Consumer complaint received 2021-01-17
Company: World Acceptance Corporation
State: ID
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Installment loan
Issue: Problem with the payoff process at the end of the loan

Complaint:
I obtained an emergency loan on XX/XX/XXXX from World Finance in order to get my dog back from vet after it suffered from XXXX. The amount I received was {$730.00}, with the first payment due XX/XX/XXXX. They said there was no prepayment penalty and the interest was figured to the end but would adjust if prepaid. They charged an origination fee of {$100.00}, predicted interest {$200.00}. I made a Principal payment 2 days after getting loan of {$100.00}, then payments on XXXX {$120.00} ; XXXX {$110.00}. Just before XXXX the same dog ate a harness and had to have emergency XXXX  XXXX. I was told he would be in the hospital till after the XXXX XXXX. At XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX the vet called & said he could come home early but I had to pay the bill in full. I was {$350.00} shy of the {$1400.00} required & called World Finance to obtain another small loan which they said was not a problem. They close at XXXX XXXX  as does the vet on the other side of town. I rushed down there & was told as they gave me documents to sign quickly that their policy was to refinance any existing loans and not to open new ones. I am on SSA & my pup is supposed to be training as a service dog which World Finance is aware of. I had told them I was trying to avoid paying for the additional days in the vet hospital due to basically the vet taking 1/4 of my yearly income and using up all my available credit. At this point they were rapidly saying their policy was to refinance or consolidate loans and that it would not amount to much more in charges. I did not have a choice I had already informed the vet I was on my way. The new amount that I received was {$330.00}. When they handed me the loan document to sign I noted that the amount seemed to be wrong for the previous loan & asked if they had credited all payments and the one to additional principle especially since I had not received a receipt yet for the one made before XXXX. They said if it wasn't reflected yet it would adjust off. I noted the new amount on the origination charge and was told it was the previous origination charge plus the origination for the new funds combined. Once again, I said it seemed like the numbers were high but was assured they would be closing out my other loan since they flipped it to the new one and once they did that the interest and any missing payments not included yet would update. I had ten minutes to get across town and asked them to send me an itemization which they said they would. The first loan was less than 3 months old with the first scheduled payment having been the month before as stated above. I went to make a payment the next day, and on XXXX  XXXX XXXX and to talk to them about the discrepancies I noted but they were closed on both occasions when I arrived. I had to wait until after the XXXX XXXX Weekend to get a hold of them. I had my bank send an auto payment which was delivered on XX/XX/XXXX in the amount of {$110.00} & from my stimulus on XX/XX/XXXX the amount of {$270.00} totaling {$380.00}. Please note the new amount I had borrowed on the XXXX was only {$330.00}. I called them and instructed them that the payments were to go toward the new principal amount just received and that I needed the promised accounting on the entire first loan since I had not received anything yet and that I attempted to go in and straighten it out but they were closed for Holiday. Instead of a breakdown and the second loan being negated since they got the funds back the next real business day I received a bill for {$1300.00} with a receipt for my XXXX payment. I called them and asked what they did & how they credited the two payments sent directly after they required the " refinance '' and they said they only had one then came back and said the other one was processing & I would receive the requested breakdown. On the XXXX I received a receipt for a payment and a new amount of {$960.00}. Considering I had only owed by my calculations {$390.00} on the first loan ( plus origination fee and interest ) and had paid the second, I once again called them and asked them how they came up with this amount. She said it was the per diem & their finance charge for the loan amount. I told her how is it that I borrowed a total of {$730.00}, which I had paid {$330.00} on, plus the {$330.00} & paid {$380.00} on for a total of {$710.00} paid yet owe close to a {$1000.00} & I had prepaid early principal & had only had two required payments in the entire term of the loan. I owe more than I borrowed because their policy required a refinance consolidation that I could not pay back or cancel because they closed for the holiday. The Origination charge which I had been led to believe was the first one plus a charge for the {$330.00} loan totaled was actually calculated by them per their policy as an entirely new finance charge and the previous charge from two months prior, plus all the interest which had not yet been earned they had put into the " refinance '' of this small amount and then they had calculated the new interest for this small amount as the amount due from the first, plus the unearned interest and the Double plus loan Origination fees as principal, thus compounding interest. It is their " office policy '' when someone needs additional funds to flip the loan instead of opening a new separate loan thus they can now charge interest on unearned interest and origination fees as well. I called and talked to the manager who said she would take a look at it again and call me the next day that was four days ago. I have since sent another {$180.00} payment to them which should take the adjusted principal by my calculations to {$160.00} plus interest & origination fee???? Yet, I owe them close to {$1000.00} still because I was upset and in a hurry and did not have the luxury of finding another lender for a day or two so that I would not incur a couple of hundred more dollars in vet bills. The vet would have cost less!!! I have attached a spreadsheet of my per diem and payment calculations based on how they told me the loan was calculated when I signed the first document and in my previous loans with them. Please keep in mind as of todays date the first loan was a little over 90 days ago and the second " refinance '' I could not cancel due to the holiday closure is now about 2 weeks old. Total amount received from them by me was {$1000.00}. Total payments paid to them {$890.00} and they say I still owe them more than all the payments I have paid in just 4 days from the " policy refinance. '' Please help. This is really stressing me out & messing with my XXXX . Thank you.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation