Dollar Loan Center is hosting a Customer Appreciation Party this Wednesday night, November 17th at the Vault (click for a map) in Sioux Falls, SD.

Doors for this free event open at 7pm. 80’s rockers Warrant & L.A. Guns will be performing.

This is a first come, first serve event. Once the club is full, it’s full.

Dollar Loan Center has been in operation in Sioux Falls area for the past 10 years. The party is being hosted by CEO Chuck Brennan as a “thank you” to all the company’s customers.

Dollar Loan Center is a premier provider of short term loans in 49 locations throughout Nevada, South Dakota and Utah.  Dollar Loan Center is the largest provider of short term credit services in South Dakota. In 2007, Entrepreneur Magazine listed the company among its “Hot 500” Fastest Growing Businesses and Entrepreneurs.”

Dollar Loan Center is kicking off the holiday season by giving to people in need. The companies have partnered to sponsor a Holiday Food Drive benefiting Las Vegas food bank Three Square.
“With the holidays among us and numerous local families that do not have the luxury of a holiday meal, giving back to our community is extremely important to us,” said Charles Brennan, CEO of Dollar Loan Center. “We are pleased to be involved with this important event that we hope will feed thousands of people in our community.”

The Holiday Food Drive kicks off this week and runs through December 15, 2010. During that time, the public can drop off non-perishable food items to any Dollar Loan Center store in Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas. “We have 24 locations in Southern Nevada, so you are never far from a place to drop off your donations,” said Brennan. “Visit the Dollar Loan Center website at http://www.dontbebroke.com to find out which location is nearest you.”

“The holidays are a time when we remember the things that are most important in our lives,” said Brennan. “Now more than ever, we should help those who are not as fortunate in having food on the table every night. Three Square works so diligently to prevent hunger in our community and Dollar Loan Center is proud to be a partner in their efforts.”

“No one in our community should be hungry,” said Julie Murray, President and CEO of Three Square. “With passionate partners like Dollar Loan Center, we can make sure no one has to. When we work together, we don’t just serve food. We serve hope.” Three Square is a non-profit organization located in Las Vegas, Nevada that distributes food through a network of more than 300 non-profit agencies and faith-based organizations throughout the valley.

Visit any Southern Nevada Dollar Loan Center store now through December 15 to drop off non-perishable food items. For more information on drop-off locations, including store hours and directions, visit http://dontbebroke.com.

Dollar Loan Center is a premier provider of short term loans in 49 locations throughout Nevada, South Dakota and Utah. Dollar Loan Center is the largest provider of short term credit services in South Dakota and Clark County (Las Vegas) Nevada. In 2007, Entrepreneur Magazine listed the company among its “Hot 500” Fastest Growing Businesses and Entrepreneurs.” For more information, visit http://www.dontbebroke.com or http://www.chuckbrennan.com.

Be on the alert for scam artists posing as collectors of payday loan debt. The scammers call consumers and threaten them with legal action unless the victims authorize payments from their bank accounts.

These are not your normal debt collection calls. In many cases, these collectors are very aggressive. Here are some of the threats reported:

“…we would have to appear in court at 11:00am tomorrow morning, we would be charged with internet fraud, would be put in jail, could be sentenced to 4 months in prison, etc.”

“…said that if I didn’t pay $1,095.87, the police were going to come to my house and arrest me and take me to jail.”

“…won’t give me company name and began to cuss me out…”

Just to be clear, these are not collectors trying to collect legitimate debts. Most of the complaints involve consumers who either never took out payday loans, or who may have initiated one but never actually secured the loan. In some cases, the “collector” has detailed information about the victim – such as name, address and Social Security number – which makes the debt appear to be real.

Here’s what to do if you get a call like this:

• Ask the collector for  the name and address of the collection agency for which he or she works. Then ask him to send you written information about the debt.  Any legitimate debt collection agency will do this because it’s required under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
• If the caller won’t give you this information, hang up. If a phone number is available through caller ID, report the call on our forums and to your state attorney general and the FTC.
• Don’t let one of these companies scare you into making payments if you’re not sure you owe the debt. In most cases, collectors must first take you to court and get a judgment before they can go after your wages or property. (If you live in Minnesota, though, read this warning.)

