OneMain Financial required to pay $20 million for illegal sales practices

Earlier last week, popular personal loan installment lender — OneMain Financial — was found to have been engaging in deceptive and misleading lending practices.

The lender has been ordered by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to pay $20 million in redress and penalties; $10 million of which will go to impacted borrowers.

Here’s what we know so far and what impacted borrowers need to do.

Recent investigation finds deceptive lending methods

OneMain Financial, one of the largest personal loan installment lenders in the nation, has been accused of engaging in illegal sales and lending practices. According to the CFPB, the lender expected its employees to engage in deceptive sales methods, like upselling and deceiving borrowers about needing to purchase add-ons to get approved.

According to the CFPB’s press brief, employees were trained to upsell even after borrowers denied similar add-ons and could even lose their job if they didn’t upsell enough, as they were “evaluated on the basis of their sales rate.”

CFPB’s enforcement action includes mandatory refunds, changed policies

As a result of the investigation, OneMain is required to adjust its policies to avoid a similar situation happening in the future. Among halting its unlawful lending practices, the lender is now required to double the cancellation period of an unused add-on from 30 days to 60.

The $10 million in refunds to eligible customers includes the interest accrual that was charged after the add-ons were canceled, and the remaining $10 million in penalty charges will go toward the CFPB’s victims relief fund.

OneMain accused of two primary wrongdoings

Through its investigation, the CFPB found that the lender deceived borrowers and withheld refunds, the latter of which is a violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act’s (CFPA) prohibition on unfair practices.

Deceiving borrowers about necessary purchases

Many consumers were led to believe by a company representative that they wouldn’t get approved for a loan unless they signed up for an optional product. In some cases, these products were added to the contract without informing the customer.

If the customer then asked for this additional product to be removed, it was a reportedly difficult process. Plus, some employees allegedly hid disclosures from borrowers, contradicting what the original disclosures stated.

Withholding refunds

OneMain is also under fire for not honoring its own “full refund policy” and withholding funds from those who would have otherwise qualified for the refund. As a result, the lender is now required to pay $10 million in damages to impacted borrowers and an additional $10 million to the CFPB victim relief fund.

The lender allegedly told borrowers that they would be eligible for a full refund if they canceled the purchase of an add-on within the specified amount of time.

What’s more, OneMain’s predetermined interest accrual on specific loans means that customers were also charged non-refundable interest accrual during the refund period.

“OneMain pressured its employees to load up its loans with extra charges through false promises of easy cancellation with full refunds,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a press brief. “We are ordering OneMain to refund borrowers it cheated and to clean up its business practices.”

What impacted borrowers need to do

As of now, borrowers don’t need to take any further action and need to be on the lookout for new information from the CFPB or OneMain. Those impacted will receive an additional interest refund from the lender in accordance with its agreed-upon timeline with the CFPB.

If you believe you’ve been a victim of misleading or deceptive practices or wish to submit a complaint about a lender’s products or services, call 855-411-CFPB(2372). You can also submit a complaint via the CFPB website.

If you are an employee — of OneMain or of another financial institution — and believe that the company has violated the CFPB’s regulatory standards or the federal consumer financial laws, you can send the information to whistleblower@cfpb.gov.