unlawfulcharges.comWhat OppLoans Charges in North Carolina
OppLoans is the consumer lending brand of OppFi Inc., which operates through Opportunity Financial, LLC. It lends to North Carolina residents, and it publishes what those loans cost on its own website.
For North Carolina, OppLoans advertises loans of $500 to $5,000 over terms of 9 to 18 months, at an APR range of 99% to 179%. The sample offer shown on its own North Carolina page is a $2,000 loan at 160% APR over nine months, with monthly payments of $394.58.
Run that sample to term and the borrower repays $3,551.22 on $2,000 borrowed, $1,551.22 of it interest, on a loan that lasts less than a year.
North Carolina's ceiling on interest for a consumer loan of that size is 16% a year. The bottom of OppLoans' advertised range is more than six times the ceiling, and the top is more than eleven times it.
What North Carolina Law Attaches to the Rate
North Carolina sets a legal ceiling on what a consumer loan can cost. For loans under $25,000 that ceiling is 16% a year (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 24-1.1). A rate above it is lawful only where a specific statute authorizes it.
The remedy attached to the ceiling is what makes it powerful. A usurious loan is not merely unenforceable as to the excess. Under §§ 24-1.1 and 24-2 the lender forfeits all the interest on the loan, and the borrower can recover twice the interest already paid. The penalty is not scaled to the overage; it reaches the entire interest charge.
Charging a usurious rate is also an unfair and deceptive trade practice under North Carolina's UDTPA (Ch. 75, § 75-1.1), which carries treble damages and attorney fees. A borrower elects between the Ch. 24 usury remedy and the Ch. 75 remedy (§ 24-10.1 does not permit both), and which produces more depends on the size of the loan and how much interest has been paid.
"Your Loan Was Originated by a Bank"
OppLoans does not present itself as the lender. Its site says that "[a]pplications submitted on the OppLoans platform will be originated by one of our bank partners," and that loans are "originated and funded by our lending partners." Those partner banks are chartered in states with no interest ceiling, and the loan paperwork points to that state's law rather than North Carolina's.
North Carolina addressed that structure by statute. Under § 24-2.1, any loan made to a North Carolina resident is treated as made in North Carolina, regardless of where the lender sits or where the paperwork was executed. A choice-of-law clause cannot be used to contract around the state's usury protections. If it could, any out-of-state lender could waive the ceiling on the borrower's behalf.
The lender's answer is that the bank, not OppFi, is the real lender, and that a bank may carry its home state's rate across state lines. That is a contested question, and it is the question these claims raise.
A Regulator Has Already Challenged These Rates
This is not the first time OppLoans' rates have been challenged by a government enforcer.
In 2021 the District of Columbia's Attorney General sued OppFi, alleging it charged District residents rates as high as 160% while the District's cap was 24%, and that it used a bank-partner structure to do it. The case resolved in a consent judgment entered in April 2022. Without admitting liability, OppFi agreed to pay $1.5 million in restitution, to forgive roughly $640,000 in past-due interest, and to stop lending to District consumers above the District's 24% cap. More than 4,000 District residents were covered.
That settlement did not decide anything about North Carolina, and it is not a finding of wrongdoing. What it does show is that the rate structure at issue here has already been challenged by a state enforcement authority and has already been rolled back in one jurisdiction rather than defended to judgment.
What You Could Recover, and What You'll Need
There are two paths, and each claimant elects one:
- Usury (Ch. 24): forfeiture of all interest on the loan, plus recovery of twice the interest already paid.
- UDTPA (Ch. 75): treble damages plus attorney fees.
Because attorney fees are recoverable under the UDTPA, these claims are worth pursuing individually and not only in the aggregate, which matters for borrowers whose loans were a few thousand dollars.
Timing matters. A usury claim carries a two-year limitations period counted per payment, and each usurious payment starts its own clock. A currently-open loan generates a new claim with every payment, and a recently-closed loan may still be well within the window.
