eLoanWarehouse (Formerly Blue Trust Loans) Review: Read This Before You Borrow

If you’re looking for a payday loan from Blue Trust, you’re too late. They’ve transitioned to eLoanWarehouse.

What does that mean? It’s hard to say because there isn’t any other information offered about the transition. But both are owned and operated by the same parent company, LCO Financial Services.

Hot take: eLoanWarehouse (formerly Blue Trust Loans) is a tribal lender owned and operated by Lac Courte Oreilles Financial Services (the same company that operated Blue Trust loans). They charge annual percentage rates that are often higher than 600% APR, or even more. According to customer complaints, the loans are close to impossible to pay off. If you need a quick loan and have bad credit, look elsewhere.

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Is eLoanWarehouse Legitimate?

Yes, eLoanWarehouse is a legitimate lender. That’s one of the FAQs the company sees so often it’s answered on its web page. It states:

This site is owned and operated by Lac Courte Oreilles Financial Services II, LLC. Our management team has over 20 years of experience in online lending and we are members of the Online Lenders Alliance (OLA), which supports the review and establishment of best practice standards in this industry.

The Online Lenders Alliance (OLA) is a lobbyist group. They have spent millions of dollars in Washington, D.C. fighting to protect the predatory loan industry. Due to lax federal oversight, several states have passed laws in an effort to protect borrowers. However, because the U.S. Constitution allows tribal communities to set their own laws, lenders affiliated with Native American tribes are not obligated to follow state laws. This means that you can (and will) be charged exorbitant interest rates, even if you live in a state with a strict interest rate cap on payday loans or where payday loans are illegal.

You can see from this online complaint that not everyone is clear about the tribal lending status and how it works:

eLoanWarehouse is a Sovereign Enterprise

When approved for a loan, you are doing business with a sovereign enterprise. This means that eLoan Warehouse is what’s known as a tribal lender. The U.S. government has granted sovereign immunity to Native American tribes, so the lenders are not bound by state laws, including laws that cap interest rates. The eLoanWarehouse does not disclose the interest rates it charges, but they will be high. Much higher than what you’d pay a traditional payday lender.

The website explains this in some lengthy legalese.

Opichi Funds, LLC is owned by Lac Courte Oreilles Financial Services II, LLC (LCO Financial Services II) is a sovereign enterprise, an economic development arm and instrumentality of, and wholly-owned and controlled by, the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (the “Tribe”), a federally- recognized sovereign American Indian Tribe. This means that a sovereign government and the proceeds of our business fund governmental services for Tribe citizens provide the Opichi Funds’ installment loan products.This means that a sovereign government and the proceeds of our business fund governmental services for Tribe citizens provide the Opichi Funds’ installment loan products. This also means that Opichi Funds is not subject to suit or service of process. Rather, Opichi Funds is regulated by the Tribe. If you do business with Opichi Funds, your potential forums for dispute resolution will be limited to those available under Tribal law and your loan agreement. As more specifically set forth in Opichi Funds’ contracts, these forums include informal, but affordable and efficient Tribal dispute resolution, or individual arbitration before a neutral arbitrator. Otherwise, Opichi Funds is not subject to suit or service of process. Neither Opichi Funds nor the Tribe has waived its sovereign immunity in connection with any claims relative to use of this website or for any forums other than those specifically set forth in Opichi Funds’ contracts. IF YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE DOING BUSINESS WITH A SOVEREIGN INSTRUMENTALITY THAT CANNOT BE SUED IN COURT, YOU SHOULD DISCONTINUE USE OF THIS WEBSITE AND YOU SHOULD NOT BORROW MONEY FROM OPICHI FUNDS.

READ MORE: What is a tribal lender and tribal lenders to avoid

eLoanWarehouse touts a quick, easy application and no penalties if you pay your loan off early. In fact, there’s a tiered “loyalty program” that offers incentives for repeat borrowers. Repeat customers are awarded with the opportunity to borrow larger amounts of money, and pay the lender even more interest.

