Is a Lender Required to Tell Me the Amortized Cost of a Loan Including Interest?
Full Question:
Answer:
The answer will depend on all the terms of the contract, and whether any of the terms, such as the interest rate, are inaccurate. Generally, in a loan for commercial purposes, the total cost including interest payments is not required to be disclosed. In cases where the lender seeks the remaining balance after auctioning vehicles, the debtor's defenses typically include wrongful repossession, failure to provide proper notice of sale, or that the sale was for a price unfairly below the market value. I suggest you consult a local attorney who can review all the facts and documents involved.
The federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) requires disclosure of the cost of credit in consumer transactions for personal or household use. You must receive, in writing, the finance charge (a dollar amount) and the APR, which is the cost of credit on a yearly basis. However, it does not apply to loans that are for commercial or business purposes.
Under TILA, a final disclosure statement is provided at the time of loan closing. The disclosure is required to be in a specific format and typically include the following information:
1. Name and address of creditor
2. Amount financed
3. Itemization of amount financed (optional, if Good Faith Estimate is provided)
4. Finance charge
5. Annual percentage rate (APR)
6. Variable rate information
7. Payment schedule
8. Total of payments
9. Demand feature
10. Total sales price
11. Prepayment policy
12. Late payment policy
13. Security interest
14. Insurance requirements
15. Certain security interest charges
16. Contract reference
17. Assumption policy
18. Required deposit information
For further discussion, please see:
http://files.ots.treas.gov/74853.pdf
Misrepresentation refers to a statement made by a party to a contract that induces another to enter into a contract, which can be interpreted, as false or untrue. The misrepresentation must be both false and fraudulent, in order to make the party making it liable for damages.
Restatement (Second) of Torts § 552 defines a negligent misrepresentation as:
"One who, in the course of his business, profession or employment, or in any transaction in which he has a pecuniary interest, supplies false information for the guidance of others in their business transactions, is subject to liability for pecuniary loss caused to them by their justifiable reliance upon the information, if he fails to exercise reasonable care or competence in obtaining or communicating the information."
A successful fraudulent inducement claim requires a claimant to establish that it “reasonably relied” upon promises of future conduct made by another party. However, a court may find it unreasonable for a party to rely on statements or promises, for instance, when not contained within a written agreement, when that agreement contains a merger clause. In such cases, reliance on the oral promises may be found to be unreasonable, and it will not be held that there was reasonable reliance on such representations.