Attorney General Ford Sues OneMain Financial for Alleged Bait and Switch Lending Scheme Involving Hidden Add-On Products

13 States Seek Hundreds of Millions Dollars in Restitution, Penalties, and Ask the Court to End the Unlawful Conduct

Carson City, NV - Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford and 12 other state Attorneys General announced a lawsuit against OneMain Financial, Inc. and related entities alleging that the installment lender charged consumers nationwide hundreds of millions of dollars in hidden fees and interest. With nine branches operating in Nevada, OneMain Financial advertises high-cost installment loans with "clear, upfront terms," but it packs those loans with hidden insurance policies and other add-on products that inflate the cost of the loans by hundreds or thousands of dollars. OneMain rushes consumers through fine-print loan documents containing the dense terms and conditions of the add-ons. OneMain often hides the add-ons, sometimes misrepresents them, or even charges consumers who outright reject them.

"Taking out a loan shouldn't come with hidden costs or surprises," said Attorney General Ford." Companies must be upfront about what consumers are paying for. We're taking action to protect Nevadans and hold OneMain accountable."

The lawsuit alleges the following about OneMain's bait and switch scheme:

• OneMain does not advertise that it sells add-on products, so consumers who come through its doors have no reason to expect the company to push these products.
• OneMain has written policies that purport to prevent unlawful add-on packing, but the company's actual processes operate nothing like its written policies.
• OneMain puts financial pressure on its employees to pack add-ons.
• OneMain rushes consumers through a loan closing process in which its employees often control the computer screen that shows the loan documents. This does not allow the consumer time to review each page of the loan application as the employee scrolls through the contract.
• OneMain buries the fine print that mentions the add-on products inside 50 pages of legalese, which OneMain prevents consumers from reading before accepting the loan contract.
• OneMain often closes loans on smart phones, where already small print shrinks to an illegible size.
• OneMain also misleads consumers when encouraging them to refinance their loans by tacking on add-on products and by hiding key terms.

With this lawsuit, Attorney General Ford and the coalition are seeking restitution for consumers who were unlawfully charged for these add-on products, penalties for violating state laws, and to release all unlawful profits. The lawsuit also seeks a court order preventing OneMain from continuing its illegal practices and ordering OneMain to withdraw any negative information reported to credit agencies that may impact its customers' credit scores and to abandon any legal proceedings against customers related to the add-on loan products.

Any consumers who believe that they or someone they know may be a victim of the business practices of OneMain Finance should file a complaint with the Nevada Attorney General's Office at https://ag.nv.gov/Complaints/CSU_Complaints___FAQ/.

This lawsuit is led by the Attorneys General of Pennsylvania and New York. They are joined by Attorney General Ford and the coalition of Attorneys General from Colorado, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

###