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How to Resolve an Oportun Lawsuit

George Simons | January 21, 2025

Fact-checked by Patrick Austin, J.D.

Patrick Austin
Attorney from George Mason
Patrick Austin, JD

Patrick Austin is a licensed attorney with a background in data privacy and information security law. Patrick received his law degree at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief for the National Security Law Journal.

George Simons
Co-Founder of SoloSuit
George Simons, JD/MBA

George Simons is the co-founder and CEO of SoloSuit. He has helped Americans protect over $1 billion from predatory debt lawsuits. George graduated from BYU Law school in 2020 with a JD-MBA. In his spare time, George likes to cook, because he likes to eat.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Hannah Locklear
Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: Oportun is a financial services company that files a high volume of debt lawsuits, often targeting small debts with high-interest rates. Respond promptly to lawsuits, negotiate to settle the debt for less, and know your rights.

Oportun Inc. is one of the top filers of debt lawsuits in the United States. In California, for example, Oportun filed 30,000 collection lawsuits in 20 of the 58 counties in 2019 and 14,000 during the first half of 2020.

Oportun Inc is known for using litigious debt collection practices because it's the easiest way to secure monetary judgments against borrowers. Also, Oportun's high-interest rates and tendency to refinance loans to vulnerable groups cause many people to default.

If you find yourself being sued by Oportun, you may think all hope is lost. Keep reading to find out how you can win your Oportun lawsuit.

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Is Oportun legit?

Yes, Oportun is a legit financial services company that was established in 2005 by James Gutierrez, a grandson of a Mexican immigrant. It was initially named Progreso Financiero and was founded to help people of Latino descent access financial services.

James spent the next few years securing funding by convincing investors that he'd successfully lend to people with negligible credit histories and modest incomes using a scoring system.

The premise was that analyzing a borrower's unique attributes would help determine the applicant's likelihood to repay a loan. James left the company in 2012, handing it over to Vazquez, who rebranded the company to Oportun. At the time of his departure, James secured funding from major players, including Greylock and Madrone Capital.

Under Vazquez, the company expanded operations to 10 more states and offered auto loans too. To date, the company has disbursed more than 3.9 million loans valued at $9 billion and had nearly 800,000 active consumers.

Oportun does not disclose fees and interest rates charged on loans, which vary by state. However, reports from California's Department of Business Oversight show Oportun charges anywhere from 40 to 69.99% APRs on loans of less than $2500. The company also claims it sets decreasing interest rates on refinanced loans.

Respond to debt collection lawsuits fast with Solo.

Read Oportun reviews online

If you are looking for information about what consumers have said regarding their experience with Oportun Inc. on an unpaid debt, then take a moment to read these reviews:

While the online reviews for Oportun Inc. are pretty mixed, there are some reviews that indicate consumers can have a pleasant experience communicating with Oportun collectors to resolve debt.

Oportun debt collectors are open to working with you to resolve your concerns and get your debt paid in a manner that works for you and your current financial situation. Communication is the key.

If calling a debt collector to negotiate doesn’t sound like your idea of fun, try using SoloSettle to negotiate online and resolve your debt through the digital settlement platform.

Sued by Oportun? How to file an Answer to avoid default judgment

If you think Oportun won't sue you for small debt amounts, think again. A majority of Oportun's lawsuits comprise small loan amounts. For example, in Dallas and Harris counties, court records show borrowers were sued for claims of $1400 and below in 2019. Typically, payday lenders file lawsuits hoping you won't respond to the suit, so a default judgment is entered against you.

Such judgment entitles the lender to garnish your wages or attach a lien to property like cars, houses, and bank accounts. When served with a lawsuit, file your answer to the complaint before the deadline set in the summons. Also, show up for any court dates and ask for proof that you owe the debt. When you draft your answer to the complaint, you will want to include any relevant defenses to fight the lawsuit.

