{"id":3031,"date":"2022-05-20T09:56:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T09:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=3031"},"modified":"2022-06-18T10:01:41","modified_gmt":"2022-06-18T10:01:41","slug":"costly-auto-repairs-driving-consumers-into-a-financial-ditch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=3031","title":{"rendered":"Costly Auto Repairs Driving Consumers Into a Financial Ditch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by\u00a0Charlene Crowell, Special to The Informer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New research reveals how costly car repairs are now ballooning into a new form of predatory lending. And just like other forms of financial exploitation, consumers are feeling duped and deceived about related costs and the length of time it takes to pay off these bills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authored by Stop the Debt Trap<\/a>, a multi-member consumer coalition, the report shares how national auto repair brands like AAMCO, Big O Tires, Grease Monkey, JiffyLube, Meineke, Midas and Precision Tune Auto Care, are steering people to a predatory lender that engages in a variety of questionable practices and charges up to 189% interest \u2014 even in states where triple-digit interest is illegal.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA car repair can be a devastating expense, and financially fragile families don\u2019t need predatory lenders amplifying the damage,\u201d said Elyse Hicks, consumer policy counsel at Americans for Financial Reform, a member organization of Stop the Debt Trap. \u201cFor most people, having a car that runs well is essential to their daily economic life and to managing a family.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transportation Alliance Bank (TAB), one of a few rogue banks that lend their charters to help unscrupulous businesses evade state consumer lending laws, is the research report\u2019s focus. The report details how TAB operates with its financial partner, EasyPay Finance, a subsidiary of Duvera Billing Services. Even in states that do not allow triple-digit interest rates, this financial alliance is making high-cost loans through stores nationwide, including auto mechanics and furniture. In other states, EasyPay extends credit directly in its own name, often as a retail installment sale.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

EasyPay Finance\u2019s website acknowledges its lending through TAB Bank in multiple states, many of which also have significant consumers of color: Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. In these and other states, EasyPay may be operating under either the state\u2019s lending statute or its retail installment loans act. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, hundreds of complaints from across the nation have been filed with the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and Ripoff Reports.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one of the most egregious consumer complaints in the\u00a0report<\/a>, a consumer maintained that a $1,500 repair bill exploded into debt in excess of $7,000 and now appears as a past due item on a credit report: \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuvera Financial has been reporting my account as past due monthly although this account is in the collection phase. I have complained previously about predatory lending practices such as excessive calls and being harassed about a debt that I did not agree to. The interest rate and continuous fees were not explained to me properly and I feel that this lender should not be in business. The bill of $1500.00 has ballooned to over $7000.00. In this climate, those fees are ridiculous. In addition, the account is being reported as open and past due which is incorrect. Please remove this account from my credit report.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another CFPB complaint came from a Chicago military service member who already has remitted a total of $2,300 through 23 payments on a $1,500 loan. Even so, he still owes $1,300, due to its 151 percent interest.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other consumer complaints identified additional auto repair finance issues:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n