Napier loan company Cash to You Loans Limited has been banned indefinitely from operating as a lender, after charging borrowers unreasonable fees and excess interest and failing to correctly disclose fees charged.

Judge Rea sentenced Cash to You Loans in the Napier District Court on eight charges under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (CCCFA), relating to loans it provided between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2015.

The lender’s contracts did not give any details of a repayment waiver fee which was charged at up to 15% of the loan amount. Cash to You Loans charged borrowers default interest of 35% when the loan agreement stated that no interest would be charged on the event of default. It also charged borrowers a fee of up to $60 for registering security items on the Personal Property Security Register when in fact it did not register any security items.

Cash to You Loans was also fined $28,000, which was reduced on account of its financial position. More than $25,000 has also been credited to consumers by the company.

The Commission investigated Cash to You Loans following a complaint from a budget advisor.

Background

Cash to You Loans is a lender which provides personal loans of between $100 and $3,500. During the charge period, Cash to You Loans entered into approximately 44 new contracts, and refinanced approximately 294 existing contracts. Mr Noel Nicholls is the sole director of Cash to You Loans.