Tag Archives: finance

Usurious Letter From Volkswagen Credit

get_money

We have a loan with Volkswagen Credit (VC), and today received an offer to postpone our December payment of $447.50, for a small fee of $25. VC does a good job of making the offer read like a friendly holiday gesture:

'Tis the season to spread holiday cheer and join in the spirit of giving. That's why Volkswagen Credit wants to thank loyal customers like you by offering the opportunity to skip your December 2013 payment...

This is a terrible opportunity! It's essentially a new, one month loan. The annualized simple interest rate paid to VC on this loan would have been 25 / 447.50 * 100 * 12 = 67%! That would be considered usurious in Canada.