Aqua Finance = Shady Business

I have a very nice Kinetico water system that I financed nearly 4 years ago. My financing was through Aqua Finance. I’ve been paying on this Aqua Finance account for nearly 4 years. I’ve paid faithfully and regularly. Sure maybe a couple of late payments over the years, but nothing significant.

I received a letter stating that they were going to raise my interest rate from 17.99% to 21.00%. No reason was given. The end of the notice reads as follows:

“If you cancel your Agreement you must return any charge cards and pay your entire balance due under the terms of the Agreement.”

I called them and they said I had to pay my entire balance immediately. I stated that the final line could be interpreted differently. I pointed out my interpretation, that I could pay my balance due under the original terms, which was $73 a month at 17.99% interest. I could tell my education level was considerably higher than the customer service rep and her even less-educated supervisor. I knew it was a losing battle, so I said it was unethical and unfair. I called them “scumbags” and hung up. OK, the “scumbags” part may have been a bit too far out of frustration, but still…

Even if my interpretation of that line of the new agreement is incorrect (I still attest it is not, but they shouldn’t leave something so important up to interpretation), I still feel that changing the terms 4 years into an agreement is unfair, and the rude treatment I received by customer service was salt in the wound.

Since I can’t even fight this war, I owe it to everyone out there to issue the following warning:

If you are considering doing business with Aqua Finance, I highly urge you to reconsider. This company has kicked a loyal customer to the curb with an insulting and misleading form letter and shoddy customer service. It is my opinion that this company is dishonest for the reasons stated above.

Until we as consumers stand up and refuse to be treated this way, unfair and uncaring businesses such as this will continue to take advantage of hard-working and honest people.