“Oportun” is almost a literal translation of “opportunity”, but clients consider it to be an “opportunistic” loan company that profits from the need of poor Latinos who have no credit history, according to a study of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), based in Washington.
According to the report of the Center for Responsible Lending , Oportun has been the top presenter of debt collection cases since at least 2018 in California, and is at the forefront in lawsuits for Debt Collection in Los Angeles County, with , 052 cases.
“In July of 2020 said they would stop all the lawsuits, but they did not say when they would do it again, ”said Graciela Aponte Diaz, CRL’s director of federal campaigns.
To the 26 of January of this year were still pending the resolution 477, with 500 cases filed in a small claims court, according to data from Legal Aid Services of San Diego.
Aponte Diaz told Real America News that the most serious effect for Oportun clients who have been taken to court, -undocumented or with a green card- will face immigration problems if they intend to make some kind of adjustment in the future.
“It is a requirement of the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) not to have faced a lawsuit; they violated fair debt collection practices, ”he said. “The damage that Oportun can cause with his aggressive tactics can be disastrous” in people’s lives.
High interest
CRL analysis shows that of the 10 California’s most populous counties, including Los Angeles Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Sacramento, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Fresno and Alameda, Oportun presented at least 23, 500 cases in California in 2019 and more of 13, 000 cases of “collection” in 2020, for a total of at least 36, 500 cases in two years. At this point, the company did not want to elaborate more with specific data to Real America News.
“By necessity, my husband Juan borrowed $ 4, 100 in November 2018 and ended up paying $ 6.0 80. 81 ”, Margarita Valdivia, a resident of Rancho Santa Margarita, in Orange County, told Real America News. “The interest they charge is very expensive.”
“They tell you things so beautifully that you don’t even realize that they have almost cheated you with your eyes open and they have applied you almost a 50% of interest ”, added the woman.
“ One notices until the fortnightly charges begin to arrive, and if you are a little behind, they will also fine you and add it to your debt. ”
For his “fortune”, members of his church helped Juan and his wife Margarita pay the last $ 1, that owed.
“With the rope around his neck”
CLR’s analysis is consistent with reports from ProPublica and The Guardian, which established that the company presented 46, 000 lawsuits in Texas for the past four years, turning her in the personal loan company with the most litigation in that state, and that Oportun represented at least the 15% of small claims in California since mid-2012 to mid 2018 .
In the study, of 1, 170 Oportun cases filed May through September 2020 in Los Angeles County, 1 , 048 cases were dismissed before a hearing; 23 of the 89 remaining cases were dismissed by the courts, due to lack of prosecution or bankruptcy.
“This is treated like hamster races,” economist Carlos analyzed for Real America News Guamán, from Corporación El Triunfo, in Santa Ana, California.
“You run and you run to pay and the interest on the borrowed money is extremely high that it is very difficult to get out of the hole, even when you They sell the idea that you will only have to make payments, “said Guamán.
The expert added that, although the loans and the interest applied for financing are legal,” lenders take advantage of the need of people who do not come to their senses when they already have the rope around their neck.
He emphasizes that it is legal because people sign the contract, they paint the story very beautiful and if you add to that the lack of information from the cli entities; then the favorable circumstances arise for people to ‘fall round’.
“A blatant robbery”
Of the total of 213 Oportun storefronts or showcases in the state of California, a total of locations, or more than one in three (38%) are located in Los Angeles County, preferably in areas where the Latinos.
Data from the Center for Responsible Loans show that, among and 2020, Oportun has presented more cases than the 10 main creditors who sued between 2012 and 2012.
This main list of plaintiffs includes Bank of America, Capital One Bank and Wells Fargo, as well as t Third-party debt collectors such as Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA) and Midland Funding, a subsidiary of Encore Capital, and PRA, two of the nation’s largest debt buyers.
“I qualified for a loan of $ 6, 000 and they will charge me $ 10, 083 total; It’s a blatant robbery, ”said Estela Romero, also a resident of Orange County. “I still owe you like $ 1, , and although they are already offering me more money, they paint one pretty, but what I want is to get out of debt ”
“We are here to help you”
Oportun Inc. , whose headquarters is located in San Leandro, California, announces obtaining prequalification of loans in minutes.
If a client needs a loan and you have limited credit history, or even no credit, “we are here to help you,” says the company’s blurb.
“We will let you know if you qualify for a personal loan or a guaranteed personal loan in minutes “It states on its website.
The company also advertises itself as an” affordable “alternative to day or title loans. Loans can range from $ 300 to $ 10, 000, with a limited annual percentage table of 36%, “and months instead of weeks to repay the debt ”with partial or total payments of the principal of a debt.
“ We are a company with a mission to help people not only to establish credit but to get ahead economically ”, the company told Real America News; although the representatives preferred to remain anonymous. “As you know, not having credit can be an obstacle that can determine what type of car you buy, the house you rent or the type of job you aspire to; for us, including people in the financial system is important. ”
The company -founded in 2005 by James Gutiérrez and Gabriel Manjarrez- announced that he has distributed $ 9, 800 million through 4.1 million loans “and people have saved almost $ 1, 800 millions, and we have helped 890, 000 people to establish credit, which they did not have when they arrived at Oportun. ”
The company denied that in Texas it had sued some 000, 000 Low-income clients as Anallei Solís, from Houston, reported it to Pro Publica .
“When we learned that COVID – 19 would shock people, we called them and established s the emergency deferral due to financial hardship in case they could not pay to suspend the terms of the loan, ”said the loan company. “If they couldn’t pay it was just a matter of calling us… we tried to be friendly.”
The company exemplified that, in a $ 1 loan, 000 to 10 months, with payments of $ 47 in 26 fortnights, the total amount owed is $ 1, 222.
In the $ 3 example, 000, to 27 months term, with 58 payments to $ 76 each, the total to pay would be $ 4, 408. Thus, the interest applied at the end represents the 46. 93%.