THE BLOG

28
Jan

FinTech, Elevate and Loan Depot IPO’s, Gas prices, Pawn Destruction?

By: Jer Trihouse. Alternative Financial Lenders (AFS) which includes payday loans, installment loans, pawn, title loans… and the new variation of FinTech lenders such as Lendup, Prosper, Lending Club, Avant, Enova, Elastic, OnDeck… are getting “creamed” of late! In light of the devestation of stock prices and their immediate expectations, and the fact that gasoline prices are well under $2/gal in many of our demographic markets,  it’s no surprise Elevate Credit (NYSE:ELVT) and LoanDepot decided to pull their IPO, nor for CSH to drop their unsecured payday loan products like a hot potato – other than in Ohio. QC has applied for delisting by the NASDAQ. (Low gasoline prices is killing the pawn industry as well.)

Jer Trihouse Consulting

Jer Trihouse

The CFPB represents a HUGE hammer that is about to smash these online business models  to bits. City ordinaces are not helping brick-n-mortars either. None of us know how bad this will be. Of course, the FED take’s delight in this. I only wish I had been at the after party when they announced a $1.2 BILLION DOLLAR fine against Scott Tucker!

Folks, in today’s economic environment and in combination with the unknown devestation the CFPB COULD level on all of us, your focus must be on cutting costs while developing new products with lower margins. It’s back to funamentals; onboarding new customers at a CAC that makes sense for your financial metrics and nurturing that customer over their lifetime.

Collaboration is another area offering unique opportunities. Witness Uber and their drivers access to loans.

Finally, my sources tell me the tribes and the mono-line pawn shop owners are salivating over the potential refercussions of the CFPB. Time will tell. But, it’s a certainty that fewer consumer loan options will drive consumers into the hands of tribe lenders and pawn shops.

Here’s an interesting article by Carter Dougherty 

Elevate Credit – Innovative Financial Services Or Online Loan Sharks? Jury’s Out

Elevate Credit – Innovative Financial Services Or Online Loan Sharks? Jury’s Out Depending on how you feel about borrowing and lending, Texas-based Elevate Credit could be the first hot new tech stock of 2016 — or an ignoble, consumer-exploiting failure. The company, backed by Silicon Valley venture capital heavyweights, set out to reinvent small-dollar lending over…Continue Reading..

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22
Jan

QC Holdings, Inc. Announces Voluntary NASDAQ Delisting and SEC Deregistration

I’ve been watching QC Holdings shares CRASH for months! Finally, here it is:

QC Holdings, Inc. Announces Voluntary NASDAQ Delisting and SEC Deregistration

Title: QC Holdings, Inc. Announces Voluntary NASDAQ Delisting and SEC Deregistration

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Jan. 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — QC Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCCO) announced today that it has notified the NASDAQ Stock Market (“NASDAQ”) of its intention to voluntarily delist its common stock from the NASDAQ Capital Market. The Company intends to cease trading on NASDAQ at the close of business on February 11, 2016. The Company’s obligation to file current and periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) will be terminated the same day upon the filing of the requisite notification with the SEC. The Company is eligible to deregister its common stock because it has fewer than 300 stockholders of record.

Following delisting and deregistering, the Company presently intends to provide annual information regarding its performance upon stockholder request. The Company’s shares may be quoted in the “Pink Sheets” (www.pinksheets.com), an electronic quotation service for over-the-counter securities. However, there can be no assurance that any market maker or broker will continue to make a market in the Company’s shares.

The Company’s board of directors determined, after careful consideration, that voluntarily delisting and deregistering is in the overall best interests of the Company and its stockholders. Factors that the board of directors considered include the cost savings that will occur as a result of the elimination of the Company’s obligation to file reports with the SEC, the avoidance of additional accounting, audit, legal and other costs and management’s attention devoted to compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the historically low daily trading volume in the Company’s shares, and the benefit of allowing management to focus on the long-term development of our core business.

About QC Holdings, Inc.
Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, QC Holdings, Inc. is a leading provider of consumer loans in the United States and Canada. In the United States, QC offers various products, including single-pay, installment and title loans, check cashing, debit cards and money transfer services, through 394 branches in 22 states at December 31, 2015. In Canada, the company, through its subsidiary Direct Credit Holdings Inc., is engaged in short-term, consumer Internet lending in various provinces. During fiscal 2014, the company advanced nearly $750 million to customers and reported total revenues of $153 million.

