Consumer complaint received 2023-01-03
Company: Conn's, Inc.
State: OK
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Installment loan
Issue: Struggling to pay your loan

Complaint:
I contacted Conns on or around XX/XX/XXXX ( a few days before my payment was due ) to let them know I had been laid off and I wanted to see if there was a program to help me be able to maintain good standing with them. I advised I would not have the money to pay the $ XXXX monthly payment that month. 

I was told by the call center that they allowed people to defer payments until the end of the loan and this program would enable me to pause payments until XX/XX/XXXX without affecting my standing with Conns or my credit report. 

The only catch was I had to wait until I missed my actual payment and then call. I asked the agent if I would have to pay anything and he again said they would just extend the loan and defer payments. I was really grateful and thought I understood because of the student loan payment deferral processit sounded the same. I was relieved because I told him I didnt have any money to put towards it and didnt want to get behind or have it affect my credit. I was assured once they started the deferral it wouldnt show past due or missed payments. 

So I called back a few times between then and sometime around XX/XX/XXXX at which point I was told you actually have to wait until your bill cycles and youre like 30 days past due not just missed the due date on the bill. So again I waited. 

During that waiting period I received lots of texts and emails and calls ( where no voicemail was left but Id get calls like XXXX times a day ) and information saying I could easily get caught up by making my paymentbut they already knew I was laid off and didnt have money. I was also sick and stressed and trusted I was good because I was told that I would put on the deferral. 

I called a few days after XXXX to make sure it was enough time. At this point the person informs me I am XXXX days past due and owe like $ XXXX and XXXX cant defer a payment without making a payment that was almost the same amount as my missed payment. They requested like {$170.00} something and I told them if I had that amount of money I wouldnt have been behind on my payment anyway. 

I advised I was still unable to find a new job due to the type of work I do not hiring during the holidays. I wasnt given any reason why I wasnt told about the payment. I asked why I was unable to get on the deferral without a payment when I was told I had to be past due. There are no clear answers and XXXX told they will not stop calling me unless I schedule a payment. I agree to make a full payment on XX/XX/XXXX because I know I will be able to do so at that point. They told me it had to be much sooner. 

So I agree to make a of {$30.00} on Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX because I know I will be able to come up with that amount by then. They then ask for which debit card they can draft it from and I tell them I dont know because my accounts are overdrawn and I dont know which one will be easier to get current to give them the money. They said without giving them a card number to draft it from they wont be able to stop calling me. 

So I asked them to notate the account that I would pay {$30.00} on XX/XX/XXXX and promised to call back. 

When I called back today XX/XX/XXXX I was told that I needed to pay almost the full payment amount and I owe $ XXXX dollars even though XXXX still only XXXX something days past due. They tell me to get on the deferment I need to pay like {$180.00}. I asked why it was more than the other day and was not given an answer. 

I told them I was confused why they didnt count my XXXX payment as the start of deferral and asked why I had to get behind in order for them to work with me. I mentioned I had always had a good history with them ( it had been around 16 months since my first payment and I had even paid extra towards my loan ). 

I asked if we could speak with a supervisor to override what the system was asking and they agreed to but came back again saying they couldnt and I needed to essentially make a full payment to get on the deferment. 

XXXX nervous that after the date passed for my XXXX bill they will tack on even more fees. 

Ive advised again and again that I want to make an agreement. Ive lived up to every agreement Ive made in this process and paid the {$30.00} today. I advised I would try to call back and pay {$20.00} on Tuesday the XXXX of XXXX. I was told again that it wasnt enough for them to work with me. 

All of this is radically different to what I understood from my first few calls to their department. It feels like I was tricked into complacency so they could add on late fees etc. I tried to get ahead of this before it became a problem and I was told they couldnt do anything until I was past due and I was told on XXXX different occasions that I wasnt behind enough for them to work with me on a plan and then they changed what they said and told me I would have to make a payment that was like 90 % of what my normal payment was to qualify for the deferment and the fees keep stacking up. 

Now my credit is being affected and XXXX getting non-stop calls and texts and emails that mention theyre willing to work with me but theres no actual offer to work with me to protect my credit. I am stressed to the XXXX and feel like they are spending more money pestering me than they stand to gain from me agreeing to pay their deferral plan entry fee that I wasnt advised of. It doesnt even make smart business sense to go after someone so aggressively when I have been reaching out to them before this became an issue to try and resolve. I dont understand why companies are allowed to make someone become delinquent before they can make an agreement. It feels very predatory to wait until someone is so stressed out they have a hard time processing the rapidly changing information they are given.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation