To: The Ohio State House, The Ohio State Senate, and Governor Mike DeWine
Outlaw Title Lending Companies in OHIO
Title Loan companies operate in Ohio under a loophole in the mortgage lending laws. Charging interest rates as high as 400-600%, they are unquestionably, predatory lenders preying on the most vulnerable Ohioans. Working class people often have poor credit histories and seek these loans only after being denied credit from conventional sources. Title loan companies profit by trapping borrowers in a never ending cycle of poverty by charging exorbitant interest rates.
Why is this important?
My daughter is embroiled in a horror story involving one such company, Title Max. After paying close to $2,000 against a $2,000 loan, she was three weeks late on a payment. The lender repossessed the vehicle without providing notice, gave her ten days to pay before threatening to sell the vehicle at auction. After paying Titlle Max another $2,000, we made three attempts to reclaim the vehicle. While we did actually get the vehicle, it had been stripped and was undriveable. Police informed us that since numerous companies had custody of the vehicle, we would have a difficult time proving which one actually stripped the vehicle.