I'm financing my car the normal amount is 242.61 I was going through hard times and called them and asked them what is the least I can pay t...

Question

I'm financing my car the normal amount is 242.61 I was going through hard times and called them and asked them what is the least I can pay they said 200.00 My question is doesn't the balance of42.61 go to the remaining balance of the car? They are charging me that separate as a late fee? They called me and said I have a 60.00 late fee and I called today now they say it's 73.11 for the month of jan and feb which don't make sense because if it's 42.61 for jan and feb then it would be 85.22. What are they charging me this amount? could it be interest, late fee, ? HELP

Answer

Unless you can refinance they will continue this practice of charging late fees for the missed payment amounts. They are a business and have their own interests to think of, their advice is not exactly what is in your best interests.

Otherwise until you refinance you will have to talk to the financing company to straighten out why they charged the fees they did and request they are waived as you relied on the representations the payments were now lower.

Answer

I think it's perhaps 90% likely that the person you spoke with by telephone either gave you completely wrong information or someone failed to take some follow-up step to adjust your loan terms, and only about 10% likely that the help you got was dependable and correct and therefore the billing you're getting is incorrect. I would read your financing documents carefully, to see what it says, if anything, that might authorize you to pay less than the full normal amount without incurring late fees and interest. Hard to say how a figure of $73.11 is computed or whether it is legal.