Consumer complaint received 2024-06-22 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Problem with fees
Company: Atlanticus Services Corporation
State: OH

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX I didn't have enough funds to cover my minimum payment. So I paid {$21.00} from one of my checking accounts and then attempted to pay the rest of my minimum balance from another checking account. However, the second payment was allowed. I don't know if it was because you couldn't make to payments on the same day. 
The same day that I made my payment Fortiva charged me a {$30.00} late fee. 

I received my XXXX statement showing now the minimum payment due was {$170.00}!!!! No matter how many times I looked at my statement and tried to understand this figure, I couldn't. 
So I called the company and tried to get them to explain. And received no real explanation. So I couldn't pay {$170.00}. So I tried to pay the amount that was over my spending limit which was {$15.00} in XXXX and now was {$82.00}. Which was the result of their fees. 
The following month my new minimum payment was {$190.00}. So I continued to try to pay what was past due but that was to no avail. 
These ridiculous fees and quadruple minimum monthly payments continued on until XX/XX/XXXX. The minimum monthly has gotten as high as {$550.00}!!!! 
I had contacted Fortiva on several occasions to try to explain that I can't afford to make these minimum monthly payments and how I truly didn't understand how they were coming up with these figures. 
My pleas fell on deaf ears. I did fall behind on XXXX and XXXX payments in XXXX because I had become disheartened and didn't see how I would rectify this account. Prior to this fiasco, my payments were on time and I hardly ever made just the minimum payments. 
All of a sudden in XXXX of XXXX they offered a plan that if I could pay {$120.00}, they would credit {$60.00} additional to my account. 
I truly think this was a result of the CFPB 's crackdown on creditor 's charging consumers astronomical late fees. I remember reading an article published by CFPB where late fees should be no more than {$8.00}. 
This article must have frightened Fortiva, because then the following month they offered a match credit of {$150.00}, when I paid {$150.00} on my account. 
Which I gladly did. However, they reported my account XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX? ... days late to the credit bureau. Wrecking my exceptional payment history. 

Had they offered this back in XXXX or XXXX of XXXX, I would have never been in a position where payments had to be missed!!! 

But their greed and unjust fees put me in a position to financially ruin me. 
These damaging practices along with their inaccurate reporting and refusal to correct inaccurate information is far reaching and make it nearly impossible for a consumer to recover!!! 
I am writing not only for my sake but for every person whose rights have been unjustly affected by these and other unjust practices. 
I would like to see these companies punished and made to repay all the monies in fees that have unlawfully taken from consumers. 
For me personally, I would like these inaccurately reported late fees to me immediately removed from my credit report. 
Because your credit file dictates every aspect of life, lenders should not be able to abuse their power and try to financially ruin a consumer.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief