GO Financial (a.k.a. “GO Credit” or “GFC Lending”) Finances Subprime Auto Sales.  If you applied for a loan with them and were denied, speak to a consumer protection lawyer right away.

We are currently investigating claims where car buyers who sought financing for car sales via GO Financial had their loan applications denied, but were not notified of any denial in writing.  Whenever you apply for a loan or to purchase a vehicle on credit or an installment plan, the law requires that whoever receives your credit application provide you with a 30 day written notice if they deny your application for credit.  This includes situations where a dealer initially tells you that you were approved, when in fact you weren’t actually approved for financing.

Who is GO Financial?

GFC Lending, LLC is a subprime auto finance company based in Phoenix Arizona, doing business under the name of “Go Financial.”  You can find their website here: https://www.gofinancial.com/

What is a subprime auto lender?  That means that they specialize in making loans to people with poor credit.  But though their corporate name is “GFC Lending,” they don’t typically lend money directly to consumers or individual car buyers.  What they do is purchase retail installment sales contracts.  See, when you finance the purchase of a car through a car dealership, you enter into a sales contract with the dealer in which the dealer agrees to let you spread the purchase price of the vehicle over time, and in return you pay the dealer a huge amount of extra money for the car.

Though the contract is between you and the dealer, the dealer immediately assigns it to a third party finance company, who then pays the dealer a lump sum for the contract.  GFC Lending is one such finance company.

Because they specialize in financing deals with low credit score customers, Go Financial can enable a lot of bad business practices by shady car dealers.  Some laws that are frequently violated by car dealers are:

• Truth in Lending Act
• Equal Credit Opportunity Act
• Fair Credit Reporting Act
• Alabama Deceptive Trade Practices Act
• Federal Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act (the ‘Odometer statute’)

Some auto dealers will tell you that they’ve gotten you approved for financing with GO Financial, when in fact they’ve only received conditional approval, or none at all.  Then, after you’ve driven off the lot with the vehicle and paid your down payment or given them your old ride as a trade-in, you find that you were never approved for any loan.  These are called “Spot Delivery” or “Yo-Yo” sales, and while sometimes they are legal, they’re often outright scams.  Even if the dealer is the one doing all the fraud, if you submit a credit application to GO Financial, they are legally obligated to provide you with a notice of their decision on your application within 30 days.  And the notification must be in writing.

One thing that a lot of buyers do not understand is that a sketchy car dealer’s violations of the law are usually enforceable against the finance company.  If you think that your rights have been violated in an automobile sales transaction financed by Go Financial, you should contact a qualified consumer protection attorney in your area.  For more information, give us a call: 251.272.9148.