I was originally approved for a loan with a term of 72 months. I requested a shorter term, but was told the terms were a condition getting the loan. I then asked if payments could be made directly to principal to shorten the time it takes to pay off the loan. I was told yes, it’s easy to do as long as the account is up to date. Just stamp the check or money order “to be applied to principal only” they said or call customer service after each principal payment posts.
I bought a stamp, tried paying on the principal many times with check/money order stamped “to be applied to principal only” several places on both sides, but not once was it ever applied to the principle, so beware, that claim is false! Eventually, after trying several other failed strategies, I realized the only way to get a payment applied to principal was to call and endure trying to communicate what I was trying to do to, with someone who could barely speak English.
Aside from that being very frustrating, ever after you manage to get through that grueling experience. A request has to be sent to management. I was told this process should take no more than 2-3 business days, but discovered it could take weeks. Just because the request is sent to management is no guarantee that the payment will be applied as you’ve requested. They’ve reserved the right to decide if they even want to apply the payment to the principle. You’ll have to call multiple times to make sure it gets done! (frustrating). So beware:
- Beware, contrary to what you’re told, just stamping your check or money order “to be applied to principal only” is a farce. That claim is absolutely false!
- Beware, they don’t post payments to the principal just because a customer with an account in good standing requests it, so called management decides and does it their discretion.
- Beware, you’ll have to call numerous times to get them to actually post you payment to the principal. They’re intentionally made it difficult, so I suggest you keep good records to prove you did!
If you’re diligent about your credit and/or want pay off your loan quickly, contrary to what you’re told, it won’t be easy. Its intentionally made very difficult to do. If you’ve had the misfortune of having to deal with them, you’ll want to try to get away from them as soon as you can.
