What if I cannot repay on time?
Contact us before the due date. Only two charges can ever be added in Ontario: default interest of 2.5% per month, non-compounding, and a $20 dishonoured payment fee.
Call or email us before the due date. It costs nothing to talk to us, it is not held against you, and the options are always better before a payment fails than after.
The only charges that can ever be added
Ontario is unusually strict here, and the list is short:
| Charge | Maximum | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Default interest | 2.5% per month | Non-compounding, on the outstanding principal only |
| Dishonoured or returned payment | $20 | Once per loan, whatever our bank charges us |
That is the complete list. There is no collection fee, no administration fee, no rescheduling fee, no second NSF charge on the same loan, and no compounding — 2.5% per month means 2.5% of the principal each month, never interest charged on interest.
Put numbers on it. On a $500 loan that goes a full month past due, default interest is $12.50. With a single returned payment, the most that can be added is $32.50. If anyone tries to charge you more than that on an Ontario payday loan, they are breaking the law and the Ministry wants to hear about it.
One thing outside our control: your own bank will usually charge you its own NSF fee if a payment is returned, and those are typically far larger than the $20 cap that applies to us. That charge comes from your bank, not from us, and it is the strongest practical reason to tell us in advance rather than let a debit bounce.
What we cannot do
- We cannot roll the loan over. An Ontario lender may not extend or renew a payday loan, and may not lend you money to pay off an existing payday loan with the same lender. The rollover is the mechanism that turns a two-week loan into a two-year problem, and Ontario has simply banned it.
- We cannot charge you to enter an extended payment plan. If this is your third loan with us within 63 days, that plan is your entitlement, at no extra cost. See What is an extended payment plan?
How we can collect, and how we cannot
Collection on a payday loan is regulated down to the hour. We may not call you:
- On a Sunday, except between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm local time
- Before 7:00 am or after 9:00 pm on any other day
- At all on eleven listed holidays
We also may not use threatening or abusive language, misrepresent the situation, or contact your employer other than to confirm your employment. If any lender or collection agency does those things, that is a complaint to the Ministry, and it is worth making.
What actually helps
- Tell us early. Before the debit runs, not after.
- Tell us what you can pay. A partial payment on the due date is better than a returned one, for both of us.
- Check whether the extended payment plan applies. Third loan in 63 days means instalments across at least three pay periods, at no extra charge.
- Do not take another payday loan to cover this one. With us it is prohibited outright. With another lender it is legal and it is still the single worst move available — two repayments, one paycheque.
- Get free advice if the problem is bigger than this loan. A non-profit credit counsellor accredited by Credit Counselling Canada will look at everything you owe, for free or close to it, and will not sell you anything.
Missing a payment on a payday loan is not the end of the world. Letting it go quiet is what makes it worse.
