Consumer complaint received 2017-08-11
Company: CREDIT ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION
State: VA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
Creditor : Credit Acceptance XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Michigan XXXX Name of Original Seller : XXXX XXXX XXXX I am writing in regard to the above referenced account and transactions. This vehicle was repossessed by Credit Acceptance in the Virginia on XX/XX/XXXX, and resold on or about XX/XX/XXXX. The creditor gave me no absolute chance to gain reinstatement of the Chapter XXXX dismissal or relief of the contract. In the letter there is admittance that the dismissal was XX/XX/XXXX, but they repossessed the vehicle within 22 days on XX/XX/XXXX with no evidence of filing to reinstate. However, on XX/XX/XXXX my attorney contacted XXXX XXXX whom represented Credit Acceptance asking why the vehicle was taken prior to the Motion of Reinstatement. Also, the repo company took my personal items and refused to give them back unless I pay a service fee. I never received my personal items back for the repo-company nor Credit Acceptance. Virginia law clearly states that a creditor may not keep or sell any personal property found inside the vehicle. According to the letter it states that my first delinquency which is not correctly documented was XX/XX/XXXX, so it is very in the obvious falsified document Credit Acceptance is in failure of  removing the negative information as of XX/XX/XXXX in accordance with the FCRA. Also, payment was submitted to the company by the bankruptcy trustee, proving the creditor was accepting full or partial payments. This is considered to be implied acceptance and therefore, their actions were unlawful. Some debt buyers try to get around this law by reporting an old debt as newer than it really is. But by lying about the age of the account is or the date of any delinquency, the debt buyer violates the FCRA. I have filed several disputes with Credit Acceptance and the CRA as a willful violation. The definition of willful is the failure of being in compliance with FCRA will allow me to seek actual punitive damages for violations of the FCRA. A willful violation does n't just mean that you have to prove that the CRA or other entity actually knew that it violated your rights. Rather, it is enough to prove that it was acting recklessly -- that is, the CRA or other entity knew or should have known that it was running afoul of the FCRA. Also, the creditor has been reporting this on my credit report several time and the results show the determination to conduct collection activities on zombie debt. I 'm sure you are aware of the provisions in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ). However, I would like to point out that your firm has violated provisions of the FDCPA by implying that the legal status of the debt is collectible by reporting the alleged debt to the credit bureaus. The false representation of : the legal status of the alleged debt and any services rendered or compensation which may be lawfully received by any debt collector for the collection of a debt. reporting an account as active when it was voluntarily closed by a consumer reporting information that is more than seven years old misstating the balance due reporting late payments when you paid time notifying every CRA involved that you dispute the debt The term XXXX XXXX military consumer means a consumer in military service who is on XXXX XXXX ( as defined in section 101 ( d ) ( 1 ) of title 10, United States Code ) or is a XXXX performing duty under a call or order to XXXX XXXX under a provision of law referred to in section 101 ( a ) ( 13 ) of title 10, United States Code ; and is assigned to service away from the usual XXXX XXXX of the consumer. Under the laws of Virginia 6.2-2217. Limited recourse ; repossession and sale of motor vehicle. Reasonable notice of the time and place of the sale is generally required to be given to other secured creditors and the debtor. A creditor must give you at least 10 days notice before selling your property. A creditor also cant delay too long before selling your property. A creditor must sell your property in a reasonable way it was sold to a sponsored private auction ( noted on auctioneer website ) at XXXX of XXXX, XXXX ( Enclosure 3 ). This auction provides registered dealers, brokers, automobile manufacturers, rental agencies, as well as corporate and government fleets with a complete vehicle marketing solution in the XXXX XXXX area and Virginia ; so it was not sold in a reasonable way due to the fact that I was uninformed, unable to attend, or participate in bidding. Credit Acceptance is in violation of the FCRA for the impermissible purpose as a creditor on of checking out my current financial activity. It is evident that this was done deliberately due to the recent reporting of old debts as new or re-aged. This practice has been done numerous times with  Credit Acceptance in which it falsely reports new account activity, such as recent payment delinquencies, or it might alter the date of the account, such as changing the date I opened the account, last reported, or last made a payment. This has been a problem because when I had applied for a car loan or mortgage, for instance, the bank may thought that I am currently having trouble paying my bills. Unfortunately, it has become apparent and normal for this subprime lendor to have borrowers pay twice the cost of the car, charging past-due higher interest rate, additional payments over the life of the loan of {$5000.00} to 8,000 from the up to 24 % annual rate. Note : Yet Credit Acceptance makes its loans knowing that a large portion of its customers wont have the happy endings advertised in the promotional materials. The company operates on the assumption that it will collect only about 70 percent of the money it lends outwhich means it will end up repossessing an awful lot of cars and suing those customers for the balance. As XXXX XXXX banks clamored for more securities built on subprime auto debt, Credit Acceptance pumped out ever more paper, boosting loan volume by 23 percent in XX/XX/XXXXand 30 percent in XXXX. ( Growth has been slower in subsequent years due to increased competition, notes the companys XXXX annual report. ) In the meantime, subprime lenders have boosted their average interest rate on used cars from 16 percent to nearly 20 percent annually, guaranteeing that more customers will default and end up with punitive court judgments and garnished wages. In XXXX, jurors found that Credit Acceptance had violated state law ; they awarded XXXX {$1.00} million in compensation and damages, to be split with her lawyers. A Missouri appeals court upheld the verdict. The company used its superior position to misrepresent to XXXX that she owed payments under a void sales contract, Judge XXXX XXXX XXXX wrote, adding that the companys conduct was sufficiently reprehensible to justify the large sum. Last year, Credit Acceptance revealed in shareholder filings that it was under investigation by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission for questionable practices related to subprime lending. The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides protection against the misuse and misreporting of your credit information. When creditors, collectors, or credit reporting agencies violate the provisions of the FCRA, it can cause a lower credit score, denial of credit, higher interest rates on loans and credit extensions, and more. I have disputed this matter with both the company and the credit reporting agency, but it has not been resolved to my satisfaction. A deficiency can not be claimed unless all of the required notices were properly and timely given, and all of the allowable redemption and cure time limits were adhered to.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation