2 weeks. I paid the specialist the $75 for the completion of the form and dropped off the papers to the Office Manager Elyse within the 5 days after starting treatment. In early September I received a message to call the Yale store, which I did, due to some kind of problem with the dates. When I called the office, I was told not to worry as they had “figured out” the problem. I never heard anything further from the Cash Store.

In late October, almost 2 months after dropping off the papers and being assured all was well, I get a call saying they need more paperwork. By this time I am pretty much bedridden, going out only for doctor appointments and blood transfusions at the hospital. The new paperwork was picked up and again I paid $75 to the specialist, as well supplied the paperwork copies from my employer and from Sun Life Insurance (through my employer) who were covering my treatment/meds costs of $5000 per month. When I dropped these off, the staff then told me that when I made the payment, there was no insurance paid. I ALWAYS take out the insurance and they confirmed this from all of the previous loans (which have been many over the years). They then said I had to pay the money and wait for reimbursement. This is ridiculous! I argued that this was the biggest reason that I had wanted to get everything taken care of as I knew my condition from the Treatment Side Effects would become worse as the treatment went on. The specialist couldn’t understand how there was such a problem. The illness is not why I was off work, but rather the Treatment Side Effects. TransGlobal Insurance had declined the coverage due to the diagnoses of Chronic Hep C in July. Since Chronic means something you have for a long time, it is obvious that the Hep C was not the reason for me being off work but rather the TREATMENT SIDE EFFECTS! Direct to the point...THE LOAN WAS TAKEN OUT BEFORE THE TREATMENT BEGAN AND THE INSURANCE IS SOMETHING THAT I ALWAYS PAID SINCE I BEGAN USING YOUR SERVICE IN 2004.

To cut to the chase, now the staff informed me that it will go to collections unless I can pay at least $20. Being unable to go myself, I sent my son down and while he paying them, he was told that it wouldn’t even cover the amount of interest that had already accumulated. They already knew that I had been on medical leave since August and that my return to work would not be until approximately April 1. To my dismay I have been informed that they balance of $257.68 will grow immensely by the time I have a pay check the April 14. The outstanding balance will then be almost doubled. Possibly back in September, had I been informed of the situation, I might have been able to do something but now I have no income and no return to work in the immediate future. I am informed that I can either allow it to collections or agree to payback practically double the initial balance. What a scam and how misleading! They will ruin my credit or I will pay them double - sounds like extortion to me!

I received a loan from CASH STORE #157 on Aug 23rd. After repaying I noticed several strange anomalies.
1. I was never ever given the option to be paid be paid by anything but their DEBIT card
2. I was never given a contract at time of transaction or ever offered one (people who access these loans are usually desperate for money and in a hurry at this store -front retail type business so are less careful to ask and do not notice )
3. I was never asked if I wanted insurance but it was given and charged with no literature or explanations of any kind what coverage I am receiving
4. I was never given a cardholder agreement and never apprised of the card charges or fees or told how to access the same on the internet (they keep the log-in information to themselves)
5. They will raise your loan amount from what you ask for to a higher amount to cover these high fees which are not advertised (for example on Aug. 23rd I asked for $340.00 and they put loan amount as $396.79 while I could only withdraw 340.00-you cannot access your loan without paying these extra fees so in reality the total loan cost exceeds the allowable) or it is an upfront cost. Without seeing your contract it is easy be oblivious to these extra high fees
6. I was charged to know my balance on the debit card I never wanted
Here are some of the hidden fees not told to customers
29.95 bank fee
17.95 activation fee
3.50 load card
2.95 withdraw cash
All this on top of the borrowing costs of 21.00 per 100 dollars
This business is involved in chicanery and fraud.

In June I got in a bind with some unplanned expenses and I had to pay them right away so I called the Cash store and after verifying my income and so on I got a 2000.00 dollar check and was told the interest rate was reasonable but what I wasn't told about were all the other charges, of course they give me a handful of papers that they didn't go over with me so if I didn't read them then it is my fault for how much I was charged. The unethical if not illegal thing that has me so angry is the checking account that they were taking my payments out became overdrawn and the bank returned the charge unpaid at which point I owed only 720.00 dollars they cashed my check for 2480.00 dollars and I called them and they said I could get my refund of 1660.00 dollars back if I came to the office to pick it up, naturally I held back my anger and went and got my money. I can't believe that it would be allowed legally to cash a check for more than what is owed on a note. I would really like to get some legal answers to that as now I have more charges on my checking account. I borrowed 2000.00 dollars and payed back 5300.00 dollars in less than six months, how is this legal?

I had a horrible experience with the Cash Store - I absolutely regret borrowing from them. I was in a bind in January so I took a pay day loan. I came in late on the day it was due and spoke with Derek to make arrangements. I paid all I had in cash, which was only $28, but we then made arrangements for me to pay on my next 3 pay days. He said my cheque would have already gone to the bank, but that he would be able to catch it so it didn`t bounce - we even discussed how high my NSF`s are at the bank! The NEXT DAY I went to get groceries and I had insufficient funds. I was SO embarrassed! When i got home and checked my account I saw that they took an odd amount from my account... sneaky because even if you put a stop payment on your cheque, it HAS to be for the exact amount, so you can never really make a stop payment on the cheque you have left them, they can still take whatever they want. They caused me to be overdrawn, costing me $42.50 in NSF at the bank, then caused my car insurance to bounce, costing an additional 42.50, plus 30 from my insurance broker. The bank said there was nothing they could do about it except open a new chequing account for me so that I could close the other one once i had brought my balance back up from the NEGATIVE, and they were kind enough to credit me for the NSF to my new account and didn`t charge me for new cheques (YAY TD BANK!) THEN the Cash store took MORE than the amount on the cheque I had given them, on the 14th of February BEFORE my payday causing me ANOTHER NSF! I called them at that time and they basically said too bad, and told me that DEREK was new (which I know was a lie because I had borrowed a small amount at another location more than a month before, and repaid it back at this location, and HE took my payment!) and wasn`t supposed to make the arrangements with me that he did ... How is that MY fault, and why wouldn't you pick up the phone in the two weeks since I had seen him to TELL me that we needed to make alternate arrangements? Now, they certified the cheque I had given them and took my money again on March 31st so I am now unable to pay my rent. I called and spoke with Leo (okay, I yelled mostly) who tried to encourage me to pay the remaining 50ish dollars outstanding and then they could re-lend to me! WHAT?!?!?!?! I told him no, absolutely not, and that I would not be able to pay the 50ish dollars this pay period, especially since I now am not able to pay my rent... guess what I saw on my online account today? A charge from the cash store of 55.12 that has again caused me to be overdrawn and will cause me an additional 42.50 in NSF... WTF? I've spoken with Janet at Heritage Cash Store in Edmonton and she once again is not at all helpful... they will not replace the NSF fess that they caused me and still want 55.12 from me, which is of course going to bounce today.

Please remember, if you have already used the Cash Store and are unable to pay your loan in full, they CAN and WILL process a payment for whatever amount they want to - they have your cheque, which is basically a contract that you have signed and they can make attempts to take money from you over and over again until they get their money! DO NOT USE THE CASH STORE!

the unfortunate thing is, if you are reading this post, you likely already have made this mistake, and I feel for you! :(