ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orange County woman claims a car title loan contained hidden fees and now its sky-high rates left her struggling to survive.
Action 9 found a big title lender is now in central Florida offering a new version of title loans that had been banned.
Tiesha Taylor thought Instaloan was an easy option for emergency cash.
"All you had to bring in was your title and two pay stubs," she said.
Instaloan is a title lender; you hand over your vehicle's title for cash. If you don't pay back the loan, you lose your car.
Taylor said she thought she was paying the state maximum of 30 percent interest. She's not even close.
"I wish I never got the loan," she said.
Her effective rate is easily 100 percent or higher because of extra monthly fees Instaloan requires.
The company adds insurance each month to protect itself. These are fees Taylor said came out of nowhere.
"They didn't tell me anything about insurance charges," she said.
Action 9 checked with the Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation, and 24 other customers complained about insurance and high-interest rates.
Consumer advocates call the insurance fee a loophole to get around Florida's crackdown on title loans that capped interest rates at 30 percent.
"If they operate as installment lenders they can have all these add-ons to jack up the price of the loan and put that burden on consumers," said Alice Vickers of the Florida Consumer Action Network.
Instaloan is owned by TMX Finance and has several local stores. Taylor went to the West Colonial location, which is where Action 9's Todd Ulrich went for answers.
"I've got a consumer who claims she wasn't told how high the interest rate really was," said Ulrich.
"Have a nice day," said the manager as he waved Ulrich away.
"Can I talk about the rates you charge?" asked Ulrich.
The manger had no response.
TMX Finance did not return Action 9's calls.
Taylor has paid back nearly $700 on a $600 loan, but claims her balance is still close to $600.
"I do fear losing my car," she said.
The company's loan documents Action 9 reviewed did show the insurance charges you would pay.
Consumer experts said typical consumers don't realize how those charges turn into sky-high interest rates.
WFTV
