Alicia L. Hinton, Esq.
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Alicia L. Hinton, Esq.

Fighting for your rights, the right way.

American First Finance Interest Charge Class Action

8/31/2021

 
Together the consumer protection firms of Green & Noblin, and the Law Office of A.L. Hinton are investigating claims by California consumers against lender American First Finance, Inc. for charging triple-digit interest rates and failing to disclose lending terms at the time of sale.

American First Finance provides retail merchants with a financing option for customers who typically have low credit scores or poor credit history.
American First Finance has advertised early payoff incentives, such as “90 Days Same As Cash” or “Early Payoff Discount.”
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American First Finance offers financing services for many types of retail goods, including furniture, jewelry, appliances, tires, etc., and retail services, including auto repair, veterinary services, dental and vision care, etc.

CLASS ACTION ALLEGATIONS
We are investigating reports that American First Finance may be wrongfully providing loans to California consumers or wrongfully imposing high interest rates.

If your consumer purchase was financed by American First Finance, you may be entitled to relief.

Protect your rights by speaking with a consumer attorney.
Call us toll free at 844-414-1822.
Or go to www.alhintonlaw.com to submit your information.

​Call toll free at 844-414-1822.

Double Down (Payments)

4/6/2019

 
There is a big difference between who you pay the down payment to and who you make car loan payments to. Your down payment is paid to the DEALER.  Your car payments are paid to the LENDER.  Your obligation to both is wholly separate.
What this means is that if you are paying your down payment over time to the DEALER, you will also be required to make your car payments to the LENDER at the same time - DOUBLE PAYMENTS.

​Seriously consider whether you are financially able to do this because if you miss a payment to either one, there can be very serious consequences.
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For example, let's say you agreed to pay a $3,000 down payment but only had $2,000 at the time of sale and agreed to pay the balance of $1,000 in $200 payments for five months. This is your agreement with the DEALER and the dealer has the right to get paid - on time. 

At the same time that you are making payments to the dealer, you need to make your car payments to the LENDER.  If your car payments are $300 per month, then for the first five months of car ownership you will be paying a total of $500 per month for the car - $200 to the dealer and $300 to the lender.

What happens if you miss a payment?

Once the car loan is in place, the LENDER has a secured interest in your vehicle. You will be listed on your DMV registration card as the Registered owner and your lender will be listed as the legal owner or lienholder.   What this means is that only the lender has the legal right to repossess your car for failure to pay your car payments and sue you for the balance on the loan.

Once the lender is listed with the DMV as the legal owner, the dealer no longer has any secured interest in the vehicle and therefore has no legal right to repossess it if you fail to pay the dealer for the balance of the down payment.  However, the dealer does have the legal right to sue you for the money you owe.

This doesn't mean that the dealer won't try to repossess your car illegally, which puts you in a terrible position with the lender because you are still obligated under the loan agreement to make your car payments on the loan for a car you no longer have possession of. 

Seriously consider if you are financially able to make two payments at the same time.

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Lenders decide whether or not to finance a vehicle loan based on what is written on the sales contract.  If the sales contract shows that you have made a $3,000 down payment, but you actually only paid $2,000 and are going to make five more payments of $200 each to pay the dealer, the dealer is misrepresenting to the lender what the actual terms of sale are.  If the lender knew that you were obligated to pay $200 per month to the dealer at the same time that you are making a $300 per month car payment to the lender, the lender may have refused to fund your car loan.  If your income shows that you can easily make a $300 per month car payment, but not a $500 per month car payment, the lender would be taking too great a risk that you will default on your car loan.  Rightly so.
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Your best choice is to buy a car with only the amount of down payment that you actually are able to pay in cash at the time of sale - no deferred down payments.

Absolutely the Worst Advice I Could Give!

9/16/2018

 
​This is the worst, absolutely THE worst advice I could give you.  You hear this all the time, and it seems like GOOD advice. So, why do I say it is the WORST advice?  Because it pains me to look into my crystal ball and know that you will NOT take it.  It’s also the worst advice because if I give you this advice after you buy a piece of junk, then I sound like an “I told you so” nag.   Of course, I'm going to give it to you anyway, but you're putting me in a real bind by not taking it.   How do I know you won't take my (and every other lemon law attorney's) advice?  Because you’ll be in my office (or theirs) asking for help to get you out of the sale. Maybe we can help, and maybe we can’t.  

