Complaint Review: Miles Program US Bank MAC Military Installment Loan And Education Services

Some dealerships who work under MILES, and other programs as well, charge soldiers for options that are not actually on the cars. The dealership tells the lender that the car has the extra options to get more money on the car and the soldier pays a higher price based on non-existent options and pays 18% interest for them. I have filed a lawsuit on behalf of 5 soldiers in federal court in Kansas. Many of the soldiers who bought now find themselves way upside down when they go to trade in their used car.

Although, rather than limiting your warning to MILES/US Bank, it should apply to all financial institutions. You cannot rely on any lender to determine whether or not you can afford a loan. Although they have some financial interest in the deal, it's ultimately up to the borrower to make the financial decision. I guarantee you that if US Bank had not given your husband the loan, some other high risk lender would have and you'd still be in the same position.

I am sorry that you are bogged down in this mess. I hope that you can get past this soon and resume a normal (and hopefully credit free) life. Best of luck.

That's not why I'm upset though. I'm upset because even though we've been paying our payments on time for the past year and a half...the loan never went down. We missed two payments, of course it was our fault, so we got repo'd. Then we got a letter which basically told us that he still owed the full amount. I called the bank and requested information (i.e. paper copies of what was going on as far as fees and why he owed as much as he did) and they said no problem. Still waiting on those papers and if they ever come through I'll be sure to let you know how much a late fee, processing fee, and a payment fee are. I'm also wondering how much the repossession itself was. I understand that maybe my story wasn't very clear. So...

My husband had no credit when he got this vehicle...he purchased the vehicle, then decided to get a bunch of credit cards and not pay them. Would you lend an 18 year old male with absolutely no credit history and no down payment $12,000? And not care that he was only making a few thousand more than that per year? I certainly would not. In fact, I'd laugh when I got the application. And the 18.9 apr. This was not because he had bad credit (he had no credit when he went to get this loan). This is the APR they give ALL service members. We have a friend who also went through the MILES program, who has a fico score of 700, and he also is being charged an 18.9 percent apr. He went through MILES because he thought it would be in his best interest. He also is being charged fees up the wazoo.

I'm pissed about the fact that the bank gave my husband a loan when he SHOULD NOT have been approved for one. I am not saying that if they didn't give him this loan we wouldn't be in this situation wahhh wahh wahhh. We would still be in this situation because he is a very persistant person. Not only is US Bank an annoyance, but the car dealership that fed him all the BS is also. My point is, MILES is supposed to be in the best interest of the service member. That's their whole sales pitch. They are not. If they were, they would have denied his application and said "Come back with a huge down payment or go build up your credit. You're only going to screw yourself over." US Bank funds the MILES program...so why would I not bring that up? I wasn't trying to "blame" the bank for the situation we got ourselves in...it's not their fault that our car got repo'd. It is, however, their fault that they would not work with us, and that they charged a fee for pretty much everything. I'm not after the bank to give me anything for free. He signed the dotted line, that's it. Too bad, so sad. This is something that we are going to have to pay off whether we like it or not. That's life. You live and you learn.

As far as me not being able to work... I worked in construction. I made $23,000 a year before I had to stop working. Nothing too impressive but it was income. I've searched high and low. Far and near. It is never ending. Nobody will hire me though. Not even the gas stations on base will hire me. Even if I say that I'm just fat. I wish I was fat enough to look like a fat person and not look pregnant. I bet I would get hired then...However, I am not able to do this. I don't look at pregnancy as an excuse not to work. In fact, I'm pissed off that I can't work. Do you know how boring it is to stay at home all day? And anybody who is pregnant and HAS gotten hired at six months, please leave a comment and tell me how you did it. I want to know, and I'm sure other pregnant women would also like to know.

I just hope to open the eyes of other military members who may be looking to get a loan through MILES/US Bank. People who are young and think that getting a car loan with NO down payment and NO credit is "smart" or "justifiable". If one person avoids a situation like this with MILES/Us Bank (or some other bank) because of what I've stated then I don't care how many rebuttals I get.

First off is your husband Reserve National Guard ETC. the reason i ask because u said that he works hrs that are given him. if he is active duty then that is not true he gets paid the whatever his paygrade is no matter what hrs he works. i was in the Military for 6 yrs so i know. Secondly i had a 2004 mitsubishi lancer that i traded in for 13000 at carmax. Dont ever go back to the dealer for a trade in they rip u off big time. If you have bad credit like they say your going to get a bad interest rate. 18.9 is a little excessive depending on his credit history. Has he defaulted on credit cards or loans before? i have mine through USAA i have bad credit and i got 6.9% because it is catered to military they take your military service into account when giving a loan. my advice is try to refinace your loan through them. But ultimately it was your husbands rashness in signing the deal that got him into the mess. And yes loan companies should help out when times get rough, but are not obligated to help you out/ work with you and they usually dont. Especially dealer ones. Now USAA worked with me and continues to work with me when i cant pay my loan for whatever reason. even though i have a sufficent payment history they have worked with me. As far as u not working are you on bed rest or advised not to work by a physician. If not you are perfectly capable of working part time. as long as there is no heavy lifting or excessive standing involved. try and get a secretary job. shoot ive seen 6-7 month pregnant women working at starbucks, so being pregnant is no excuse for not contributing unless ordered to by a physican. ALso try to pay as much extra as you can on the loan. the minimum payment every month usually goes toward the interest not the principal(the original price on the car) good luck and i hope things straighten out for you soon.

In the sense that your husband chose to buy a car he couldn't afford at an interest rate he couldn't afford. Basically, he ripped himself off.

In this wonderful country we have the freedom to make choices and (hopefully) the responsibility to live up to the choices that we make. If you have no money and bad credit, you can choose to burden yourself for years by buying a car at a ridiculously high interest rate. Just because you can, doesn't make it a good idea. Your idea of saving up and paying cash for a reliable car is the first step in the right direction.

The downside is that giving the car back is not going to make this loan go away. Your husband is still responsible for note. If you give the car back, the bank will auction it for less than its market value, then come after your husband for the balance of the loan. If it's not paid, it will haunt your credit report for many years to come.

In the sense that your husband chose to buy a car he couldn't afford at an interest rate he couldn't afford. Basically, he ripped himself off.

In this wonderful country we have the freedom to make choices and (hopefully) the responsibility to live up to the choices that we make. If you have no money and bad credit, you can choose to burden yourself for years by buying a car at a ridiculously high interest rate. Just because you can, doesn't make it a good idea. Your idea of saving up and paying cash for a reliable car is the first step in the right direction.

The downside is that giving the car back is not going to make this loan go away. Your husband is still responsible for note. If you give the car back, the bank will auction it for less than its market value, then come after your husband for the balance of the loan. If it's not paid, it will haunt your credit report for many years to come.

In the sense that your husband chose to buy a car he couldn't afford at an interest rate he couldn't afford. Basically, he ripped himself off.

In this wonderful country we have the freedom to make choices and (hopefully) the responsibility to live up to the choices that we make. If you have no money and bad credit, you can choose to burden yourself for years by buying a car at a ridiculously high interest rate. Just because you can, doesn't make it a good idea. Your idea of saving up and paying cash for a reliable car is the first step in the right direction.

The downside is that giving the car back is not going to make this loan go away. Your husband is still responsible for note. If you give the car back, the bank will auction it for less than its market value, then come after your husband for the balance of the loan. If it's not paid, it will haunt your credit report for many years to come.

The fact that your husband is in the military is not relevant. You admitted yourself that he has bad credit. That's where the interest rate is coming from (bad credit means a high interest rate, that's common sense). You act like the bank is out to intentionally hurt people in the military.