Recently, I accompanied my mother to a local dealer to purchase a snowblower. The cost was {$790.00} + tax. During the transaction, my mother, who is a senior citizen on a fixed income, asked if the dealer offered free or low-interest financing. We were told we could get the snowblower financed for 18 months at zero interest. We agreed, and the dealer proceeded with the transaction. My mother and I both have excellent credit. Prior to closing the transaction, the dealer informed us that the finance company, XXXX, is charging an additional {$50.00} fee for the financing. We were not provided with another alternative to finance the machine but felt the price of the unit was good, so we signed the paperwork with the dealer. We realized a few days later that this was a mistake. In the meantime, the snowblower had been delivered. 

I contacted XXXX and spoke with a representative, inquiring if the {$50.00} fee could be waived or reduced. The representative told me that they do not do that. I then asked if the financing could be cancelled and was told that the dealer, who had already been paid by XXXX, could return the funds. I then contacted the dealer and asked if he would reverse the payment from XXXX, and I would pay him outright on my mother 's behalf, and then she could pay me back over time ( which is what we should have done in the first place ). The dealer told me that he would need to contact XXXX to see what procedure he would need to follow to return the funds. Upon subsequent follow-up with the dealer, he told me that XXXX told him that the transaction could not be reversed, which is not what the XXXX representative had told me. So who to believe? Now it seems that we are stuck with the {$50.00} fee. 

I realize that, by signing the paperwork to initiate the financing, we do n't have much recourse on getting the {$50.00} back. My complaint, though, is that for an {$800.00} purchase, a {$50.00} " document prep fee '' ( what XXXX is calling it ) is too much. The customer is enticed with the offer of zero percent financing for 18 months, but it 's not zero percent. On an {$800.00} purchase, {$50.00} is actually 4 % annually, no matter what they call it. I believe that this practice is deceptive. Finance companies should charge a stated percentage of the total cost ( 1 %, 2 %, etc ), explicitly stated to the consumer and not say that it is 0 %, get the customer excited and then say, " but you have to pay a fee. '' 
