Man claims Tammac charged unlawful late fees

HUNTINGTON -- A man is suing Tammac Holdings Corporation for unlawfully assessing him late fees on a manufactured home he purchased in 2007.

In May 2007, Timothy D. Ramsey purchased a manufactured home from The Home Show-Barboursville, Inc., and financed the purchase through a mortgage loan obtained from Tammac Holdings Corporation, according to a complaint filed Aug. 23 in Cabell Circuit Court.

Ramsey claims the loan required him to make monthly principal and interest payments of $277.40 by the 22nd of each month.

The defendant regularly practiced unlawfully assessing multiple late fees for a single late payment, according to the suit.

Ramsey claims at some point before September 2010, he allegedly fell behind on his loan payments, however, on Sept. 20, 2010, he timely made a full loan payment for the loan payment due on Sept. 22, 2010.

Rather than apply the payment to the loan installment due in September, the defendant applied the payment to the installment due in August and charged Ramsey a $13.87 late fee, even though the September payment was not late, according to the suit.

Ramsey claims the defendant continued to do this through at least early 2011 and also additionally unlawfully charged him $1,208.22 in attorneys' fees and debt collection fees in 2010.

The defendant also charged Ramsey foreclosure-related fees even though it never foreclosed on Ramsey's loan, according to the suit.

Ramsey is seeking civil penalties in the amount of $4,400 for each violation of the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act and compensatory damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. He is being represented by John W. Barrett and Jonathan R. Marshall.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Paul T. Farrell.

Cabell Circuit Court case number: 11-C-606