Website: QC Holdings

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21
Jan

Title Loan Lies: GPS Devices & Forced Repair Warranties

Title Lenders Doing Stupid Stuff: Again

CFPB TAKES ACTION AGAINST HERBIES AUTO FOR UNLAWFUL LENDING PRACTICES
Subprime “Buy Here Pay Here” Dealer Hid Finance Charges, Deceived Consumers

Washington, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Herbies Auto Sales, a buy-here pay-here used car dealer, for abusive financing schemes, hiding auto finance charges and misleading consumers. Herbies will pay $700,000 in restitution to harmed consumers, with a suspended civil penalty of $100,000.

Stupid things payday lenders do“Buying a car is often one of the most important purchases a consumer makes, so the experience needs to be fair and above-board,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “But concealing finance charges and the real cost of credit, as Herbies did here, is unlawful and unacceptable.”

Y King S Corp., which does business as Herbies Auto Sales, is located in Greeley, Colo. Herbies operates as a subprime, buy-here, pay-here dealer, which is a dealer that both sells the car and originates the auto loan without selling that loan to a third party. From at least 2012 through May 2014, the company offered financing to about one thousand people each year.

Herbies unlawfully advertised a misleadingly low 9.99 percent annual percentage rate (APR), without disclosing a required warranty, a payment reminder device and other credit costs as finance charges. This ruse helped Herbies convince consumers that they would get the 9.99 percent APR instead of the much higher rate actually charged. Also, Herbies engaged in abusive practices.

Herbies violated the Truth in Lending Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Financial Protection Act. Specifically, the company:

  • Hid finance charges and advertised a far lower APR than consumers received: Herbies lied to consumers about finance charges and APRs in marketing materials, including on showroom window displays, and in Truth-in-Lending Act disclosures. Hidden finance charges included $1,650 for a required repair warranty and $100 for a required GPS payment reminder device.
  • Hid finance charges that stemmed from a refusal to negotiate car prices: Herbies refused to negotiate prices with credit customers, but did negotiate with cash customers. The resulting finance charge should have been included in the disclosed cost of credit.
  • Used abusive practices: Herbies’ financing scheme lured consumers with misleading advertising and then kept them in the dark about the true cost of financing the cars they were buying. This took advantage of consumers’ inability to protect their interests in selecting or using Herbies’ financing, among other things.

Enforcement Action
Under the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the CFPB is authorized to take action against institutions engaged in unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices, or that otherwise violate federal consumer financial laws. Under the consent order, Herbies is required to:

  • Provide $700,000 in redress to harmed consumers: Herbies must provide $700,000 in restitution for consumers who financed cars with Herbies after January 1, 2012, except those whose accounts were charged off due to default. Herbies must submit a timeline to the Bureau for making restitution to consumers. Herbies is also subject to a civil penalty of $100,000, which is suspended as long as redress is paid.
  • Stop deceiving consumers during financing process: Herbies must not misrepresent interest rates, finance charges, or amounts financed, or any other fact material to consumers concerning the financing of any motor vehicle.
  • Post automobile prices: Herbies must clearly and prominently post the purchase price on all automobiles for sale when offering auto financing.
  • Provide certain financing information in advance: Herbies must give consumers certain information about the financing offer, including the actual APR, price of the car, and all finance charges, and get a signed acknowledgment from consumers that they received the required information before or at the time financing is offered.

The full text of the CFPB’s Consent Order is available at: http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201601_cfpb_consent-order_y-kings-corp-also-doing-business-as-herbies-auto-sales.pdf

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05
Jan

Example Payday Loan Partial Payment Agreement

Example Payday Loan Partial Payment Agreement

Do you need an example of a payday loan partial payment agreement; sometimes called a “Delayed Deposit Partial Payment Agreement?” [For this form and all the others you’ll need to successfully make money by lending money in the payday loan, installment and car title loan industry, get our “Bible.”]

Let’s face it. Payday loan lenders, car title loan lenders, installment loan lenders, crowd funding and peer-2-peer lenders  must often take a softer approach. Nothing wrong with this. But, get everything in writing AND spend the time necessary to explain the details to your borrower. Do not gloss over this! Invest the time with your borrower to make it clear what your borrower needs to do and what will occur if they fail to meet their obligation.

DELAYED DEPOSIT SERVICES PARTIAL PAYMENT AGREEMENT (CASH)

 

Licensee Name: __________________________      Customer Name _________________________

Address: ________________________________       Address:_______________________________

________________________________________       _______________________________________

Telephone: ______________________________       Telephone: _____________________________

 

Customer acknowledges:

  • I entered into a delayed deposit transaction with Licensee on __________________.
  • The check which I wrote in that transaction has been returned unpaid.
  • The returned check number is _________.
  • The amount of the returned check is $__________.
  • Licensee has added a penalty fee of $___________.
  • The total amount I owe to Licensee is $_________.
  • I wish to make partial payments in order to pay off the full amount I owe to Licensee.

