Consumer complaint received 2020-01-19
Company: Risecredit, LLC
State: OH
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Payday loan
Issue: Struggling to pay your loan

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I obtained a {$3500.00} loan from Rise Credit through their website, Risecredit.com. I was invited to apply for a larger loan after paying off a smaller loan from them in full. The terms of the loan were confusing, in that I was told I would be able to pay it off sooner and that the payoff would reflect monthly payments being applied both to principal and interest. The loan agreement also stated that my interest rate would not exceed 25 %. Specifically, Rise stated it was acting as a " CSO '' ( whatever that means, they were taking my payments and structured the loan so I don't understand this ). The loan agreement stated that Rise was charging me a fee for " helping you to obtain from an independent third-party lender ( the Lender ) an installment loan with an annual rate of interest not to exceed 25 %. '' My monthly payments were {$590.00}. I made a first payment on XX/XX/XXXX, and a final payment on XX/XX/XXXX. I made a total of 9 payments, totalling {$5300.00}. When I saw the payoff after my last payment in XXXX, Rise claimed I still owed {$3500.00}. The interest rate was much higher than the maximum rate of 25 % as promised in the loan agreement. Also, Rise did not apply any of my payments toward the principal. At the rate I was going, I was never going to pay it off, not even in the time period described. I believe Rise breached the loan agreement based on the above and misrepresented and/or provided loan documents that contained conflicting terms on what the loan was going to cost me.. 

Under the terms of the agreement, I was required to pay Rise via ACH authorization. In the loan paperwork, it states that I have the right to revoke that ACH authorization. So, in XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted my bank and instructed them to stop payment. 

Today, XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from the XXXX County Clerk of Courts located in XXXX Ohio, indicating that they were planning to serve me with papers that included an affidavit for fraudulent conduct. He gave me an affidavit number, stated that it was being filed by " XXXX XXXX XXXX, '' and gave me a telephone number XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX stating if I called them, they could order the paperwork revoked. The telephone I attempted the clerk gave me was for an out-of-state XXXX number. 
I immediately called the XXXX number. A woman answered " Law office. '' She did not identify the name of the office. I asked to speak to an attorney. She told me that she handles calls for several attorneys. She would not give me any names and asked for the affidavit number. I gave her an affidavit number and she connected me with a woman who identified herself as " XXXX. '' XXXX is not an attorney. She stated the attorney was out of the office. She refused to tell me the name of the attorney. She then told me that " they '' filed a criminal complaint against me for revoking the ACH authorization. She stated I broke the law because what I did was like " writing a bad check. '' She then said that I need to give her my telephone number and that the attorney would call me in 30 minutes. She said that she had authority to call the clerk and have the actions " temporarily  dismissed '' but that I would have to pay the attorney {$4500.00} PLUS his attorney fees. In 30 minutes. I asked her for more information. She mentioned that an " arbitration was in process. '' I asked her what she meant by " in process. '' She then told me " Since you are such a smarty pants, forget it '' and said words to the effect that she was going to let them come get me and that I'll need to figure it out on my own. She then hung up on me. I still don't know who this attorney is or what the name of the office is. 
I was terrified that criminal charges were being filed against me. I believe I had every right to revoke the ACH authority. In fact, it states in the loan agreement that " This ACH authorization is a payment mechanism only and does not give us collection rights greater than those otherwise contained in this Contract. This ACH Authorization does not constitute and is not intended to constitute a security interest under Ohio law. " Yet they have threatened me with criminal prosecution, as if I stole something from them. They don't have a security interest in my bank! 
I was so terrified that I went to the Rise website today. My account is still active. In fact, when I signed in, I was immediately greeted with a message on the homescreen that Rise was giving me a payment offer to settle the account. I clicked on the link and was given the option to either pay {$2800.00} within one week ( much better than {$4500.00} plus attorney fees in 30 minutes, but I don't have that much money ), or do 4 monthly installment payments of {$880.00}. I accepted the payment offer of {$880.00} and now have the first payment scheduled to be charged on my debit card on the XXXX. 
I am so upset and stressed. I do not believe I should have to pay them any more money, but I don't want to deal with criminal charges. I feel that Rise coerced me into a payment plan on a debt that I dispute. What's even worse, and a slap in the face, is this ACH language in the repayment confirmation that Rise sent me by email tonight : " This ACH/Debit Card Authorization is subject to the following provisions : ( 1 ) Right to stop payment and procedure for doing so. If you have told us in advance to take payments out of your Bank Account by ACH or Debit Card, you can stop any of these payments. Here 's how : Call us at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX or login to My Account prior to XXXX XXXX.   central time the day before the payment is scheduled to be made. You may also contact your bank. " So, right there, Rise acknowledges that I can contact my bank to stop the payments. Yet, they have threatened me with criminal prosecution for doing before. 
Rise has abused the ACH procedures to their benefit, in what I now see was a fraudulent, unconscionable manner.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation