Consumer complaint received 2019-08-08
Company: ENOVA INTERNATIONAL, INC.
State: WI
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Personal line of credit
Issue: Struggling to pay your loan

Complaint:
I applied for a short-term loan from Cashnet USA in the beginning of XX/XX/2019. ( I had paid off an installment loan from Cashnet USA in XX/XX/2019, and had no problems with the company. ) Instead of a loan, I was given a line of credit -- I'm not sure why, as I thought that I had been applying for a loan. I received a line of credit on XX/XX/2019, for {$1700.00}. On XX/XX/2019, my first payment was automatically withdrawn from my bank account of {$440.00}. I was very surprised when my next payment was automatically withdrawn on XX/XX/2019, for {$650.00}. I didn't understand why my payment was so much greater in XXXX than XXXX. 

I have just spoken with a Cashnet USA representative on the phone today, XX/XX/2019. She was respectful and informative. But I realized there were several features of the line of credit that were not obvious to me when I thought I was applying for a short-term loan. First, there is a {$15.00} fee on every {$100.00} drawn out -- so in addition to what I knew would be a high interest rate, I was charged a fee of {$260.00} for the {$1700.00} draw. Now that I understand that part of my contract, I can identify where the fee comes from -- but it is frustrating, because I thought I was applying for a loan. So I didn't realize there would be a distinction between the loan and " drawing down '' the credit -- which has a fee assessed. ( I.e., I had seen the {$15.00} fee noted on the contract, but I did not understand that it would apply to my " draw down ''. ) My XXXX payment was apparently so much greater than my XXXX payment because of the accrual of interest against my balance : and none of my XXXX payment went to my balance, because it went to fees ( {$240.00}, according to the representative ) and interest ( {$200.00} ). According to the representative on the phone, part of my XXXX payment also went to pay off the balance of fees on my account ( I believe she said {$21.00} -- though I can not locate this information on my statement ). It has been difficult for me to make such a large payment this month. ( After speaking to the representative, I have now drawn back down the available balance I had in my line -- understanding this will result in additional fees and the interest will continue to accrue against the total outstanding balance. But I find that the increase in amount I had to pay from XXXX to XXXX left me with very little money available, and I resorted to the line of credit to proceed. ) I'm concerned, first, that I'm not sure why Cashnet USA provided me with a line of credit when I thought I was applying for an installment loan like the one I had previously. I'm concerned, secondly, that -- though my contract did include information about the fee -- it was not apparent that I would be charged that fee at the outset ( i.e., because I thought I was receiving a loan, I didn't realize that what I was doing was applying for a line of credit and then, on top of that, drawing down the full amount of my credit line ). 

Finally, I'm concerned that the formula Cashnet USA uses to calculate minimum payments is simply too expensive. I ask the representative if it would be possible to renegotiate my payments and she said unfortunately not. She was able to tell me that I can delay my next payment until as late as XX/XX/2019. I appreciated that she was very helpful on the phone. But ultimately, I did not realize my monthly payments would be so high. The example that Cashnet USA has on its website ( https : //www.cashnetusa.comXXXX  ) shows a person repaying her {$1000.00} loan with monthly payments of {$270.00}. I assumed my payments would be more, since the amount I received was more -- i.e., around {$400.00} a month. Now that I understand that my product was a line of credit and not an installment loan, I realize that the example of the line of credit on their site actually doesn't give an example of how much the repayment amount is. 

I'd like other consumers to be aware that Cashnet USA offers multiple products, and that the minimum payment amounts on their line of credit products is significantly higher than the installment loan example makes it seem.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation