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American First Finance - Early Pay Off (Negotiable??)

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Oyiwaa
Regular Contributor

American First Finance - Early Pay Off (Negotiable??)

Hello,

 

A relative recently took a predatory loan - the loan was taken with American First Finance in the amount of $5000, but for a whooping interest rate of 150%.  He took the loan under extreme circumstances since February this year, and has kept with the bi-weekly payments of about $300, but he is caught, and wants to pay back this loan early.  The current balance is $4774, but the early pay-off amount is $4913.

 

Is it possible to negotiate this early payoff amount - he has some money now - about $4000, and wants to use it to clear off the loan. 

Are there any strategies to use to negotiate this ?

 

Details of the loan are below.

 

Thanks - OY

Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
RehabbingANDBlabbing
Established Contributor

Re: American First Finance - Early Pay Off (Negotiable??)

If he has some money now, he can pay extra in a lump sum. So if his balance is $4,913, he can pay $4,000 now, which would leave $913. He will continue to have to make payments until the account is completely paid off; however, the interest will not continue to accrue on the whole balance, just the $913. This will alllow your relative to pay it off much faster.

 

I have dealt with places like this in the past, and the thing to watch out for is that even if you pay extra, you will likely still have to continue making those regular payments. So if your relative pays the $4,000 extra to this account, then he/she should fully expect to have a payment due 2 weeks later.

 

Because they are current on the loan, it is highly unlikely that they will negotiate the balance down. That really only happens if you quit making payments and they become desperate to get their money back, by which time, they might sue you or add fees to the balance that make it more expensive in the long run. Your relative should just consider this an expensive lesson learned.

Message 2 of 5
silver_idle
Established Contributor

Re: American First Finance - Early Pay Off (Negotiable??)

It really amaze me how such companies are allowed to charge such high interest. You'd think the government would put a cap on the amount of interest a company could charge for any form of credit.

Regardless, like RehabbingANDBlabbing stated, one option would be to pay the $4000 towards the balance and continue making the rest of the payments, which would likely be 2 (if not 3) payments. That would be cheaper than doing a early payoff. I cannot find any trace of any credit agreements on their site that outlines their terms, but you may want to review it to see what other things thats mentioned. Maybe call in and see if they could allow him to pay it off without jacking the balance by $200+. If not but they allow you to pay more on the balance without paying it off then you could do that, only assuming that they wont increase the balance due to him paying more on it.

Message 3 of 5
Oyiwaa
Regular Contributor

Re: American First Finance - Early Pay Off (Negotiable??)

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Message 4 of 5
Oyiwaa
Regular Contributor

Re: American First Finance - Early Pay Off (Negotiable??)

Thanks for your reply -- I am attaching below a copy of the contract he just sent me/......

 

please let me know if there is anything else to be worried aboiut before we call them.

 

cheers, Oyy

Message 5 of 5
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