TitleMax SCAM, Former employee testimonial ******must read***** Johnson City Tennessee

Ok I am a current employee of Titlemax in Tennessee and I also have some advice. First off Titlemax is not a rip-off unless you are a person who knows nothing about personal responsibility. I never loan anyone money at my store without going over in depth how it works and also explaining that it is not intended to meet long term financial goals. That is why you pay your bills on time and work hard to establish a good credit score and borrow from your bank. People seem to forget that the reason they come see us in the first place is because they obviously can not obtain traditionally financing.

I go over every payment before I have a customer sign anything and I also tell them that they do not have to carry the loan out for 22 months. Lets say someone wants to borrow 200 bucks ok take 12.99% and multiply that times your principal of 200. That gives you a finance charge of 25.98. Ok so you pay it off in the first 30 days and payback 225.98. Or if you pay it off in 90 days then you would pay a total of 251.96. You see you will obviously pay a lot of money if you only pay the minimum payment and drag it out .

So what I am saying is you should understand that it is not meant to be a long term thing and if you come in with that understanding then you will be better off. People always want to pay the minimum and then complain 6 months down the road well you should only borrow money if you really need it and if someone will lend it to you when your banker, friends, and family will not then you have to understand the reason why they will not and the risk we take on our end. I do not have perfect credit myself and I even had to do a check advance at a check place. I know the interest and guess what I paid it off as soon as I could. I did not borrow the money because I wanted to shop or because I wanted to pay off another debt. I borrowed that money because my car broke down and I had to fix it.

People need to think before they act and ask there self if they really need the money and how fast they can pay it off. I have some customers that borrow and pay it off fast and those are the ones who thank me every time. Here is my advice read some Dave Ramsey and start putting your finances in order. I am 24 and just now understanding how credit and borrowing money works. Especially now with the economy in a mess think about your spending and make yourself a budget.

If you do ever have an emergency and you go to a Titlemax to borrow money go in with the realization that hey I am going to pay this off as soon as possible and do not be afraid to say hey you know what let me look over all my bills and if I decide I can afford to do this and pay you back then I will get back with you. Americans must stand up and take personal responsibility and believe me I have it hard like everyone else I have a daughter and one on the way and now I work a 3rd shift on top of Titlemax so believe me when I say I understand how customers feel. I know sometimes when we are broke we do not think before we sign a contract because someone offers us some money but trust me you might want to really think to yourself is this right for me.
God bless.

Real :You are right on a couple of things. That people need to take personal responsiblity and live on a budget. Cudoos to listening to Dave, but you are not teaching and or living the way he teaches. You know he teaches people to stay away from these type of lending places and you know why. You also know that trying to improve your credit score and doing it at a place like Titlemax is also not what he teaches and you know why! I actually took his 13 week course when he taught it live and in person, many moons ago. So I have been learning from him for a long time. I also go to his church, so I know his principles quite well. That said, I have learned to stay out of debt and do not care what my credit score is! Cash works wonders and people will have that if they STOP looking for ways for a short term "fix". You know why I say that, if as you say, you listen to Dave.

You may be the exception of the rule in trying to go over a perspective clients budget, but you are not the rule. Most who work in your type of company only want the customer and you know that most get locked in a perpertual cycle of debt and have a difficult time getting out. If you do not believe me run a check on complaints on your company, call Dave and then get back with me.

There is always a way out other than going through Titlemax. I have had my share of financial difficulties, but my husband and I live on a plan ,a budget, we do not have credit cards and we stay away from places like Titlemax. We live within our means and we use CASH! It works wonders and people would have it if they stopped trying to get loans.

I am pleased you seem to "get it" at such a young age, but if you truly do honor Dave's plan then lead people away from Titlemax and teach them to use CASH. That would be an honorable way to teach and lead them away from using debt no matter how much you think you are "helping" them now. True help is not leading them into debt, it is leading them away from it.

Peace my friend,

Cat

As a listener of Dave Ramsey, I agree : Don't borrow money,don't live off credit cards, and pay cash. That being said, TitleMax doesn't force anyone to go into their office to make a title pawn. Just like no one is forced to go into a check advance office or a personal loan company. If you do feel the need to do business with one of these places, READ EVERYTHING. If you have a question or don't understand something, ask for clarification. And if you go into one of these places,PAY THE DAMN NOTE! Pay over the minimum amount due and make sure it goes towards the principle. I've worked for a finance company for over 10 years and the one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how people are just chomping at the bit to get the check. I have told customers over and over again "Do you understand that your payment is due ON or BEFORE the due date? And if you are late that you will be charged a late fee?". All of them will quickly say,"Yes", grab the check, then walk out the door. Then, 30-45 days later, they get upset when you call them ,asking where their payment is. Then, the excuses come out of the woodwork. They are short on hours, their paycheck is late in getting to them, they don't have a ride to the office {yet, they have the way to get to my office for the money}.With my company, if you do not pay the loan, we will file a garnishment against you and we will get our money. It's very simple. If you don't pay your electric bill, your power will be turned off. If you don't pay your rent/mortgage, you will get evicted or foreclosed.If you don't pay your car note, your car will be repossessed. And,I'm sure that if you have a TITLE pawn with Titlemax and do not pay the monthly note, they will come and get your car. So, pay the loan off as quickly as possible, budget your money, and never go back to TitleMax if you don't like the way they do business. Storm

I would like to know, how long will Titlemax continue recovery procedures? Will they sell the account to another entity, and if so are you still bound to the original Pawn contract signed with Titlemax? Will Titlemax or the other entity (if any) report the matter to the credit reporting agencies and is there anyway to get out of a Pawn transaction without paying the large amount of interest? I have been avoiding my car being repossed due to a pawn transaction with Titlemax for over a year. Any help would be highly appreciated!

I would suggest that you contact the corp office (can get the number by calling a titlemax office and asking for it) and trying to work out something. They will continue for many years to try and find this. The repo co will cont skip trace and try to find this vehicle. As manager i had a repo co pick up a vehicle that we were looking for almost a year. If they repo it you will have to pay it in full plus the repo fee or they will sell the car

This is not true in what he is saying. My loan was 2018, including Title. Next month loan went to 2189. and on up. I paid this loan off. It is not 25 % but 125% and they are getting away with it. 

Titlemax is a total ripoff. They constantly call their customers starting with the first day they miss a payment.  Then they will start calling your employer and references and if you don't respond, they will come to your home. Even a bank, credit card company or other traditional type of lender will not contact you until 30 days after you missed a payment. TitleMax's philosophy is to persist until you give in, at least that's what they think. Customers who are having a hard time paying don't appreciate being harassed and having all their contacts called. I don't blame some of the people who stop paying because TitleMax is relentess in their "collections process". They will call good paying customers who pay on time everytime the follow day if they missed a payment to see why they missed their payment.

If a customers payment date falls on a Sunday when the store is closed, they will call the customer Monday morning. They wont even give the person a chance to come in and pay. Also, after they call you and leave a message, they will immediatley start calling the customers employer and references. A lot of people work during the day and cannot answer their phone. The stores close at 7:00PM on week nights. One night I was working until 7:30 to close and my manager had me calling the people who were due to pay on the same date and never showed up.

I also think the goverment should regulate the interest rates they charge. 110% APR is just insane. If you borrow $4,000 your minimum monthley payment will be near $418. All loans are for 24 months. If you make the minium payment x 24 months, you will pay $10,032 in total. The less you borrow, the higher the rate. $1000 would be at %150 APR. $1000 would be $133 per month x 24 $3192.

TitleMax will call you after they sold your car to recover any amounts they did not recover. If you owe $2,500, they repo the car and sell it at an auction for $2,000, they will call you to collect the $500. What people don't know, and TitleMax wont tell customers, is that the loan is a Non-Recourse loan, which means that once the collateral (i.e., car is repossesed and sold) the customer is no longer obligated to pay the balance. However, they will still try to collect. 

All TitleMax loans are never reported to credit agencies. So if your car is repossesed and sold, you no longer owe the balance and it has no impact at all on your credit report.