I signed a 12-month, Same-As-Cash (SAC) agreement with J. W Marketing and Distribution (Inwood, NY) to finance a Kirby vaccuum cleaner. The salesman marked the agreement "12SAC" and indicated that if I paid within 12 months, I would not be charged any interest.
I got my payment book in the mail a couple of months later, which was arranged for 36 monthly payments and an APR of 25%. So I took the financed amount, divided by 12, and started making my 12-month payments. When it came time to make my final payment, I called United to confirm my remaining balance, and found it was $346.19 more than I had anticipated.
This was due to the fact that United considers the 12 months beginning from date-of-purchase, not from the payment start date indicated on the contract. So the additional amount is interest due.
Buyer beware - if you start making your payments at the payment start date, you do not have a 12-month SAC agreement. Since my payment start date was 3 months after the purchase date, it was really a 9-month SAC agreement!
Unfortunately, many will only see this after they have made the purchase. I agree with some of the other postings I've seen, your best move is to never let a salesperson in your home to begin with!
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