Moneytree Hit With $500K In Fines, Refunds

Payday lender Moneytree has been ordered to pay more than $500,000 in fines and refunds for what federal regulators have deemed deceptive advertising and collection practices. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that Moneytree violated federal law with misleading ads about how much its branches would charge customers to cash income tax-refund checks. Some ads said the company would cash the checks for a fee of “1.99”. Other ads correctly listed the fees as “1.99%” of each tax refund. The company maintains the incorrect ad was an inadvertent mistake. The company was also fined for sending debt-collection letters in 2014 and 2015 that threatened to repossess cars and trucks belonging to 490 customers who were delinquent on loans, though those customers had not pledged their vehicle titles as collateral.