Few Qualifications for Approval

You won’t need good credit to borrow from eLoanWarehouse.

You need:

  • A verifiable source of direct deposit income
  • An open checking account that meets its “bank account minimum opened duration” requirements
  • To be at least 18 years old and a United States resident
  • A take-home pay that meets their minimum income requirements
  • You must not currently be a debtor in a bankruptcy case or have imminent plans to file for bankruptcy
  • You (or a family member) must not be in the military

Pro tip: Refusal to lend money to military servicemembers and their families is a massive red flag. It means the lender is not willing to adhere to the interest rate caps as set by the Military Lending Act, a federal lending law.

Warning! Don't take a tribal loan just yet. See what better options you may be eligible for.

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Online Reputation

It’s always wise to look at multiple perspectives on a lender before working with them. Blue Trust Loans has been in business since 2016, so there’s a significant amount of information online. Here’s a quick overview of some of the other Blue Trust Loans review pages.

Better Business Bureau

eLoanWarehouse gets an A+ from the BBB for their customer service, which is a little perplexing, considering that the company has earned 1.07 stars out of five from customers. The site also includes the following alert:

Complaints mainly deal with repaying the loans:

BBB review

eLoanWarehouse has also earned a “poor” rating on Trustpilot, with 2.1 out of five stars.

Trustpilot review

Lawsuits

It’s worth noting that there was at least one lawsuit filed against Blue Trust Loans. This could have influenced the decision to transition to eLoanWarehouse. Underwood & Riemer, P.C. and the Gregory Law Firm, P.C. went after them in 2019 for blatantly violating lending laws while hiding behind the tribal immunity excuse. They believe that the relationship between Blue Trust Loans and the Chippewa Indian tribe is not sufficient for the lender to operate under the tribe’s immunity.

The filing claims that in 2022, BlueTrustLoans.com transitioned to eLoanWarehouse.com — operated by Opichi Funds LLC — and continued to issue loans with illegal interest rates.

A separate class action lawsuit has been proposed against eLoanWarehouse, alleging that the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has “little meaningful involvement” in the operation of eLoanWarehouse.com. According to classaction.org, the lawsuit alleges that the tribe receives less than 10% of the lender’s revenues. The rest goes to non-tribal members, including defendants David Johnson, Kirk Michael Chewning and “a web of interconnected companies.”

Pros

Taking a loan from a tribal lender — any tribal lender is always risky — but it’s not surprising that so many people decide to do so. At first glance, they look like the perfect solution for anyone who needs a few hundred dollars to cover an emergency.

Some of the things that people like about them are:

  • Small principal balances that are perfect for covering short-term needs
  • Loose qualification requirements that allow people with bad credit to get funding
  • An online application that only takes a few minutes to complete
  • A quick turnaround time that can get people funding in as little as a day

Unfortunately, the downsides to loans like Blue Trust and eLoan Warehouse products far outweigh these advantages.

Cons

There are a lot of reasons to stay away from tribal lenders in general, and eLoanWarehouse loans have all of the drawbacks typical of the industry. These are the most significant downsides:

  • Their loans are often over ten times more expensive than other forms of borrowing
  • The excessive interest makes the loan incredibly difficult to pay back, which increases the likelihood of triggering additional fees
  • Their tribal immunity makes it much more difficult to fight back legally or sue them should they do something illegal

Better Alternatives

Here are some of the best alternatives to eLoanWarehouse/Blue Trust Loans:

All of these options would be a better choice for someone in need of cash than borrowing from eLoanWarehouse. They’re almost if not equally as accessible to people with bad credit, and they’re much more affordable.

The Bottom Line

If you’ve already gotten a loan from Blue Trust, you should still be able to log in to see your account and you will still be expected to make your payments.

However, there are a lot of questions about eLoanWarehouse, so our recommendation is to find a different lender who is more open about disclosing interest rates.

Better still, don’t even consider these lenders until you’ve exhaused every other better option. These loans almost always hurt more than they help.

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