By the way, you can’t be arrested simply because you can’t afford to pay a debt. (Warning, though, there are cases where consumers are jailed in connection with debts because they failed to appear in court after a summons was issued.)

The Illinois Attorney General’s office says the bogus debt collectors they’ve heard about use a variety of names, including: Morgan & Associates, Federal Bureau of Investigators, DNR Recovery, DNI Recovery, Legal Accounts Association, Department of Law and Enforcement, and various legitimate pay day lenders’ names.

Steve Torrence will have new fans cheering for him during the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, Oct. 29-31, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“We are pleased that Dollar Loan Center and Dontbebroke.com will be a marketing partner on our Capco Racing/Tuttle Motorsports Top Fuel dragster for their hometown event,” said Torrence, who is eighth in Full Throttle Drag Racing Series points with two races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship.

“I have always enjoyed racing at Las Vegas.  I am looking forward to meeting the Dollar Loan Center employees during race weekend and seeing all the other great Vegas fans that have followed us this year.”

Torrence will also be among the drivers signing autographs Thursday from 6-8 p.m. during the Fanfest Vegas style at the Fremont Street Experience, located at 425 Fremont St.  The Fanfest will be in front of the Third Street concert stage.

“Las Vegas loves racing and we are thrilled to be a partner with Capco Racing/Tuttle Motorsports at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals right here in our hometown,” said Charles Brennan, CEO of Dollar Loan Center. “I look forward to a long and successful relationship with Steve and his team.”

Brennan, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, has been involved in entertainment ventures throughout his career. Prior to his finance career, he founded and operated one of the Midwest’s largest rock concert venues.  He is also a major donor to Opportunity Village, a Las Vegas charity that helps people with intellectual disabilities, and created the “Dollar Loan Center Reading Challenge” at an at-risk Las Vegas elementary school to provide students with new books and music instruments.

Dollar Loan Center is a premier provider of short term signature loans throughout South Dakota, Nevada and Utah.  Dollar Loan Center is the largest provider of short term credit services in South Dakota and Clark County (Las Vegas) Nevada. In 2007, Entrepreneur Magazine listed the company among its “Hot 500” Fastest Growing Businesses and Entrepreneurs.” For more information, visit http://dontbebroke.com.

Repairing one’s credit is not a process that happens quickly. It sometimes takes a lot of time and effort to clear up. However the good news is that you can repair your credit with just a few easy steps.

How do you know if you are in need of credit repair? A good number of economic and credit experts are in agreement that if you have a credit score below 600 it is probably time to start fixing up your credit. Having a credit score lower than 600 usually means you cannot get approved on anything from mortgages to credit cards to personal loans. Start your credit repairs by taking baby steps. The three items listed below will start you in the right direction.

1. Pay your bills on time

One of the fastest ways to boost your credit score is to simply start making your payments on time. When I say on time I mean always pay your bills on or before the due dates. When you make a late payment it can reduce your credit score in the neighborhood of 90 points. That’s a major hit to your credit. Also, that late payment could sit on your credit report for a couple of years before dropping off. Doing this for one to two years without stopping can notably improve your score.

2. Check for inaccuracies

You are allowed to obtain one free credit report every year. Use this to your benefit and pull a report from each of the big three agencies on an annual basis. Comb the information for errors and if you find problems of any kind start the dispute process as outline by each agency immediately. It is a very simple process and making sure everything is correct can help to get rid of a mark that shouldn’t be there in the first place.

3. Be a responsible credit user

Start small. Use and paying off one credit card per month. Assemble a fresh history so that your present and potential creditors see that you can be a dependable client. Showing how responsible you are adds points to your credit score and will make the difference between a bad credit score and a good one.

Credit repair does not mean you have to do a lot of hard work. Just take your credit repair one step at a time and you will see that it can make a huge difference in a short amount of time.