Consumer complaint received 2018-06-12
Company: CNG FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: VA
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Personal line of credit
Issue: Problem with the payoff process at the end of the loan

Complaint:
I opened a " line of credit '' with XXXX XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX. My grandmother XXXX XXXX suddenly from XXXX and I took out the " loan '' to travel to Ohio for the funeral. The " line of credit '' consisted of a {$100.00} origination fee and a 273 % interest rate. I never intended for this to be a long term thing. I only borrowed about {$700.00} back in XXXX and I still owe over {$1000.00}. The first year cycle consisted of paying off the " line in credit '' entirely and borrowing the money again the same day. Each month I would have to pay a {$100.00} origination fee to open a new line of credit that consisted of submitting a new application, employment verification and a copy of my bank statements. I didn't understand why a " line of credit '' had to be forced closed and and new " line of credit '' opened each month. I thought a line of credit was open ended. The representative never explained that you could make payments at anytime and withdraw from the line of credit until after I was trapped in a year later. I went in to make a payment in XX/XX/XXXX with my refund to get this line of credit paid off once and for all. The female employee working in the XXXX store location told me that paying off the line of credit would hurt my credit score because it would report negatively to the credit bureau after the balance was paid off. I talked to this employee for at least 30 mins about paying off the balance. The employee told me that it would be best to make a payment but keep the line of credit open to improve my credit rating. This young lady convinced me to make a {$400.00} - {$500.00} payment on the line of credit and to keep it open that day. This was a decision I seriously regret. I went in to make a payment next month only to find out the payment I made was applied to the loan cycle interest. How is it that you make a payment only to them send you a statement a few days later reflecting the available credit was applied to interest charges. I went in to speak with the manager and explained the situation and she apologized for the deceptive credit information the young lady gave me the previous month and told me she was no longer employed with the company. They also informed me at the time that they did away with the {$100.00} origination fee. I asked what would happen each month when I have to make the payments and they didn't give me any additional information. Over the past few months I have noticed the monthly payments have gone up to roughly {$300.00} per month for a {$700.00} loan I've been paying on since XX/XX/XXXX. I asked the store manager about settlement options or long term payment arrangements and they basically told me they don't offer settlements or any other payment arrangements. I feel that XXXX XXXX XXXX  used deceptive tactics to trap me into this loan so that they could continue to pocket my hard earned money. I have been charged over {$1800.00} in interest alone since XX/XX/XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief