Consumer complaint received 2022-09-19
Company: CENTRAL BANCOMPANY, INC
State: MO
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Installment loan
Issue: Getting the loan

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Central Bank XXXX XXXX XXXX to find out about getting a commercial vehicle loan for my business. After being transferred, I ended up speaking with a representative. I told him I wanted to purchase a XXXX XXXX for a trucking company. The person on the phone responded that this is OK, and referred me to the general vehicle loan application page. He told me to just apply there and " type in on the side '' the fact that you wanted a XXXX XXXX XXXX, along with your FEIN number and it will be processed as a commercial loan. Well, I immediately completed the application, which was set up as a personal vehicle application with no place to indicate it was for a commercial loan. Almost immediately, I received an email from my credit reporting agency indicating that an inquiry had been indicated on my file. Later that same day, I received an email from XXXX XXXX indicating that I had applied wrongly as a consumer, instead or a commercial account and asked if I wanted my file to be sent to the commercial loan department. I indicated yes and on Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from XXXX XXXX indicated he was one of the Commercial Loan Officers and that he deals with commercial vehicle lending for the bank and asked me to call him to chat. 

XXXX XXXX and I spoke on that same afternoon. XXXX was impressed at my credit score, and indicated that they normally don't pull credit scores for commercial loans immediately, as usually there is a discussion between the bank and the party trying to obtain the loan. XXXX asked me did I want to know what my score was. I replied that I subscribe to the credit reporting companies and I already received a message about an inquiry. However, he was eager to tell me my credit score, so I agreed to let him tell me. XXXX indicated it was " XXXX ''. He indicated that this is a really good score. He asked me a few other questions about the business, which I answered. He asked me if I had any financial projections and I advised that I do have rough projections. He then stated that he does not see why the bank would not be able to help me, as I have a strong credit score and the amount of financing of {$45000.00} was feasible. XXXX indicated that they are a smaller bank, and they make their decisions " in house '' so he felt like there was a good chance for approval. 

Around XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX indicating the loan was denied and the reason indicated was " value or type of loan not sufficient ''. After I received this letter, I called the author of the letter, XXXX XXXX, and also my point of contact XXXX XXXX, and was unable to reach them. I left each of them at least 1 voice message. On XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke with XXXX who explained that they were " uninterested in loaning the {$45000.00} at this time ''. I asked XXXX if this was a denial, then what is the reason. He indicated that not being interested is not the same as denied, and the reason why they were no longer interested was the fact that they had a few similar loans default in the last few weeks. I asked XXXX if the profiles were just like mines, as I have good credit, and a management plan for the business along with the collateral being the XXXX truck itself. XXXX went on to say, they are not a " collateral based '' bank. They are financially driven, meaning they are more concerned with cash flow, and as a start up business, we do not have adequate cash flow. I advised XXXX that it was stated from the very beginning that I was a startup business and did not have cash flow. XXXX stated they only wanted businesses with 2 years of business income, now that they've had a couple of defaults in the last couple of weeks since I applied. 

I told XXXX that I was disappointed that these truck loans have defaulted in the last few weeks and it has affected my ability to get a loan approved. XXXX refused to put this in writing but indicated he would refer me to a local XXXX XXXX XXXX for assistance. Personally, I find it hard to believe that any trucking company has defaulted because the trucking industry is booming right now, and single owner operators of box trucks are earning over {$100000.00} per year. I am alleging that I have been a victim of disparate treatment in financing based on my XXXX. I believe XXXX was a factor in " Not being interested in my loan ''. I would like my loan considered based on fair equitable standards.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation