The war against payday lending is not over. It has moved to another battlefield.More than a decade after North Carolina enacted tough legislation against predatory payday lending practices — effectively booting such lenders from the state — the more newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is tackling the nationwide problem that lingers in the Old North State today.Since its inception on July 21, 2011, as a result of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the CFPB's short history has been more a litany of the current presidential administration versus congressional Republicans than cooperation. Members of Congress pushing for decentralization and a recess appointment for bureau director will do that. Still, payday lending practices are an issue worthy of mutual attention no matter what agency is taking the lead.That's because this practice typically involves a population vulnerable to such lending; and with interest rates that can reach more than 500 percent annually, the process initiates a cycle of debt that can be impossible to break.North Carolina has been at the forefront of eradicating this epidemic concern, and has banned payday lending in the state since August 2001. The few short-term cash advance lenders still operating in the state are now bound to an annual percentage rate no greater than 36 percent. The concern now is Internet-based lenders who set up shop in another state but do business with North Carolinians under the assumption that such practice is legal under state law. It is not, and North Carolinians are well-advised to beware, and be aware of such lending-based websites.Nationally, the CFPB has entered the fray, but residents of North Carolina have a more local armory. The North Carolina Attorney General regulates this lending activity in the state, and it is here you can find legal rights, options and avenues to make complaints.The lure of short-term, high-interest cash loans is one consumers should avoid, but for those who find themselves mired in this spiral of debt, a call to Raleigh at (919) 716-6400 is a first step away from the cycle.