Ga. Soldier Claims He Was Predatory Lending Victim
By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press
SAVANNAH, Ga. November 22, 2011 (AP)
Army Staff Sgt. Jason Cox says he borrowed $3,000 for an emergency trip to pick up his daughter. The loan ended up costing him more than $4,000 in interest, plus a sport utility vehicle the lender seized when he defaulted.
Now the Fort Benning soldier is suing the lender in federal court, contending the interest rate and other terms violated a 2007 law passed by Congress to protect military service members from predatory lending.
Cox's lawyer, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, is trying to persuade a federal judge to grant class-action status because the lender, Atlanta-based Community Loans of America Inc., operates more than 900 stores in 22 U.S. states. Barnes believes numerous soldiers have taken out similar loans, likely without knowing the terms are illegal, though it's not clear how many.
"The rates are so lucrative for those that ignore the law," said Barnes, a Democrat who pushed a statewide crackdown on high-interest payday loans when he was governor from 1999 to 2002. Some in the military are too busy with moves between bases and overseas deployments to bring lawsuits or complain, Barnes said.
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