Consumer complaint received 2017-04-14
Company: NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: CA
Product: Consumer Loan
Sub-product: Installment loan
Issue: Problems when you are unable to pay

Complaint:
I had to take out a personal loan from Navy Federal Credit Union in Spring XX/XX/XXXX for XXXX of the semesters I was in school. I was able to pay on it regularly until Spring XX/XX/XXXX, when I had finished school and was without a job. As soon as I was able to pay regularly again, I did. Last year, after taking an in-depth look at my ridiculously massive student loan debt, I decided I would start paying extra to pay it off quicker, starting with this personal loan with an insane interest rate of 14.25 %. The minimum payment was {$130.00}, and I began paying {$200.00}. It was really nice seeing how quickly the balance on the loan was dropping, since all that extra money went directly to the principal. By paying it down so quickly, my statements began reflecting that my next payment would not be due until several months in advance. It was a very nice feeling to finally be in control of my debt, and knowing I had a $ 200 monthly cushion for a couple months in case of an emergency. 

At this point, I calculated that at my current rate, I would have the loan paid off XX/XX/XXXX unless I was able to pay it off completely with my tax return in XX/XX/XXXX. Either way, I was not too worried, as the interest that would accrue paying an extra few months was negligible, and would save me from making a big lump payment that I had saved for emergency savings. At the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX, I lost my job. Again, I was not terribly worried, because between my final paycheck, my savings, and my tax return, I would have enough money to get by for XXXX months while I searched for another job, even while paying the extra monthly payment to XXXX. 

At the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX, I got a phone call from XXXX saying my payment was 15 days late. I thought, " That ca n't be right, unless my automatic transfer was stopped. '' I reviewed my checking account, and the {$200.00} transfer had come out on XX/XX/XXXX, just like it should have. I checked my XXXX account, and they received the {$200.00} transfer. Yet still, it said I was 15 days past due. After calling them, they told me that my entire balance was due. What?! There was no notification, whatsoever. Apparently the original loan agreement for 67 months ended on XX/XX/XXXX, and they did not extend it when I needed help with my payments. 

There was absolutely no notification that I would have any kind of balloon payment at the end of my loan. None of my statements reflected that I would have to pay in full for the XX/XX/XXXX payment. The only thing that could be considered remotely close was an unusually high payment amount ( as in the full balance ) on my XX/XX/XXXX statement, which any reasonable person would view as a typo, perhaps due to an error in the extra calculations needed due to my over payments. I have attached the last XXXX statements of the account so that the CFPB may review them. 

After learning of this, XXXX refused any kind of extension or balance reduction. If I continued making my regular {$200.00} payments, they threatened to report it to my credit as XXXX, XXXX, XXXX late, etc. until the balance was paid in full. Upon finding out that a majority of that balance was comprised of late fees ( which by the way apparently accrued interest, since it was added to the principal balance ), they refused to reduce the balance without reporting it negatively to credit. The only option they offered would be a refinance, which I can not do with no income, and would not want to do because I just want to be done with this debt, not extend it further. 

I ended up taking the hit to my savings and paying the remaining balance in full. I thought XXXX was all about serving veterans and their families, but apparently they are just like every other slimy financial institution that just wants to make a quick buck at the expense of others.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation