Hi everyone,
I’m posting to share my story as a long-time customer of a lender called Universal Account Servicing, LLC, and to ask whether others here have had similar experiences—or know if this is something the Debt Collective is organizing around.
The Basics
Company: Universal Account Servicing, LLC
Location: New York
Type of Debt: Retail/Consumer financing under “No Interest if Paid in Full Within 12 Months” promotions
Number of Loans: Multiple over 6 years
Current Dispute Involves: Most recent loan, originated in September 2024
What Happened
I’ve financed several purchases with this company using the same deferred-interest setup over the past six years. I always paid on time and never carried interest—until now.
For the most recent loan, I followed what I believed were the rules:
Paid the minimum on time every month from October 2024 to June 2025
In February and March 2025, I made large payments (~$1,378 each month) to close out several other loans early before their respective promotional periods expired
On July 1, 2025, I paid $256.44 (short by $41.24) toward the $297.68 minimum
I caught the error, paid the missing $41.24 on July 9
Then I paid off the entire remaining balance of $512.65 on July 10, nearly 3 months ahead of the promotional expiration date (September 28, 2025)
Despite this, they charged me a full year of retroactive interest because of that 8-day delay on a $41 shortfall—even though I paid the balance in full ahead of schedule.
Other Key Details
They do not report timely payment history to any credit bureau
But they do report defaults, which means they only impact your credit if you mess up—not if you do everything right
I filed a BBB complaint in July—Universal’s response was basically:
“A contract is a contract.”
I’ve since filed a formal complaint with the NY State Attorney General under their Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau
Why This Feels Like a Predatory Financing Scheme
The minimum payments are misleading—they appear sufficient to maintain promo eligibility, but they’re not
A single minor error triggers catastrophic consequences (retroactive interest on the full year)
They’ve structured the contract so that only negative behavior is recorded—none of your responsible borrowing benefits you
There’s no flexibility, no forgiveness, no benefit of the doubt—even for long-term, good-faith customers who pay early
It looks like they’re designing their contracts to generate revenue by capitalizing on technical missteps, not by truly offering interest-free financing.
Why I’m Sharing Here
This feels like a systemic problem, not a one-off. And it likely hurts:
Working-class families
Immigrants
First-gen professionals trying to build credit
People without the legal fluency to parse predatory fine print
I’m hoping:
Someone here has had a similar experience and can compare notes
This type of financing structure is already being challenged or organized around
There’s a broader campaign or class action I can support or amplify
If there’s any action the Debt Collective is taking (or could take) on deceptive deferred-interest products, I want in.
Thank you for reading—and for fighting the fight.
Happy to answer questions, share documents, or link to my complaint filings if helpful.
Katherine Minaya
New York