Has anyone here gone to jail for not paying a payday loan?

The only way you can go to jail is after you are found guilty of fraud in a court of law. They would have to prove you had no intention of paying off the debt. How? Circumstantial. You take out the loan. Shortly thereafter, you close your bank accounts and move to a different address. Change your phone number and do other things to make it difficult to find you. Make false statements on your application (saying you're employed when you just lost your job). That would sound like fraud to me....Show more

You don't go to jail, unless you were deliberately fraudulent (e.g., saying you have a job when you don't, giving fake addresses so you can't be found, etc.) A delinquent loan just fûcks your credit for a loooong period of time....Show more

Not paying a debt is a civil matter, not a criminal matter. You don't go to jail for civil matters.

That being said, there are lots of people convicted of fraud which IS a crime and people do go to jail for that....Show more

We don't have debtors prisons in the USA any longer. You can be sued, you can have your wages garnished, your tax returns taken, your credit trashed, but having debts will not get you incarcerated....Show more

We don't have debtor's prison, but your credit will be dinged and you'll probably be sued....Show more