N
nicolia
Guest
Home State: Texas
OK, I've got another question from my father's file.
Question: Is it legal to lie about financing terms to make a sale, if the credit app has the true financing terms listed on the back in very small print?
Situation: My father recently retained the services of a contractor in San Antonio, Texas to put new siding on his house. $8900 was financed through a third party, but the contractor acted as agent for the bank. The contractor told both my mother and father that the financing came out to roughly $156 a month for 5 years (60 months). My dad did some quick calculations and came up with 1.43% for the terms and thought that to be a great term. He asked the contractor if it was indeed 1.43%, and the contractor said that he culd not give an exact amount because it was a revolving account and changed with every payment....but that it would be roughly $156 a month for 5 years. My father agreed to these terms and signed the contract and credit application.
Lo and behold, when the first statement came in, the terms were 15.74%! I called the contractor to find out more about the deal and discovered that NOTHING my father signed had the terms written out in detail. In fact, the terms were only referred to as "Standard Plan." There was no mention of actual financing terms on any document. The contractor did say that my father was given a separate document that listed out the financing terms in detail.....which is a complete lie.
Follow up questions:
1. Did the contractor do anything illegal by giving false info on the financing terms?
2. Does a company in Texas need to have financing terms listed and discussed in detail...with a corresponding signature from the applicant?
3. Is sucha case open for both civil and criminal charges?
OK, I've got another question from my father's file.
Question: Is it legal to lie about financing terms to make a sale, if the credit app has the true financing terms listed on the back in very small print?
Situation: My father recently retained the services of a contractor in San Antonio, Texas to put new siding on his house. $8900 was financed through a third party, but the contractor acted as agent for the bank. The contractor told both my mother and father that the financing came out to roughly $156 a month for 5 years (60 months). My dad did some quick calculations and came up with 1.43% for the terms and thought that to be a great term. He asked the contractor if it was indeed 1.43%, and the contractor said that he culd not give an exact amount because it was a revolving account and changed with every payment....but that it would be roughly $156 a month for 5 years. My father agreed to these terms and signed the contract and credit application.
Lo and behold, when the first statement came in, the terms were 15.74%! I called the contractor to find out more about the deal and discovered that NOTHING my father signed had the terms written out in detail. In fact, the terms were only referred to as "Standard Plan." There was no mention of actual financing terms on any document. The contractor did say that my father was given a separate document that listed out the financing terms in detail.....which is a complete lie.
Follow up questions:
1. Did the contractor do anything illegal by giving false info on the financing terms?
2. Does a company in Texas need to have financing terms listed and discussed in detail...with a corresponding signature from the applicant?
3. Is sucha case open for both civil and criminal charges?