On 4/26 I took out a title loan through the Greenville Ave., Staunton, Va office. Amount financed was $1010.00, finance charge was $1833.28, (which should be illegal), and my monthly payment is $236.94. First payment made ontime 5/26,2nd payment ontime, but this month we had a death in the family and with the extra money needed for arrangements, food etc., I called the office today letting them know I don't think I'll have the total by Fri and inquired about late fees and options. I'm disabled so my next check won't come til 8/3 so I was told if I paid it then there would be a $12.00 late charge added, as well as daily interest for each day late accruing every day at midnight. For the additional 8 days if I made the payment on 8/2 an additional $277.52 in interest would be added to the end of the loan! This means to borrow $1000 you now pay back over $2000 just in interest! My fiancé then decided to take out a personal loan for me through the bank, and was approved and set up for this Friday so this title loan can be paid in full on the day my payment is due. On my receipts from both payments I've made it shows the breakdown of the payment and the amounts applied to each as well as the remaining principal balance and at the bottom of these amounts it clearly shows "Total Balance Remaining". After making the 2 payments totaling $476.00, my "Total Remaining Balance" shows $946.36. He told his bank he wanted the loan for $1000 just to be on the safe side. I then called LoanMax back to inform her that I wouldn't be paying late after all and that I would be in Friday to pay it off. She then asked me to hold for the "Total Remaining Balance" and came back on and said balance owed was $1141.85. I said "No, my receipt from last payment shows it as $946.36. That's a difference of nearly $200 more dollars for interest! She then says I owed this additional interest for this past month since I made the last payment! I admit at that point I LOST IT! They just gouge and gouge you so that you can't ever get it paid off. We had already set everything up with loan officer at my fiancé bank, giving him all the info he needed, including the "Total Remaining Balance" showing on my receipt, but NO, LoanMax has to bleed you until the bitter end! As if they haven't made enough off you in interest already, they soak for for more. How they are getting by with this misrepresentation of what is the "Total Remaining Balance" actually is, is truly beyond me. This type of business should be outlawed as it preys on us lower income people with flawed credit, unable to qualify for a loan at any regular financial institution, where interest rates are honest and fair. Title Loan offices are nothing more than deadly loan sharks, that continue to bleed you "legally" for as much and as long as they can! I plan to seek out the District Manager that I met and spoke with at the time I got this loan, and only pay the "Total Balance Remaining" of $946.36 that my receipt shows in Friday!
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