Consumer complaint received 2019-09-06
Company: COMMUNITY CHOICE FINANCIAL, INC.
State: SC
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Installment loan
Issue: Charged fees or interest you didn't expect

Complaint:
Cash Central/CCFI 's response to my complaint is unacceptable and continues to show the company 's predatory nature. 

Each response from the company seems to allude to my address. Yes, I now live in XXXX XXXX. At the time I was a CC/CCFI customer, I lived in XXXX. Period. End of Story on that. 

The bottom line is XXXX already found CCFI negligent to its customers by steering them into loans in the amount of {$2500.00} SOLELY to collect large amounts of interest. I completely fall into this situation. I was never told I could borrow less than {$2500.00} as a way to keep my interest at 30 %. This is a dishonest tactic usedby CC/CCFI for the sole purpose of collecting outrageous interest. This is predatory, unfair, unethical and blatantly disgusting. 

XXXX settlement against Community Choice Financial involves alleged violations regarding administration of payday loans, which are capped at {$300.00}, and the steering of borrowers into consumer loans of more than {$2500.00} to avoid rate caps. California law limits interest on loans of up to {$2400.00} at between 20 percent and 30 percent, but there is no cap for loans of {$2500.00} and larger. Steering consumers into higher-cost loans to circumvent statutory interest rate caps is abusive, said XXXX XXXX XXXX, commissioner of the Department of Business Oversight. Consumers deserve protection and access to lending markets that are fair, transparent and comply with the law, she said. This 1000 % is what happened to me. I am only seeking what is fair and just. 

Cash Central purposely steered me into this higher-cost loan to be able to circumvent statutory interest rate caps.Had Cash Central kept the loan below {$2500.00}, the rate would have been capped at 20-30 %. In the interest of Cash Centrals profits, I will use 30 % as the amount. On a loan of {$2400.00}, 30 % is {$740.00}. Had I borrowed {$2400.00}, I would have had to repay {$3200.00}. Instead of this honest form of lending, Cash Central steered me into borrowing XXXX XXXX1in fact, I was told that was the only option. If Cash Central could lend me {$2500.00}, it could lend me {$2400.00}. This is deceptive, predatory lending. 

Cash Central, however, took advantage of knowing I was in a financial crisis. I would never be doing business with them if I was not. Cash Central later enticed me into refinancing and getting an additional {$1200.00}. I foolishly agreed. 

I continued to struggle financially due to the trap Cash Central had put me in with the high cost of the loan. By XX/XX/2015, I had paid a total of {$4900.00} for the {$3700.00} I had borrowed. By XX/XX/2015, I had paid a total of {$6300.00} for the {$3700.00} I borrowed. I paid {$2600.00} in fees72 %!!!!! This was {$1500.00} more than the {$1100.00} had the loan been issued at the fair and just rate of 30 %. 
At this point, I was financially drowning and did not know how to break the cycle. Cash Central enticed me with another refinance saying my payments would be lowered. Of course, I needed lower payments so I accepted the offer. As a result, Cash Central deposited {$100.00} in my checking account and my payments dropped to {$200.00}. To keep up with the math, I had now borrowed {$3800.00} and repaid {$6300.00}. On a fair and just 30 % loan of {$3800.00}, the fee would be {$1100.00} meaning once I repaid {$4900.00}, I would be paid in full. 

I paid {$6700.00} for {$3800.00} borrowed. I paid {$2900.00} in fees78 %!!!!!!! 
At this time, I filed a complaintand yes, Cash Central waived the remaining due.Had I paid another {$3400.00}, my total would have been {$9900.00} for {$3800.00} borrowed!!!! {$6000.00} in fees!!! 159 %!!!!!!! 

I find it dispicable that CCFI is trying to sound like you are the hero for waiving the {$3400.00}. You still collected 78 % in intertest from me. Had you been honest and ethical in your lending practices, you would have allowed me to borrow between {$300.00} and {$2400.00} to keep my interest at 30 %. What CCFI did was completely intentional for its profit with no regard to my financial distress. 

I have been trying to meet in the middle on this. I want some type of restitution for having paid 48 % more in interest for borrowing two extra dollars. 
How can you not see the predatory nature of this? How can you not see that this is unethical? How can you not care? 

My seeking a measley restitution of {$1200.00} will not at all hurt CCFI 's bottom line financially, but will go a long way in restoring my sense of fairness. I can not fathom how you sit in an office in Ohio and are able to be ok with doing this to people.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation