Smart Choice Title Loan Predatory Intentional Repo rock hill South Carolina
STAY AWAY FROM SMART CHOICE!!! IF YOU MUST SUBJECT YOURSELF TO THE SOMETIMES NECCESSARY EVIL THAT ARE TITLE LOANS, TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO TITLEMAX. PLEASE. BEFORE ITS TOO LATE. I started my morning of this new year at the begining of a perpetual cycle that is mutual job loss, potential child services from not being able to get my child to and from school etc. Even Police Officers will make judgement calls when registration or insurance is expired, with regard to the individual and what makes us all humans and not just "contractual obgligators." A year ago, we took out a $1300 title loan during really tough times, really tough. The money was to catch up on other bills, and pay for an e-commerce site in which the site developer took the money and never even purchased a domain name; to move forward in life and quickly repay the loan inside 30 days. First let me explain how they work, which was confusing until Titlemax explained it. You take out a loan. IF its paid back in full within 30 days you only owe interest, so my $1300 would've been a bit over $1550. Which if a months time things would've magically improved, I would have patiently waited until that time. From there the payment was $207 a month, which although barely, I knew we could sacrifice and make the payment. NOW, the the bill was due on the 5th of every month, every day there after it's 8 bucks a day. Until you square it away. Once you square it away, your monthly payment GOES UP for the rest if the term, and if your late after that, the daily interest rate goes up permenatly too! And the cycle just repeats. So I Long story short, we HAD a 2002 Buick Lesabre custom. Value was about $3200. We took the $1300, payed on time for most of the year, during a years time. The few late payments we made took the monthly up to that of a new small Mercedes (300 bucks a month). Our genuine excuses for being late were things like our 10 year old in the hospital from asthma or football injuries, our jobs not giving paid days off when the weather caused a city wide shutdown of work etc. I maintained perfect contact with SMART CHOICE TITLW LOAN. They never went a week without hearing from me. We got to a point, Christmas time where we had fallen 2 moths behind for the first time ever. At this point we had literally paid back what we had borrowed x's 2, plus a bit more from payment increases from being late. Unfortunately Smart Choice Title Loan is not regulated so their rules on what part of debt and how it's applied use a logic that is completely against the consumer. Now here's where it gets really effed up, Titlemax, a company with far better policies, offered to buy Smart Choice Title Loan out of our contract. We would've then owed Title 100 bucks a month, which would've been a welcomed relief from the last year, and the monthly nor interest rate would not have increased in the slight chance we were late making the $100 dollar a month payment. The only problem, is after giving Smart Choice over twice what we borrowed, they refused to take anything less than a $1500 buyout, which Titlemax would only pay $1000. I reminded Smart Choice, how much money I'd given them, how long I'd given it to them, and how well I communicated but they did not care. So this morning, after receiving a text yesterday that they wanted to discuss my account, and me responding I'd call as soon as I left the hospital, we woke up unable to go to work due to our car being repo'd with our possessions inside. Now I am trying to fix my mini blinds I broke in the fit of anger I experienced during the realization our livelihood has been adversely impacted... The only good thing I can say, is that through all of this, there is one good person there, unfortunately she is not upper management, her name is Chrissy, dkwn at corporate. She was always patient and emphatic...
3 Updates & Rebuttals
JudgmentCall
Charlotte,North Carolina,
Ps
#4Author of original report
Fri, January 09, 2015
Forgive the typos... You have no clue whether I own a smart phone or a flip phone, fact is you have no idea what I've sacrificed to repay that loan. No clue as to how I've responsibly scaled back my living arrangement. And you put emphasis on 'perfect communication ' as if you have a reason to doubt that, pretty subjective for someone who is just leaving random responses lol. Fyi, they text me a message to 'discuss my account ' yesterday then towed it this morning. But that's not deceptive right lol. I'm sure you're at headquarters so you will not respond past 6pm.
JudgmentCall
Charlotte,North Carolina,
Pump your brakes
#4Author of original report
Fri, January 09, 2015
For starters, I'm sure you work for the company given your passionate response, unless you troll consumer report boards to contribute your 2 cents; which would be fine if you were being subjective. I have no problem with the Predatory Lending model as a whole. It is what it is. What I will not rest until its accomplished is regulation, and getting away from the convoluted salesmen type approach used when selling these products. The fact is, it's outlawed in certian areas for a reason, and that reason is lack of regulation. Again, I have no problem with the model, people sign things under duress all the time only to have courts overule it. When someone HAS PAID over 100 percent of somethings value, and is still leveraged out of it, it's called Usury. Look it up. You are not dealing with some irresponsible twit. And furthermore, the cost regarding my sons football (which you are out of line addressing as a spectator, you obviously don't have children, or mentor anyone where principles like responsibility or commitment is key to thier growth) was not the price to play, that was sponsored, if you read the post, it was injury related hospital expenses. So I guess until the loans paid off he should avoid crossing the street, because if he's hit by a car, that has to be paid for...
I'm not interested in arguing this point with a self righteous keyboard warrior. I will publicly discuss it with a verifiable member of Smart Choices company. I simply seek to refer others to Title lenders that are a bit more ethical, realistic and non predatory.
Happy new year.
Tyg
Pahrump,Nevada,
Contract...
#4General Comment
Fri, January 09, 2015
Ok we get it, YOU were in complete PERFECT contact with them. Still doesn't change the FACT that YOU have missed payments. YOU signed a contract its up to YOU to live up to YOUR end. By being over 2 months late, YOU caused the vehicle to be repoed. It doesn't matter what excuse you give. The reality is that YOU want THEM to have compassion for your situation in life and that just is NOT their job. Their job is to give money and take payments. YOU were late on making the payments, PERIOD!!! This is on YOU for the choices YOU made. You seem to think that your excuses are the currency in which you pay your loan and that is not the truth. Its MONEY!!!! MONEY that YOU OWE!!!! Exactly how long were they supposed to wait for YOU to get caught up?? Two months is a bit excessive, so they took the car that YOU offered up as collateral for the loan. Think about it for a few mins. STOP playing the victim and LOOK at what you have said and done. Put yourself in THIER shoes!!! A little thought exersize if you will. YOU own a money lending business, YOU loan to what is commonly referd to as "Dead beat borrowers". YOU have a customer that IS NOT PAYING!!!!! What do you do?/ DO you just suck up the lose and let this person STIFF YOU?? No, YOU would do what YOU had to do. Which in this case is repoing the vehicle used as collateral. They will then sell the vehicle for whatever they can get for it, even if that amount is only a dollar. Then YOU will be responsible for the rest. One wonders WHY people like YOU feel its ok to agree to and sign a contract yet when the contract is used against you, YOU ACT SURPRISED!!!!! YOU are an adult. YOU signed a contract, more then likely WITHOUT READING IT FULLY. This IS your fault so stop trying to play the victim. YOU signed the contract, YOU missed the payments, YOU are without a vehicle. Point, set, match. Game over. Now its about digging yourself out of the hole your excuses got you into. I find it funny that you would blow money on your kid playing football. RIGHT THERE is an expense you can do without. Think about how much you put into that sport so your child can play. You even state in your post its a REASON WHY you didn't pay your loan on time. Football and hospital visits FROM football. Boohoo little child cant play football until mommy and daddy get caught back up. It would be upsetting for the child, but it would free up some of your cash. FIND WAYS to go without. Buy cheaper stuff, buy generic. Give up a vice for a day or two. There is a lot of money that you go through without even realizing it. I just recently had a MASSIVE repair bill. My transmission went out. A 2k job easily. Could I afford it?? NOPE!!!! But I did the adult and responsible thing. I went without. I gave up my smartphone, a $100 a month savings. I gave up my morning starbucks. I took my lunch in a paper bag instead of eating out. I car pooled. I did the HARD THING!!!! Your entire family will have to do it if you wish to get out from under this loan. Im sorry to hear you are in this situation, but it IS your own doing and YOU are the only one who is going to be able to fix this. Good Luck.