South Carolina lender told to pay $5M fine

For years, a South Carolina lender “humiliated and harassed” customers by directing its employees to approach them at their homes, jobs or even at grocery stores to collect on debts, according to a government settlement announced Wednesday.

Between 2011 and 2016, Security Group either attempted or completed these in-person collection visits more than 12 million times, targeting 1.3 million customers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Some consumers were threatened with jail, shoved or “physically blocked” from leaving private property, according to a consent order.

Security Group, which offers short-term, high-cost loans, agreed to a relatively small fine, $5 million.

This is just the second enforcement action taken by Mick Mulvaney, who was appointed the CFPB’s acting director by President Donald Trump in November. In April, the watchdog agency fined Wells Fargo $1 billion.

A Security Group representative could not be immediately reached for comment. The company has about 900 locations across more than a dozen states, including Florida, Texas and Virginia. It also uses several names, such as Friendly Finance, Money Finance and Patriot Loan, according to the consent order.

The consent order said Security Group’s actions “caused or were likely to cause consumers substantial injury, including humiliation, inconvenience, and reputation damage ranging from unwanted attention to disclosure of their delinquent debt to disciplinary action and other negative employment consequences.”