The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered OneMain Financial to pay $20 million for:
- failing to refund interest charged to 25,000 customers who cancelled purchases; and
- deceiving borrowers about needing to purchase add-on products to receive a loan.
OneMain will pay $10 million in refunds to consumers it harmed, and an additional $10 million penalty to the CFPB’s victims relief fund. “OneMain pressured its employees to load up its loans with extra charges through false promises of easy cancellation with full refunds,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “We are ordering OneMain to refund borrowers it cheated and to clean up its business practices.”
Specifically, the CFPB alleged OneMain:
The CFPB found that OneMain:
- Tricked borrowers into signing up for optional products: OneMain customers were led to believe that they could not receive a loan without signing up for an add-on product. Some employees added the products to paperwork without verbally informing the consumer that the products were included or optional, a practice referred to internally as “pre-packing.” In other cases, employees obscured written disclosures from consumers’ view, or verbally contradicted them.
- Kept $10 million in interest charges despite its “full-refund” policy: OneMain told borrowers they would receive a “full refund” on add-on purchases if they cancelled within a certain period (generally 30 days). However, OneMain unfairly failed to refund interest charges for about 25,000 borrowers who signed up for add-ons such as roadside assistance benefits, identity theft protection, or entertainment discounts.
Fitzgerald & Campbell, APLC is a law firm that represents consumers and small businesses with difficult debt collectors like OneMain Financial. We provide collection harassment services along with Debt Settlement, Judgment Contests, Debtor Protection, Collection Lawsuit Defense, and Bankruptcy. To learn more, visit our website at www.DebtorProtectors.com. For a free consultation, call/text to (855) 709-5788 or contact us online today.