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How to settle your debt with Oportun

You can negotiate for debt settlement at any stage of the collection process—even after being sued and filing an Answer to the lawsuit. A debt settlement offer asks Oportun Inc. to consider taking a lesser amount of the total owed. Many debt collectors are willing to settle for less.

Here are some steps you can take to negotiate a debt settlement with Oportun:

  1. Calculate what you can actually pay towards the balance of the debt. For example, could you reasonably pay half of the amount owed and still have money left over to cover your living expenses? Doing this calculus is important because it can give you a guidepost for settlement negotiations.
  2. Make a reasonable settlement via a debt settlement letter requesting that the firm consider your offer. The settlement offer should be lower than the number you calculated in Step 1. This will leave room for you to negotiate upward if they reject your first offer. Make sure to engage in written settlement communications with Oportun and continue to use written communication throughout the process.
  3. If you are able to reach an agreement on a settlement amount after negotiations, draft a Debt Settlement Agreement for both parties to sign.
  4. Be sure to pay the agreed amount in time.

Learn more about how to settle your debt with Oportun by watching this informative video:

Fight violations of the FDCPA regulations

Debtors are entitled to protection from abusive debt collection tactics. This means Oportun should not harass or threaten you in an attempt to collect a debt. You can beat them at their game by demonstrating how the lender has violated FDCPA (Fair Debt Collections Practices Act) regulations, which prohibits them from:

  • Calling beyond working hours, i.e., between 9 p.m. and 7.30 a.m.
  • Excessive calling usually more than three times a week
  • Using vulgar or abusive language
  • Asking you to pay more than you owe
  • Threatening to arrest you
  • Failing to send a valid written notice
  • Disclosing private information to unauthorized parties
  • Providing misleading information
  • Asking you to pay fees, interest, or expenses not allowed by law
  • Calling a third-party repeatedly to identify your location information
  • Contacting you at work knowing your employer disapproves such calls

You can file a countersuit showing Oportun violated FDCPA regulations in a state or federal court. However, you must sue the lender within one year from the date the alleged violation occurs; otherwise, this defense won't hold.

Argue based on military borrowing restrictions

Federal law limits APR rates to 36% on payday loans advanced to military families. According to the Military Lending Act, the rule was enacted to prevent lenders from shackling military officers overseas.

If Oportun charged you higher interest rates, this gives you a solid defense against them. You can dispute the lawsuit on the grounds that the amount charged isn't correct and file a countersuit against the lender.

Consider filing for bankruptcy

While it's not worth filing bankruptcy over a small debt, it may be your last resort if your unsecured debts amount to half or more of your income. This option is viable if you file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy 91 days after applying for the payday loan.

If not, the law will assume you were thinking about filing for bankruptcy before or when taking out the loan. According to federal law, you have committed fraud, which may lead to imprisonment. You also lose any solid defense you can use against Oportun.

Note, while bankruptcy may be a sound defense against a payday lender like Oportun, Oportun may object to the discharge of the debt. For example, if the company believes you borrowed cash without planning to pay it back, Oportun may object to a bankruptcy charge.

Avoid filing bankruptcy by responding to debt collection lawsuits with SoloSuit.

Beware of violation of state laws on payday lending

Sometimes payday lenders associate with Native American tribes to avoid state laws. Such lenders don't need to comply with state laws because they're entitled to sovereign immunity. Under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, a tribe can't be sued by a governmental authority, state, or private party unless the tribe consents.

As such, it's easy for a payday lender to join a Native American tribe and begin to offer loans over the internet. Such a lender ignores any state interest-rate caps restrictions on payday lending in the pretext of sovereign immunity.

This practice is illegal. In this case, Oportun primarily focuses on Latino residents and charges exorbitant interest rates.

You can use one or more defenses to argue your case against Oportun. Falling behind on a high-interest debt happens more often than you may think. If you find yourself being sued by Oportun, don't lose hope. Consider hiring a lawyer to represent you or using our services to fight back.

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