We had a member come into the office to close her account due to a payday lender automatically taking funds out of her account. Once our employee heard her story, she realized the member was paying over $1,000/month at an interest rate of 106%. The member explained that she had recently filed for bankruptcy, had lost her husband, and was soon going to run out of unemployment benefits. The member was initially reluctant to come to WESTconsin because of her past due accounts and loans, but once we heard her story, we knew we had to help.
Our lending team sat down with the member and created a budget, refinanced her current vehicle to pay off the payday lender and get her to her first paycheck at her new job, and lowered her overall interest rate from 106% to 9.99%! Overall, our lending team left her with a monthly savings of over $1,000 and lowered her car payment. After the appointment, our lending team took the time to call all the payday lenders while the member was in her office so that the member knew they were paid off and she could wipe her hands of them. When the member left the office that day, she made the comment “I can now go home and sleep.”