The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a consent order today against 3rd Generation, Inc., doing business as California Auto Finance (California Auto) for illegally charging interest for late payment on its Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) product without its customers’ knowledge, according to a press release. The CFPB’s order requires California Auto to refund or credit customers harmed by the conduct, furnish corrected information to credit reporting agencies, and pay a civil penalty and also prohibits the company from charging interest on late payments without disclosing costs. California Auto is an auto-loan finance company serving consumers in California. California Auto services subprime auto loans that were originated by car dealers and later assigned to California Auto. California Auto required its customers to agree that if they had insufficient insurance coverage for their automobiles, they would add “loss-damage-waiver” coverage to their accounts. LDW is a product that, for a monthly fee, covers cancellation of the customer’s debt in the event of a total vehicle loss or the cost of a repair if the vehicle was not a total loss.
