A reader sent in a mailer they received from Payoff by Happy Money.
You can see the front of the letter below.
What caught my eye was the address on the back of the mailer. It says PO Box 129, Palatine, IL 60078.
This mailer was sent to me through my I Buy Junk Mail program. If you have junk mail you’d like to sell, click here. To see other mailers, click here.
But when you go visit the website for Payoff.com it says they are located at 1700 Flight Way, Floor 3, Tustin, CA 92782.
A search of the address led to a BBB listing for a company named Payoff, Inc with a 1.47 out of 5 rating as of today. Even though the BBB shows an A+ rating for the company.
According to the State of Illinois Payoff, Inc changed its name on March 12, 2020, with Illinois to Happy Money, Inc. – Source
After reading this page it appears Payoff or Happy Money or whoever they are is a broker for loans and not a lender.
A review of the fine print on the mailer talks about “lending partners” so it could be possible this mailer leads to a referral to others that actually make the loan. A page on the Happy Money website lists financial partners as Alliant, Blue, Cross River, First Tech, Green State Credit Union, Teachers Federal Credit Union, TechCU, US Alliance Financial, and Veridian Credit Union.
Judging by the BBB reviews the majority of unhappiness seems to resolve around payment reporting and account reporting. This is interesting since if the consumer is matched with a lending partner then why is Happy Money Payoff still involved in servicing the account?
The focus on paying off credit cards using the loan could just be an effective marketing strategy.
