Can purebreds on leases democratize credit? The Nevadan behind Wags Lending thinks so.

[milestogo]

I’m Renting a Dog?
by Patrick Clark
March 1, 2017, 5:00 AM CST

After her family’s shiba inu died of cancer, Dawn Sabins decided to surprise her 7-year-old son with a new puppy. In March 2015, she dropped into a San Diego-area pet store looking for an English bulldog. She walked out with a golden retriever. That wasn’t so strange, even if $2,400 was more than she’d intended to spend. (There’s a reason pet stores put puppies in the window.) The odd part came a few weeks later, when she and her husband were going over their credit reports and saw a $5,800 charge from a company they’d never heard of.

The Sabins had bought their new dog, Tucker, with financing offered at the pet store through a company called Wags Lending, which assigned the contract to an Oceanside, California-based firm that collects on consumer debt. But when Dawn tracked down a customer service rep at that firm, Monterey Financial Services Inc., she learned she didn’t own the dog after all. “I asked them: ‘How in the heck can I owe $5,800 when I bought the dog for $2,400?’ They told me, ‘You’re not financing the dog, you’re leasing.’ ‘You mean to tell me I’m renting a dog?’ And they were like, ‘Yeah.’ ”

Without quite realizing it, the Sabins had agreed to make 34 monthly lease payments of $165.06, after which they had the right to buy the dog for about two months’ rent. Miss a payment, and the lender could take back the dog. If Tucker ran away or chased the proverbial fire truck all the way to doggy heaven, the Sabins would be on the hook for an early repayment charge. If they saw the lease through to the end, they would have paid the equivalent of more than 70 percent in annualized interest—nearly twice what most credit card lenders charge.

If that weren’t bad enough, Dawn Sabins soon decided Tucker was too rambunctious for her family’s home. She called the pet store and threatened to leave the pup tied up outside the store, then decided on what she thought a more humane path. She sold the dog to a local trainer for $500, stopped making payments on the lease, and spent 18 months griping in online reviews and emails. She wasn’t alone.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-03-01/i-m-renting-a-dog

[jehop61]

1. What a story

Who in their right mind would finance a dog! Abuse of credit and certainly someone who needs credit counseling. A wonderful rescue dog can be had for a few hundred dollars. Sorry she was taken, but hopefully she learned something.

[milestogo]

2. Who would pay $2400 for a dog when there are so many that need to be rescued?

[shenmue]

3. I agree

[jmowreader]

5. Put the question mark between "dog" and "when"

Even if there wasn't one dog on the face of the planet that needed to be rescued, paying $2400 on impulse for a pet-quality dog from a store is a dumb-ass thing to do.

[csziggy]

6. Exactly right!

I've never paid for a dog. Two were found, two were given to me, two were adopted from the animal shelter. They were all great dogs, all loving and well loved, all lived to old age.

Same for our many, many cats, some found, some given, most adopted from the shelter. I did pay someone $5 for a kitten once but he was really an adoptee since the money was to offset expenses for a found litter.

While I admire purebred pets, they are not worth the $$$ to me. I'd rather give a home to pets who need a home.

[petronius]

4. We like niches where were dealing with emotional borrowers, Wunderlich said.

I think that tells us everything we need to know about this Rand-loving faux-cowboy tool...

[Blue_Tires]

7. FFS...

Pet store? BAD

Paying $2400? WORSE

Signing a lease without reading it, and having the unmitigated gall to be shocked later? I'm beyond words...

[Blue_Tires]

8. Oh and thanks Bloomberg for normalizing and fluffing that Wunderlich douchebag like he's some genius