My 21-year-old son wanted to show his "old man" that he was grown up enough to get a car loan on his own. He went to Citifinancial Services in Cumming, GA to borrow $5,000. They charged him 26.99%, tacked on 869.92 in points and fees, and charged him $2,020.75 for insurance that would only cover the balance owed on the car.
I pointed out to my son that he already had insurance on the car and this wasn't necessary. He went and showed them his proof of insurance. They told him they would cancel the policy, but his payments wouldn't change, even though the contract clearly states his payments would be reduced from $280.84 to $152.65 upon proof of insurance. So, on a $5,000 loan, he will have paid $12,890.83 over 60 months of payments. Granted, he's not the brightest bulb in the pack, but to take this kind of advantage of someone is just criminal.
I'll help him secure a loan somewhere else, but I'm sure this will get rather nasty before it's all over. This is just a warning to other parents to review their children's loans closely and warn them of all the sharks out there. What they did is probably not illegal, but it sure is immoral. What a sham. No wonder our youth are so much in debt.
0 comments