Consumer complaint received 2016-06-03
Product: Consumer Loan — Vehicle loan
Issue: Problems when you are unable to pay — 
Company: TMX Finance LLC (TX)

I am a XXXX. I experienced a tough financial hardship & decided to check into getting an auto loan so that I could pay off some debt & hold me over until I could find a job. The young lady was 'super-friendly ' & explained in detail, she claimed, all of the need-to-knows. & particulars concerning a loan. I asked very pointed and specific questions after she was done. One of the questions were concerning intereset & principle. She told me that each month interest was due. That after paying the interest, I could pay whatever amount towards the balance to lower the amount of interest each month. With that in mind, against my better judgment, I decided to take out a $ XXXX title loan against my car. Going on the premise that interest is due 'each month ' imagine my surprise when the day after making my first interest payment of {$810.00} I came back to make another {$1000.00} payment only to be told that I had to make another {$810.00} interest payment & that only {$180.00} would go to principle. I was certain they had made some sort of mistake because " just yesterday I made the monthly interest payment & I am certain this {$1000.00} can go toward my principle. '' SHOCKED! I did n't know what to do or think. I felt XXXX violated & my XXXX got very weak & almost XXXX & had to sit down I was so weak.I am an educated person & I know for certain the young lady told me that after I paid the monthly interest payment, I could bring in any amount ( s ) during the month to pay on principle so that interest the followin month would be lower. " No, that 's not how it works '', I was told. " Each time you make a payment, interest comes off first, then the rest lowers your balance. '' " So if I want to make XXXX payments per month, they charge interest payment each time? ", I asked in disbelief. It 's like getting charged just to make a payment. I was given an interest payment schedule which enforced ( to me ) the idea that I only had XXXX interest payments, XXXX per month. This is not fair. When a person makes a payment, they should not charge that amount of interest until a month has already gone by. That is ridiculous and I could n't understand why they would do such a thing. I argued and argued because I 'm a prudent person I would not have agreed to such terms. I 'm XXXX and was unable to keep up with the payments. They repossessed my vehicle XXXX times even after I came in with a $ XXXX check that they would not cash or take from me to pay on my car. After I got the check cashed, I had to fork over $ XXXX to get my car out of repossession only for them to repossess it again forcing me to file Chapter XXXX protection in order to get my car back. Since that time, I was unable to keep full coverage on my car & it was vandalized and now I am paying for that as well as the payments they are getting from the Chapter XXXX trustee. I want Title Max to apply the {$5000.00} I paid, if not all a good portion towards my principle because even AFTER paying it, TitleMax still reported that I owed {$9000.00}. This is extreme usury. I feel lost & so hopeless and if this request is to no avail, please add to legislation or rules being proposed, a rule that interest should only be due once a month & that the customer can come in and pay on principle after paying that monthly interest throughout the month without being charged interest each time, if not get rid of these companies altogether because they destroy people 's lives & care nothing about them once they 've gotten commission or bonus for selling a lie.