Consumer complaint received 2023-05-12
Company: Paramount GR Holdings, LLC
State: CO
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Installment loan
Issue: Charged fees or interest you didn't expect

Complaint:
I am writing to file a complaint against Goodleap XXXX XXXX, headquarters located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX. GoodLeap is a financial technology company that specializes in home improvement and solar loans. 

Related to 2 different home improvement loans funded by Goodleap, both loans/houses in Colorado, my complaint concerns the lack of sufficient and clear disclosure of money borrowed, balance owed, finance charges assessed on the monies borrowed, either on the monthly statement or on the online customer portal.

I am illustrating this lack of clarity with my firsthand accounts ending in # XXXX and # XXXX. Goodleap XXXX XXXX does not clearly break down and identify the amount of interest accrued, does not clearly break down and identify how the monthly payment is allocated, and does not clearly define the balance due, which makes it difficult for the consumer to understand the amount of interest charges being assessed, or to properly manage the outstanding loan. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I phoned in several times, asking to speak to different representatives, including managers of the Billing department. The calls are recorded and can referenced. The allocation of payment was explained such that I began accruing interest daily upon the loan being funded, several months ago. It was explained that my payments have first been applied to outstanding interest, with XXXX being applied to principal. This remains true with the first three payments until my payment exceeds the amount of outstanding accumulated interest. Only then will part of the payment be applied to principal. The financial debt is not easy to discern. On the statements it shows confusingly shows payments being made, but the balance due does not change ( neither go up or down ).

Another example of transparency. A paper check for {$3600.00} was snail mailed from XXXX XXXX XXXX to Goodleap because the loan amount was overfunded by Goodleap believing that would be financing more than expected, due to services that were originally considered but not installed by XXXX XXXX. Not having the 3 add-ons installed by the HVAC company reduced the total loan amount due. The HVAC company and I verified today XX/XX/XXXX, in a conference call with Goodleap, that the check was cashed by Goodleap. Check # XXXX cleared on XX/XX/XXXX, issued from XXXX XXXX XXXX to Goodleap. The online Goodleap portal does not reflect this finalized and cashed payment. The online statement does not reflect this payment. This {$3600.00} payment is obscurely reflected on a downloaded statement, but does not directly match up to clearly show a payment of {$3600.00}. The response from Goodleap is that only ACH payments are reflected within the payment history of the online portal. No other activity is reflected on the Customer Finance Portal.

This complaint is not about paying interest. This complaint is also not about the allocation of payment. The contract states : Payment Application. Your payments will be applied in this order : ( 1 ) accrued interest, ( 2 ) most recent unpaid principal to oldest, and ( 3 ) your fees or costs. I understand how minimum and exceeding minimum payments work, to increase or decrease interest owed. This complaint revolves around the unclear picture of the interest amount not being clearly identified and the unclear picture of how payment is allocated from Goodleap to consumer. This lack of transparency and clarity puts the consumer at a disadvantage and can potentially cause harm.

I have included statements per account that show payment amount, which show 100 % of the payment was applied to *interest only*, with no change in balance due ( which is confusing ), and does not identify how much interest was paid. In these examples, XXXX of the payment was applied to principal. I have also included a different creditor 's statement to illustrate the transparency and the resolution/information I expect to be made available by Goodleap. 

I have contacted Goodleap on this matter, and after much frustration and speaking to several representatives who have provided inaccurate information or inadequately explained how payments are allocated, I finally received a verbal response on XX/XX/XXXX, which was recorded by Goodleap. Goodleap indicated that if someone calls in, they can request information on how payments are applied, and the emailed response includes a detailed breakdown of payments applied to principal and interest, but the customer *must call in* to receive this information. The amount borrowed, due, interest charges, any adds/deduction from account, is information should be easily and readily accessible. 

As a customer of Goodleap XXXX XXXX, I have found it frustrating to navigate the company 's payment portal and statements, as the information provided is not transparent or clear. I believe that this lack of disclosure is a violation of consumer protection laws and is potentially harmful to consumers. 

I am filing this complaint with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in hopes that this department can investigate this matter and take appropriate action. 

I would appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and your efforts to ensure that Goodleap XXXX XXXX provides clear and transparent information about finance charges, balance owed, monies borrowed, for its customers. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please contact me, if necessary to gather additional information.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation