Consumer complaint received 2021-10-07
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan — Installment loan
Issue: Charged fees or interest you didn't expect — 
Company: Four Directions Lending LLC (MD)

On or about XX/XX/2021, I was standing in my vets office, faced with the news that my beloved cat was suffering from an XXXXXXXX XXXX and could only be saved with the initiation of emergency life-saving treatments. I was desperate to save her but did not have the funds readily available to be able to do so. The vet suggested I apply for an emergency same day loan, as the funds can usually be available within minutes or hours. 

When I tried to find such help, I came across a lender who seemed like they could help me right away, namely West Side Lending. The site said I could borrow up to {$5000.00} and could have the funds in my account within 24 hours. I immediately clicked the button to apply for a {$600.00} loan. After answering a few questions, a woman from West Side Lending phoned me. She said that I was approved and that I would receive the loan money that very same day so that I could save my cat! I thought this company, and their willingness to help me in my time of need, was an answer to my prayers! 

The woman also explained that, as a reward for being a new customer and given that my loan was under {$1000.00}, I would not be charged any interest, so long as I made my biweekly payments. She said only if I missed a payment would I be charged some interest. She NEVER disclosed fees or other costs. She NEVER disclosed the amount of interest I would be charged, and CERTAINLY NOT at a rate they are now claiming. 

I arranged for my bi-weekly loan payments to be made through automatic withdraws from my bank account, so that I would never miss a payment. I had already repaid the lender roughly {$1200.00} which, by my calculations, is repayment at an 88.3 % interest rate. ( Considering the interest rate cap in my State is about 36 %, I feel that I have more than repaid my debt to West Side Lending. ) This past week, however, the lender contacted me, claiming that I somehow missed a payment. They insist that my loan is now in default, and claim that I agreed, should that happen, that they be allowed to seize payment immediately IN FULL. They claim this amount to be nearly {$5000.00}, DUE IMMEDIATELY. I asked how this could be since : ( a ) they have been taking the payments out automatically ; and ( b ) I ONLY BORROWED {$600.00}. They are now alleging that I agreed to an interest rate of 777.74 %, which brought me to tears. 

This may have been the first loan I have ever taken out ( aside from student loans ), and I was dealing with an emergency at the time, but I WOULD NEVER HAVE AGREED to a 777.74 % interest rate in my life ( nearly {$5000.00} on a {$600.00} loan ). That is not only sickeningly absurd but should be criminal. 

I asked them to send me proof of this allegation, and they emailed me a 17-page document that I had never seen before or had the opportunity to review before taking out this loan. They claim I signed this document in several places. I understand that, with some sites, typing your name into a box can be deemed your electronic signature if the website or document so explains this. NONE of the boxes containing my alleged signature do so. And, if I were to have somehow allowed the computer program to document my alleged electronic signature, why is the signature wholly different in each of the boxes? Wouldnt a computerized electronic signature appear the same in each box to which it is applied? This is fraud! I never read nor signed these loan documents. I have never even seen these documents until now, and only AFTER they threatened me with a demand for payment-in-full at a 777.74 % interest rate. 

When faced with an emergency situation, I quickly searched my phone for recommended help and found West Side Lending. 

They promised FAST ACTION to help with loans to cover things like vet bills, hospital bills, car repair and utility bills ( it turns out, they make their money by preying on people faced with desperate emergency situations ). And they promised an interest-free loan for me, as a first-time borrower with a loan under {$1000.00}. I relied on this promise. 

They NEVER disclosed the exorbitant interest rate they were going to strap me with, nor did they disclose fees or other costs associated with the loan. 

They NEVER disclosed that they were a tribal nation/ tribal lender with alleged sovereign immunity, nor explained what that meant in terms of my business dealings with them. 

They NEVER provided me with copies of any loan documents they allege I signed until AFTER they threatened me with default action. 

They have been HARASSING ME by phone multiple times a day since claiming that my loan is in default, which is interfering with my work. During each of these calls, the lender reads aloud my full Social Security Number and asks me to confirm that it is accurate, before even asking my name. Each time, I tell them that it is illegal to do so by phone, especially not knowing who they are talking to. I ask them time and again to stop, but they do it every time. This could lead to my identity being stolen, should the lender mis-dial my phone number. 

They are FRAUDULENTLY claiming that I GAVE UP ALL OF MY LEGAL RIGHTS and am bound by the rulings of a tribal judiciary. 

They are engaging in THREATENING ACTS by claiming to have knowledge of every bank account I might own, despite the fact that only one bank account was ever disclosed to them.

They FRAUDUENTLY claim that I agreed to allow them to IMMEDIATELY TAKE ALL OF THE MONEY THEY CLAIM THEY ARE OWED FROM MY BANK ACCOUNT IN ONE LUMP SUM once they unjustly claimed I was in default, and that I agreed to IMMEDIATELY ALLOW THEM TO GARNISH MY WAGES IF MY BANK ACCOUNT DOES NOT CONTAIN ENOUGH MONEY FOR THEM. 

I just discovered that one of their websites also states that loans are not available to residents of all States, including Maryland ( which is where I live ). So how was I eligible for a loan when my State is on West Side Lendings list of ineligible States? And why is my State ineligible? 

Whether sovereign immunity applies or not, I now believe that their actions constitute PREDATORY LENDING PRACTICES and violations of the FEDERAL TRUTH IN LENDING ACT. Among other things, West Side Lending, directly and through its agents, servants and/or employees, engaged in deceptive advertising to take advantage of borrowers situations, utilized rushed sales tactics, failed to provide proper loan disclosures, provided misleading information, perpetrated fraud, forged my alleged signature on loan documents, and failed to provide me with any online access to my account. They also failed to disclose that I had the option of paying off my principal balance early to avoid ongoing exorbitant fees and interest, as so many XXXX XXXX XXXX complainants allege would have been a borrowers right. 

In recent years, the Attorney Generals of many States have filed suit against tribal lenders engaging in these practices. A New York Federal Appeals Court held that consumer advocates could sue for injunctions barring officers of Native American tribes from engaging in alleged predatory-lending practices. A Michigan Attorney General filed suit against a tribal lender, alleging its actions violated the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Act and claimed the lender was using tribal status to circumvent state and federal laws. An attorney with Public Justice reported that an increasing number of online payday lenders have recently sought affiliations with Native American tribes in an effort to take advantage of the tribes special legal status as sovereign nations. Some of these payday lenders have even been convicted of Federal Racketeering charges.

I understand that the federal government allows some of these businesses to engage with customers with little government oversight, so as to maintain good relationships with various tribes on American soil. However, it should never be done at the expense and detriment of American citizens and to such extremes. I am truly hopeful that, given the fraud being perpetrated by West Side Lending, that you will be able to step in and help me.