At some point, most of us will rely on financing to buy the things we need or want. But what happens when financing terms aren’t clear? Or you’re told to expect a monthly payment amount, but end up paying more? That’s not only illegal, but it costs you money and can hurt your credit.
The FTC says that’s what happened to customers of Aqua Finance, Inc. (“AFI”), a finance company offering loans for people to buy home water treatment systems through a network of door-to-door dealers. The lawsuit says the company’s dealers frequently misled people about AFI’s financing terms, provided paperwork that didn’t clearly explain the financing, targeted older adults and Spanish speakers, and pressured people to sign financing documents they didn’t understand. This led to people paying more than they could afford and caused some to miss payments. And, the FTC says, AFI shared account details with credit bureaus, reporting missed payments and inaccurate information about people’s loans. Reporting negative information hurts people’s credit.