Consumer complaint received 2017-05-05
Company: TMX Finance LLC
State: FL
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Title loan
Issue: Problem with the payoff process at the end of the loan

Complaint:
On  Sunday ,     XX/XX/XXXX  m y son,   XXXX   XXXX   called and confessed that he had accepted a " predatory '' loan on   XX/XX/XXXX   and he begged me to pay it off.
After reading the loan documents and speaking with the local representative at TitleMax (   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  ,  XXXX , Texas  XXXX  ) on Monday,   XX/XX/XXXX   at   XXXX  . I told my son I would pay off his debt. I again called the local representative and was given the pay-off amount ( {$440.00} in interest and fees plus {$2900.00} in principal ). I also confirmed that this amount was due on  XX/XX/17  and would not change regardless of when it was paid. Therefore, I determined to pay it on or just prior to the due date.
On Friday ,  XX/XX/XXXX   at  XXXX  I again spoke to a local representative to see how I could make payment. I was informed that credit cards or wire transfers were not allowed. I explained that I was located in Florida and preferred to make the payment directly to TitleMax and not through my son. She informed me they would accept a debit card. I asked if I could use my corporate debit and she explained it needed to be a personal account. She said my son needed to be there in person to authorize me to pay off the account. I was good with this and transferred sufficient funds the next week to complete the transaction.
I decided to have my son go a day early " just in case ''. He was at their office today (    X/XX/17    ) about  XXXX  est. H e called and passed the phone to a manager named  XXXX . She explained that I had been misinformed and they would not accept a debit card over the phone. In addition, the payment had to be made from an account with his name even though we have the same last name and he had given me permission in person to pay. They (   XXXX   and  XXXX  - the managers ) suggested I wire funds to him ; however, by that time he might not receive good funds until the next day and I was already suspicious of their operation. Of course, I would also have to pay bank fees, which I was avoiding. It appeared to me they were creating obstacles to the pay off.
I told   XXXX   I intended to report this incident to the CFPB and asked her to provide ( email me ) a written explanation of their pay off policy. She refused, saying they did n't have one. I then asked if she would mind if I recorded our conversation and her description of the policy. She said OK, but then gave the phone back to my son.
So this is a nefarious operation that charges ridiculous fees/interest for loans and THEN makes it difficult to pay the loan in full, even when you try to pay. I believe they do this to trap people. If you find another lender ( private or institutional ) willing to issue a loan on better terms ( say you got a new higher paying job or better credit score ), it is impossible, based on their stated terms, for this loan to be paid by said lender, who would need to receive collateral ( title ) concurrently with disbursement. The borrower is trapped unless they can raise the cash separately. Luckily for my son, I have the cash and did not require title or collateral.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation