• CashCall had charged 139 percent interest on its loans
• ‘CashCall preyed on consumers desperate for cash’
CashCall, Inc., an Anaheim-based fast-money lender, has agreed to stop using “loan shark tactics” in collecting debt, including abusive calls at all hours of the day and night and empty threats of law enforcement action, says California Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr.
The court-ordered judgment also forces CashCall to stop misleading consumers with deceptive advertising and pay $1 million in civil penalties and legal expenses.
“CashCall preyed on consumers desperate for cash, charging triple digit interest rates and using loan shark tactics to collect on their debts,” says Mr. Brown. “This judgment forces CashCall to stop harassing its customers and should serve as a warning to consumers to be wary of fast-money lenders.”
CashCall, owned by Paul Reddam, founder and former owner of DiTech mortgage company, currently charges 139.34 percent annual interest on the $2,600 loan it offers to consumers. This means that consumers who make the required $298.94 monthly payment over 36 months pay $10,761.84 over the life of the loan. That adds more than $8,000 in interest to the loan.