Stay away from Greensky
I am in the process of replacing 6 windows in the house I bought for my son and daughter in law. The house is 120 years old and the windows in question are all in very poor shape. I brought in a local window contractor, got measured and got a price. I agreed to the price then they offered me 0% for 24 months financing. OK, I can easily afford that, so I signed up for it, paying 40% down. In rounded numbers, the cash price was $9,500 and the down payment was $4,000 leaving a financed balance of $5,500. Word of Warning #1: Don't ever sign anything on a tablet the sales person gives you. You don't get a copy of what you supposedly signed until much later and for all you know you could be signing your own Death Warrant. So, about 2 weeks later (after the 3 day cooling off period has expired) I get a package of documents from a company called Green Sky. They approved me for $11,000 and then enclosed a Truth in Lending Statement saying I had borrowed the full $11,000. The "Amount Financed" box of the Truth in Lending statement clearly read $11,000. I contacted them and verified that they had already sent the $5,500 to the builder, depriving me of any opportunity to withhold payment until the job was satisfactorally completed or had even begun (it had not, in fact the Contractor was till in possession of my down payment check just setting it up in their books). To add insult to injury, according to the Contract I had to repay the full $11,000 within the 2 years to qualify for the 0% interest. If I didn't, the Truth in Lending Statement said I would pay 18.83% interest (but I, being an accountant, did the math and the true interest rate is closer to 34%). Not only that, but the $5,500 I had contracted to borrow mysteriously grew to $11,000 over the 2 year interest free period, at an interest rate of around 32% which was not included in the APR or anywhere in the calculations. Word of Warning #2: Don't believe anything that isn't in writing. The Judge won't, so why should you? Both the Contractor and Greensky confirmed to me that the $5,500 had already been paid and when I asked about the OTHER $5,500 they both told me that the Truth in Lending Statement is detailing the costs as if I borrowed the full $11,000. But, I replied. I am not, and the Truth in Lending Statement clearly states "$11,000 is being paid to {the Contractor) on your behalf." So, given that the Truth in Lending Statement is misrepresenting the amount being borrowed, the amount being paid to the Contractor and the interest rate, just what in the Truth in Lending Statement is true? They wouldn't answer that question. I put a stop payment on the down payment check, contacted the builder and told them to cancel the contract and I would be glad to explain all this to a Judge.
By Steve K.