 

Customer and Licensee agree as follows:

  • Customer will make payments to Licensee in satisfaction of the above debt in the minimum amount of $______.
  • Such payments will be made

___Weekly; ___Bi-weekly; ___Monthly; ___Other (Specify:_________________).

  • The payment is due on the _____ day of each ___________; ___Other (Specify:_____________).
  • The payments will be made in cash or by money order. Checks cannot be accepted.
  • Customer is entitled to a receipt for each payment.
  • Customer may pre-pay all or part of the above debt at any time.
  • If Customer makes payments according to this schedule, Licensee will not attempt other collection methods available to Licensee and will not re-present the check.
  • If Customer fails to make the first payment under this Agreement, Licensee is entitled to re-present the original check for payment. At its option, Licensee may re-present the check electronically within 7 business days of the missed payment date, and may separately electronically debit Customer’s account for the penalty fee.  Licensee may re-present the check more than once.  Customer will receive no additional notification of re-presentment(s) of the check.  Customer may incur costs from the financial institution each time the check is returned unpaid.
  • If Customer defaults, in whole or in part, under the Agreement, Licensee may utilize any collection methods available to it under the law. Customer may incur additional costs as a result.
  • Licensee will keep a record showing every payment received from Customer. Customer is entitled to a copy of such record during Licensee’s regular business hours, and a copy of this contract.
  • Upon successful completion of this contract, the original check will be returned to Customer.

 

____________________________________               __________________________________

Customer Signature                                                    Licensee Representative Signature

 

Date: _______________________________              Date:_____________________________

 

                                                                                                  

                                                                                                          DDS Partial Payments Form/Cash

DELAYED DEPOSIT SERVICES PARTIAL PAYMENT AGREEMENT (ACH)

 

Licensee Name: __________________________      Customer Name _________________________

Address: ________________________________       Address:_______________________________

________________________________________       _______________________________________

Telephone: ______________________________       Telephone: _____________________________

 

Customer acknowledges:

  • I entered into a delayed deposit transaction with Licensee on __________________.
  • The check which I wrote in that transaction has been returned unpaid.
  • The returned check number is _________.
  • The amount of the returned check is $__________.
  • Licensee has added a penalty fee of $___________.
  • The total amount I owe to Licensee is $_________.
  • I wish to make partial payments in order to pay off the full amount I owe to Licensee.
How to start a payday loan business

Start a PDL Company

[Want this form for your own use? Need it as a PDF or Word document? Email Jer@TrihouseConsulting.com or invest in our “Bible.” Both our payday loan and our car title loan Manuals include a multitude of aldditional forms, docs, check lists and more.]

Customer and Licensee agree as follows:

  • In satisfaction of the above debt, Customer authorizes Licensee to electronically debit the account on which the check was written. Licensee will use an Automated Clearing House (ACH) method, which is a nationwide electronic funds transfer system.
  • Licensee will electronically debit the account in the amount of $______.
  • Licensee will electronically debit such amount:

___ Weekly; ___Bi-weekly; ___Monthly; ___Other (Specify:_________________).

  • The electronic debit will occur on the _____ day of each ___________; ___Other (Specify:_____________).
  • Customer may pre-pay all, or if electronic debits have been made, the remaining portion of the above debt, in cash at any time. If Customer satisfies the full amount of the debt, this authorization for electronic debiting is immediately revoked.
  • If Customer makes payments according to this schedule, Licensee will not attempt other collection methods available to Licensee and will not re-present the check.
  • Customer will receive no additional notification of these electronic debits from Licensee. Customer may incur costs from the financial institution if any electronic debit is refused for insufficient funds.
  • If Customer defaults, in whole or in part, under the Agreement, or revokes this authorization for electronic debiting by giving written notice to Licensee at the above address, Licensee may utilize any collection methods available to it under the law. Customer may incur additional costs as a result.
  • Licensee will keep a record showing every payment received from Customer. Customer is entitled to a copy of such record during Licensee’s regular business hours, and a copy of this contract.
  • Upon successful completion of this contract, the original check will be returned to Customer.

 

____________________________________               __________________________________

Customer Signature                                                    Licensee Representative Signature

 

Date: _______________________________              Date:_____________________________

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