Consumer complaint received 2020-05-06
Company: CNG FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: CA
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Installment loan
Issue: Problem when making payments

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I opened an account for an installment loan with Check n ' Go. The loan was for the amount of {$4000.00}. To repay this loan, I agreed to make bi-weekly payments of {$260.00}. The first three payments were made in person at the store by debit card. Afterwards, automatic payments were submitted on my behalf. 

During the week of XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from the store manager. She informed me that an audit was conducted and that I need to come by the store to review my application. I informed the manager that I was traveling for work and vacation and I wasn't sure when I could make it in. She insisted that I come by as soon as possible and I told her that I would try. By the end of the week, several calls were made to my phone telling me to come by the store. I asked the store manager to stop calling, in regard to the application review, and as I stated before I would come by when I could. 

The following week my automatic payment for XX/XX/XXXX was not completed. The store manager called me and said my payment was returned for non-sufficient funds. She told me that I needed to make a debit card payment in the store. I told her this can not be true since funds are in my account. I asked if I could pay over the phone or by another method and I was told no. I was told that I could not use any of Check n ' Go 's payment methods except for in store payment. THIS WAS CLEARLY A TACTIC TO FORCE ME INTO THE STORE. I was on XXXX vacation at the time and couldn't make it to the store until XX/XX/XXXX. 

After arriving at the store, the manager opened a folder with my loan application and said an audit was done and that I need to sign my initials next to changes that were made. I reviewed my loan application and someone made several changes to my application as if they were me. My pay date was changed, someone switched salary to hourly, and my actual wages amount had a question mark. The store manager told me that legally I'm the only one who could make changes to this part of the form since I signed it already. She asked that I initial by the changes. I asked the manager why someone would make these changes without my consent if they know its illegal. She said it's not illegal if I initial by the changes. 

I told her that the changes were incorrect and I would not initial them. She insisted the changes were correct and I was not a salary employee. I showed her my earnings statement and asked what made her believe I wasn't a salary employee. She said she thought that because of my age she assumed I was hourly. I declined to help falsify my records. We now explored why my payment was returned. 

The manager stated again that my payment was returned due to insufficient funds. I showed the manager my bank statement reflecting my balance on the transaction date. This proved that the insufficient funds excuse was not true. However, the store manager insisted this was true and showed me the returned transaction record. After reviewing her form, the actual reason for the failed payment was due to " Account not found ''. The manager created a new excuse and said that I must have changed or closed my account. I opened my banking app on my phone and should her that the account was open and unchanged. As I reviewed the transaction record, I noticed that someone added several zeros to my account number. 

I informed the manager of the discrepancy with my account number and she insisted that I provided that number. I showed her on my loan application, that we just reviewed, I did not include the zero 's. I also reminded her that for months my payments went through without issue. 

No good explanation was provided. It was clear at this point that my account info was changed on purpose. This was to cause my payment not to go through and force me into the store as the manager previously wanted. 

As a result of these awful tactics, it has caused me huge financial harm. My daily balance increased from the forced missed payment creating additional interest that I now owe. I was charged return fees and late fees that were not removed. And due to being behind and owing several payments at once, I was forced into a hole that I can't seem to get out of. This problem is now negatively reporting to the credit bureaus and caused a drop of 20+ points to my credit score. 

I have contacted corporate several times and I have only received blanket emails stating they will look into the issue and forward my complaint to the district manager. To date, these issues have not been resolved. The negative financial impacts are growing by the day. Check n Go is a large business with several locations. This issue could potentially be happening to hundreds of other hard-working people who use their services. Please lend some assistance in this matter.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation