The CFPB filed four separate lawsuits against A To Z Pawn, Inc., Pawn U.S.A., Inc., Fredericksburg Gold & Pawn, Inc., and Spotsylvania Gold & Pawn, Inc. in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The CFPB alleged that the companies attached “finance charge[s]” to their loans that were “made up of several fees.” The companies would then advertise loans with “deceptively low [interest rates].”

• On December 19, 2016, the CFPB filed four separate lawsuits against A To Z Pawn, Inc., Pawn U.S.A., Inc., Fredericksburg Gold & Pawn, Inc., and Spotsylvania Gold & Pawn, Inc. in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau vs. A To Z Pawn, Inc., case no. 1:16-cv-01567, 12/19/16; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau vs. Pawn U.S.A., Inc., case no. 1:16-cv-01566, 12/19/16; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau vs. Fredericksburg Gold & Pawn, Inc., case no. 3:16-cv-00987, filed 12/19/17; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau vs. Spotsylvania Gold & Pawn, Inc., 3:16-cv-00988, filed 12/19/17]

• The complaint alleged that the companies “charg[ed] consumers a finance charge on their loans.” The charge was “made up of several fees, called, for instance, ‘appraisal,’ ‘interest,’ ‘storage’ or ‘setup’ charges.” The complaint alleged that the companies “disclos[ed] deceptively low annual percentage rates that did not reflect all of the fees and charges tacked onto the loans.” [Press Release, “CFPB Takes Action Against Pawn Companies for Deceiving Consumers About Loan Costs”, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 12/19/16]