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Car title lender must pay: Car title lender Loan Max must pay back some of its customers for violating state consumer protection laws.
(Daily Press (Newport News, VA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jun. 8--A car title loan company with 36 locations in Virginia will have to pay back $206,415 to 1,700 borrowers for violating Virginia's Consumer Finance Act in 2004 and 2005, Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell's office announced Friday.
Loan Max, which also does business as LoanSmart, did not hold consumer finance licenses issued by Virginia state regulators and misrepresented its loans as open-ended credit lines -- similar to credit cards -- from October 2004 through November 2005.
According to an 11-page settlement the company reached with the state, the Loan Max and LoanSmart did not provide a grace period of 25 days before imposing finance charges, as required by state consumer protection laws. Instead, it charged fees up front.
The lenders were charging a cash advance fee of 25 percent of the principal borrowed plus other fees, according to the settlement.
Consumers who have questions about the settlement may contact the Loan Max customer satisfaction center at 1-800-324-4061. Read more in tomorrow's Daily Press.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Daily Press, Newport News, Va.
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