The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has slapped a $9 million penalty on one of the largest auto title lenders in the US, after an investigation identified the company as using misleading information and unfair practices in its handling of customers.

The federal agency took action against TitleMax, which is the parent company of TMX Finance, saying it lured consumers into costly loan renewals by presenting them with misleading information about the terms and costs of the deals.

The lender also used unfair debt collection tactics that illegally exposed information about debts to borrowers’ employers, friends, and family. The bureau has ordered TMX Finance to stop its unlawful practices, as well as paying the $9 million penalty.

“TMX Finance lured consumers into more expensive loans with information that hid the true costs of the deal,” said CFPB director Richard Cordray. "They then followed up with intrusive visits to homes and workplaces that put consumers’ personal information at risk. We are making it clear that these actions were unacceptable and illegal.”

TMX Finance, which is based in Savannah, Georgia, has more than 1,300 storefronts in 18 states. TMX Finance offers title and personal loans through a host of state subsidiaries under the names TitleMax, TitleBucks, and InstaLoan.

Single-payment auto title loans are usually due in 30 days, with some carrying an annual percentage rate of up to 300%. To qualify for the loan, a consumer must bring in a lien-free vehicle and its title as collateral.

The CFPB found that store employees, as part of their sales pitch for the 30-day loans, offered consumers a “monthly option” for making loan payments. They then offered consumers a “Voluntary Payback Guide” that showed how to repay the loan with smaller payments over a longer time period.

However, the guide and sales pitch did not explain the true cost of the loan if the consumer renewed it multiple times. TMX Finance employees also unlawfully exposed sensitive personal information during “field visits” to consumers’ homes, references, and places of employment in attempts to collect debt.

The CFPB order covers a period from July 2011 to the present.