When they say read the fine print do it... I went into the office in Kentwood, MI with one of their loan checks, of course at a time of great need. They were very happy to make my loan as my credit was really good and were even happier to rush me through the application/approval process which took less than 30 minutes. They knew I was coming so had all the docs ready for signature.
The rep put each doc in front of me and condensely told me what it said and I would then sign - standard procedure for most folks in that situation. She then put a doc in front me telling me that I needed to sign the doc and check whether I wanted their unemployment insurance. I didn't because I am self-employed and told her as much.
We proceeded through the rest of the docs in short order and I walked out check in hand on my way to the bank. For the 6000.00 loan, I was expected to pay 278.00 per month. I thought it was a little high but I had a five year pay off and knew the interest rate was a bit higher which I was willing to overlook at that time.
My first statement came in 3 weeks later and I found the first charge for unemployment insurance - the very thing I told them I didn't want - not having checked the box to acquire it. This insurance is varied in amount based on the total debt and at that time was somewhere close to $20 for the month. It just so happens that that amount was enough to cut out the money of my payment that would have gone to the principal so by the next billing cycle I actually owed more than 6000.00.
When I found the charged buried in fine print below the other account information, I notified the office that there had been an error and they assured me they'd fix. Bill #2 comes, still there, Bill #3, still there so I called again and from then it has been all uphill. First they wanted me to supply them with my original loan documents which I copied and sent. Then they wanted me to write letters to the insurance department and to another department explaining the problem.By Bill #5, my balance was up to close to 6100 and my husband became unemployed. Well I hadn't seen that coming but thought that it was a good thing that we had the insurance after all.
I called the company to begin a claim and found that the insurance only covered me... Again - I'm self employed which realy burned me and then I really started working on them to clear this situation up.
Finally, I got one person on the line who gave me the information that there were actually three places within my loan documents where I was to refuse this insurance and if I missed any one of those, the insurance was automatic so you can't just say no and have it carry thorugh because they build in these kinds of loop holes to snag you and their reps don't tell you that. You think things are going one way while your in the office and all you've really done is stepped into the trap with a smile on your face and them smiling right back knowing your fate.
Needless to say, after the 5th bill and their refusal to correct, I just stopped paying them. I couldn't anymore. My husband went without works for months on end and the phone rang off the hook and no matter how I insisted that I wasn't goign to pay until they straightened out the issues on their end.
When my bill got to 90 days, I sent them just enough to shut them up and have been doing so for the past two years.in the meantime, I've got an education in credit law and because I've been proactive with wanting to settle debts as opposed to make minimum payments, I've settled 3 of the 4 credit cards I had and am now waiting for this company to soften up a little more with their terms.
You should know that in December of last year, this company was willing to settle with me for $2500 when my balance was well over 7000 however they refused to take my terms of three payments instead of two. So I said okay, that'll be fine. I make sure that I get them something anywhere from 30-90 days out depending on my finances which keeps us out of court and I'm guessing that in the next few months, I'll have that payoff down even further.
Though I would never recommend working with a debt consolidation company due to my own experience with one, I did learn a lot from them... Once I learned their tricks, I decided I could do exactly the same thing they were doing and didn't need to pay them or have them holding my money. This is how I accomplished paying off 3 cards in less than a year, two of them at half their balance and one the balance however dismissing over 750 in late charges and interest. Who knows what's going to happen with these credit card companies now that the economy has turned down... Remember your money is your money even if you owe somebody else. Make it work for you and make them settle - they are rip off artists.
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