What proves the case is ordinary documentation: the loan agreement showing the APR, your payment history, and account statements. You do not need any of it in hand to sign up. Having it helps, but we will work with you to gather what is needed, and records can be obtained from the lender in the proceeding. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
The legal basis
Why this may be illegal
OppLoans (OppFi Inc. / Opportunity Financial, LLC) has advertised online installment loans to North Carolina residents at 99% to 179% APR — many multiples of North Carolina's 16% ceiling on consumer loan interest. An example of a sample offer on its own North Carolina page is a $2,000 loan at 160% APR over nine months at $394.58 a month, which repays $3,551.22 on $2,000 borrowed. OppLoans states that its loans are "originated and funded by our lending partners" — banks chartered in states with no rate ceiling — and points to that state's law. Under NC § 24-2.1, any loan made to a North Carolina resident is treated as made in North Carolina, and a choice-of-law clause cannot be used to escape North Carolina's usury protections.
The law
NC Gen. Stat. Ch. 24 §§ 24-1.1, 24-2: a rate above North Carolina's 16% ceiling on consumer loans under $25,000 is usurious. The lender forfeits all interest on the loan, and the borrower may recover twice the interest already paid. Ch. 75 § 75-1.1 (UDTPA): charging a usurious rate is an unfair and deceptive trade practice carrying treble damages plus attorney fees; a claimant elects Ch. 24 or Ch. 75, not both (§ 24-10.1). § 24-2.1: North Carolina law governs any loan made to a North Carolina resident, so an out-of-state choice-of-law defense is unenforceable against the state's usury protections. OppLoans publishes an APR range of 99%–179% for North Carolina loans of $500–$5,000 over 9–18 month terms. The April 2022 District of Columbia consent judgment — $1.5 million in restitution plus approximately $640,000 in forgiven past-due interest, entered without admission of liability — concerned the same rate structure measured against the District's 24% cap.
What you could recover
North Carolina law gives you two ways to recover, and you choose one of them. Under the state's usury law, a lender that charged more than the legal ceiling forfeits all of the interest on your loan, and you can recover twice the interest you have already paid. Under the unfair and deceptive trade practices law, you can recover three times your damages plus attorney fees. You elect one or the other, not both.
Timing works in your favor while a loan is still open. The two-year window runs separately for each payment, so every payment you make on an outstanding loan starts its own claim, and a loan you recently paid off may still be well within the window.
Where the lender is based does not change any of this. A loan made to a North Carolina resident is treated as a North Carolina loan, and a clause in the contract naming some other state's law cannot be used to get around North Carolina's limits.
How your claim would be handled
Claims like this are handled as individual arbitration cases — private proceedings, no courtroom. For OppLoans (OppFi Inc. / Opportunity Financial, LLC), cases are typically administered through JAMS.
What You Borrowed* vs. What the Loan Actually Costs*
| What You Borrowed* ($2,000 online installment loan (9 months) · 160% APR — North Carolina's ceiling is 16%) | $2000.00 |
| Interest over the life of the loan | +$1551.22 |
| What the Loan Actually Costs* (A usurious loan forfeits ALL of its interest, not just the amount above North Carolina's ceiling — and you may recover twice the interest you have already paid) | $3551.22 |
Figures shown are illustrative examples, not records of an actual transaction; your amounts may differ.
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Check if you qualifyFrequently asked questions
Do I have to pay for this?
You don't pay anything unless we recover compensation on your behalf. Our legal team works on contingency, which means we only get paid if you do.
I signed the contract and knew the rate. Do I still have a claim?
Yes. A rate ceiling is not a disclosure rule — above the ceiling the interest is unlawful regardless of how plainly the rate was disclosed or how willingly the contract was signed. Interest you already paid is the measure of the recovery.
The loan says another state's law applies. Does that end it?
No. North Carolina law treats any loan made to a North Carolina resident as made in North Carolina, so a choice-of-law clause cannot be used to escape the state's interest ceiling.
Do I need my loan documents?
Having loan documents helps, but you can sign up without them. We'll work with you to gather what's needed, and records can be obtained from the lender in the proceeding.
What is Maginnis Howard?
Maginnis Howard is a consumer protection and personal injury law firm serving clients nationwide. You may find more details about us at www.carolinalaw.com.
Will I have to go to court?
No, we will file everything on your behalf.
What if I have other questions?
For all other questions, contact us at unlawfulcharges@carolinalaw.com.
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