​Here goes...
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​​GET YOUR USED CAR INSPECTED
BEFORE YOU BUY IT.
​That's it - that's my very best and worst advice. It bears repeating: 
                         Get your used car inspected before you buy it!

Now, rather than leaving my blog on such a negative Nelly note, I thought it might be helpful to talk about the psychology of why people feel so uncomfortable asking the seller if they can take the car to their own mechanic for inspection. (This is arm-chair psychology since I’m not an actual psychologist but attorney's are also known as “counselor” so I'll take my leave.)
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​First, people do not like conflict and setting a boundary with the seller is uncomfortable.  You’ll likely get a lot of push back: “I already inspected the car and it runs fine.” “Don’t you trust me?” “Just sign the papers first and you can take it to a mechanic. If there is a problem, I’ll take it back.”  “You can’t take the car because it isn’t insured.”  “I’ve shown you the Carfax already and it says there aren’t any problems.”  And on and on.

What a normal car buyer might think is, “Lordy, just get me out of here.” “I’ll just sign so he shuts up.”  “Well, he sounds honest.”  “He said he would take it back.”  “I’ve already taken his time, so I have to buy it now.”   All of this push-back is really just to bully you, distract you, and make you uncomfortable.  Sellers WANT you uncomfortable. 
​Second, people don’t often buy cars and don’t really know what their rights are or what is normal.  Let me assure you, IT IS A NORMAL REQUEST to seek a second opinion BEFORE you buy a car.  NORMAL, I say. 
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Call your own insurance before you buy a car to make sure you would be covered driving someone else’s car to your mechanic.  You are likely covered. If the seller wants to drive the car to the auto shop, great. Just don’t let them hang out with your mechanic.  Even though it is their car, you are paying for an independent inspection and don’t need the owner  badgering the mechanic.
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While you are at the mechanic, run your own darn Carfax or Autocheck report.  Do NOT rely on what someone else gives you. It is worth every penny, just like paying for your mechanic to look over the car.
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It is also NORMAL to ask for a WRITTEN receipt that includes each person’s contact information (phone AND address), the date, the amount paid, the year, make and model of the car, and both signatures.  It is also NORMAL to ask for a warranty in WRITING. One day, two days, one week, whatever, and the major systems covered (like powertrain and engine). The seller might say no, but it is normal to ask. And keep in mind, if the seller says no there is a reason.

Also run the vehicle’s smog history to see when it was last smogged.  A private seller MUST have the car smogged within 90 days prior to its sale.  A used car dealer must smog it sometime between when he acquires the vehicle and sells it (which could be more than 90 days).

Check the smog history for free at
 https://www.bar.ca.gov/pubwebquery/vehicle/pubtstqry.aspx. ​
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​Third, and this might be hard to hear, I believe that BUYERS don’t want to know!  It is exciting to buy a new-to-you car and it looks great. (They all LOOK great.)  Be honest, perhaps YOU don’t want to bother with the adult responsibilities that go along with car buying.  That’s right – I said it, from my armchair.  I believe it is better to look yourself in the mirror and fess up before buying a car.  If you just don’t want to deal with a second opinion or Carfax or written receipt, fine.  Just don’t raise the victim flag when your new car breaks down a mile (or a block) away.  It’s annoying. (Thus the whole point about giving you the worst advice.)
​There is one ADULT requirement that you should know about.  If you buy from a private seller, YOU are required to report the sale to DMV within 10 days of the purchase date.  The seller signs over the title (pink slip) to you and you notify DMV of the sale.  If you buy from a used car dealer, the dealer is supposed to report the sale to the DMV.

Being better informed, empowered, and a bit more self-reflective, we can close this counseling session and I will hang up my psychologists hat ...
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    Alicia L. HintonClients’ ChoiceAward 2018


    ​Author

    My goal is to help you avoid common car sales scams, educate you about your rights, and teach you to walk away from a bad deal.

    And, I get to vent about my pet peeves and those times when I think....  aaaaggghh, don't do that!

    I have a playful sense of humor.  Please take my blog posts with a grain of salt. They'll taste better that way.

    If you want legal advice, it's not here.  But you can call my office at
    ​(559) 691-6900 and we'll see what we can do for you. No guarantees, but it might be your lucky day!

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The content included in this blog site is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is improper for any attorney to  guarantee or predict the outcome of a potential client’s case.  

If you are interested in a consultation, please fill out the contact page information or call (559) 691-6900.

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2016 by Law Office of A.L. Hinton.
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