Consumer complaint received 2018-03-27
Company: Big Picture Loans, LLC
State: MD
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Payday loan
Issue: Struggling to pay your loan

Complaint:
Attn : Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Re : Big Picture Loans I am an XXXX XXXX at our local XXXX XXXX. I am writing to complain about Big Picture Loans a payday loan company. My mistake was that I took a loan of {$1500.00} from the company ( in XX/XX/XXXX ), which I planned to pay off within a month. Unfortunately, I was hit by a severe financial set back - some of the XXXX I was scheduled to XXXX this semester were cancelled and my income slumped significantly. 

My intention was to pay back the loan within one month using half of the income I would make from XXXX these XXXX. But because these XXXX were cancelled, I could no longer afford the minimum payment that Big Picture Loans charges me every two weeks. I immediately contacted Big Picture Loans customer service via both email and phone and explained my situation to them. I then requested for a payment plan of {$50.00} a month till my loan with them is paid off. I also implored them to discontinue charging further interest to my loan since I could hardly afford to pay the interest I can afford to pay {$50.00} per month but if they continue to charge interest on it, my monthly {$50.00} payment will not make a dent on the loan, which means that it can balloon to a high level that I will never be able to pay off. The person I spoke to when I called Big Picture Loan emailed me a hardship form to complete. I completed the form, explaining my financial situation to the company. They responded but told me that my request is denied. Heres a copy of their response to me : Bigpictureloans Support <XXXX> XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX Dear XXX Thank you for your communication. At this time, we are unable to provide a payment plan. However, you can make your next scheduled payment for a lower amount. 
There are few things you should keep in mind before we proceed with your request. 
The finance charges of your loan are accrued daily. When you pay less than the scheduled payment, you will pay additional finance charges because the unpaid principal amount remains the same for a longer period than the one in the Payment Schedule of your loan agreement and you may also incur late fees. 
Paying a lower amount will not alter your original scheduled payment amounts or dates as set forth in your loan agreement. Your final payment will include the additional finance charges accrued since those are applied to the end of your loan agreement. Your following payments will first be applied to any past due balance, then to any fees and finally to the current due amount. 
To bring your account current, you will have to make additional payments which can be done at any time. 

*Your next payment is due on XX/XX/XXXX for {$260.00}. 

The address to send your payments is as follows : Big Picture Loans XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX, MI XXXX Thank you, Customer Support Big Picture Loans XXXX At the moment I can hardly afford to pay my rent and other bills. Please, I need your help in this matter. Is there a way you can convince Big Picture Loans to approve my request? I am eagerly awaiting your response. 

Sincerely,

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation