Consumer complaint received 2025-09-11 00:00:00
Product: Payday loan, title loan, personal loan, or advance loan — Other advances of future income
Issue: Issues with repayment — 
Company: Fundo LLC
State: MD

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I applied for and was approved for a XXXX XXXX XXXX of {$2000.00}, of which I only received {$1700.00} after fees. I was not informed until after the advance was disbursed that it was based on the sale of future receipts totaling {$6600.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX, I emailed Underwriter Representative XXXX XXXX to ask if I could cancel the advance given that I was not aware it was a sale of future receipts. Customer Support Representative XXXX XXXX responded that they would offer the option of an early payoff in the amount of {$2100.00} if paid by XX/XX/XXXXXXXX I proceeded with making the first regular installment payment of {$220.00} on XX/XX/XXXX with the intent of requesting early payoff once I had the funds to pay off the advance early. Another regular installment payment was made successfully on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I received notice from Fundo that a payment had been returned due to non-sufficient funds. On XX/XX/XXXXXXXX I received a text message from Fundo stating that my account was moved to collections due to 2 consecutive missed payments ( per the agreement ). However, one payment was retried and collected successfully on XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  Two ( 2 ) additional regular installment payments were then made on XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXX/XX/XXXX. So, only one ( 1 ) payment was missed. I reached out to the Collections Specialist, XXXX XXXX via phone on XX/XX/XXXX, and requested to schedule an early payoff for XX/XX/XXXX, as quoted, in the amount of {$2200.00}. However, on XX/XX/XXXX, I realized that the quoted early payoff was higher than previously quoted payoffs, although, I had made five ( 5 ) payments thus far. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke with XXXX XXXX via phone and inquired as to why the early payoff amount was higher than before. She stated that the payoff amount was a courtesy, because I was in collections and my payoff amount should be higher ( later stated via email on XX/XX/XXXX that the collections payoff wouldve been {$4600.00} ), so I should consider the amount of {$2200.00} to be an extension of a favorable early resolution. I continued to disagree with this and asked for a breakdown as to how the payoff amount was calculated. After trying to obtain this information from XXXX XXXX for at least 20 minutes, she hung up on me. I then continued with my request via email and for a clear breakdown as to how the early payoff amount is calculated and asked that all payments be paused during this dispute until a resolution is reached ; as, my intent is to certainly, meet my obligations. 

The attached evidence packet and log provide detailed documentation of what followed via email correspondence. 

* * Key Issues : * * 1. * * Inconsistent Payoff Quotes : * * Fundo has quoted different payoff amounts on multiple dates, including {$2100.00} ( XX/XX/XXXX ), {$2000.00} ( XX/XX/XXXX ), {$2200.00} ( XXXX ), and {$2500.00} ( XX/XX/XXXX ). The payoff increased even when no payments were made between XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX XXXX stated that she would pause the payment scheduled for XXXX as one-time courtesy to consider the payoff information at hand, but that the payments would then need to be continue or I would be considered as having revoked ACH. However, I never issued any revocation of any kind, and only wished to ensure that the payoff amount was properly calculated. The agreement clearly states that there is no penalty for prepayment ; however, increasing the payoff amount each time based on arbitrary calculations does, indeed, operate as a prepayment penalty. 
2. * * Arbitrary Formula : * * Fundo admitted the Factor Rate Discounted changes depending on the week, confirming there is no fixed or transparent formula. 
3. * * Collections Escalation : * * My account has been permanently designated as in collections, per Collections Specialist XXXX XXXX via phone. When I asked her if I would be brought out of collections after making the XXXX payment that was due, she stated that my account would now remain in collections, regardless of whether my account was brought current or not. Following, several requests for clarification and outlining my dispute via email, the Collections Specialist stated that she is transferring my account to the next agent due to two stopped payments and that she would no longer be communicating with me. She then, stated that the next agent would be reaching out to me. I did not receive any further communications until XX/XX/XXXX, when I received just a text message stating that I have a collection amt of {$5500.00}. I replied to the message informing that I would be submitting my complaint to the CFPB. I have now only received communications from Fundo via short texts, requesting that I contact them to make payment arrangements and avoid legal escalation. 
4. * * Unfair Practices : * * Not only does Fundos actions create an arbitrary, moving-target payoff that is not consistent with the agreements intent, but Fundo also increases payoff amounts even when no payment is made, effectively, demonstrating a practice of prepayment penalty. Additionally, on XX/XX/XXXXXXXX, Fundo threatened a UCC-1 filing with the Secretary of State and default fees unless I agreed to a payment plan. The escalation to collections and UCC-1 threats during an active dispute are coercive and unreasonable. It is clear that Fundo does not care about operating legally under its own agreement. Fundos conduct demonstrates unfair and deceptive practices. These practices deny the benefit of early payoff, function as prepayment penalties, and reflect a lack of transparency that regulators should address.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation