Consumer complaint received 2023-08-04
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: IA
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Billing problem

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX I read an article regarding Wells Fargo 's auto loan settlement. I had an auto loan with them that resulted in the vehicle being repossessed in XXXX. 

In XXXX I had some major medical issues arise with myself & my daughter affecting my income & expenses. I was paying what I could but fell behind on my loan payments. In XXXX  of XXXX, I made a payment online which should have brought the account current. However, their records were then showing I was further behind. 

I called in XXXX of XXXX & tried to work with them after reviewing my statements & payments. I called in & spoke with an employee asking to help identify where the discrepancy was in our records. We reviewed the statements I had on hand and compared to their records. It wasn't matching up. She told me I was 4 months behind even after a payment I recently submitted online. At this time, I asked if I could provide payment information for the amount they were showing as past due. She advised it was around {$600.00} and I had a family friend who offered to help me pay it & bring my account current. I was told they could not accept any payment unless it was the full balance of over {$10000.00}. 

They told me my options were to sell the car to pay the balance, to obtain a loan with another bank or to trade it in & get a new loan. They also suggested I could ask a family member to loan me the amount to pay it off. I advised no one in my family had that kind of money to hand out. The time frame they gave me was 5 days to find a solution before they were going to put the car up for repo. I was to call them back within that week to advise what I was able to do. 

I called Wells Fargo back on the date we had specified & told them all that I had done. I asked again if I could make the payment to bring the account current & reinstate the loan. I had the {$600.00} & could bring the account current, but they wouldnt accept that payment or work with me. I also asked to have future payments direct debited from my account to avoid any future discrepancies & they advised there was nothing more they could do & were putting the car up for repo. They told me I could continue working on a solution after the car was up for repo & if I came up with a solution to call them back. I advised I had already done all I could. I asked if I could turn the car into a nearby Wells Fargo to avoid them having to go thru the work to come get it & to save on some of the expenses. The lady told me that it was going to cost the same if I dropped it off or if they came & towed it. Unfortunately, I had to accept there wasnt going to be any compromise at all at this point, so I advised them the car would be in my driveway with the keys in it for them to pick up. I did not drive the car after that call & it sat in my driveway until it was picked up on XX/XX/XXXX. It took approximately 8 months for a tow truck to come pick it up. 

In XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter stating the vehicle had been sold and my deficiency balance was {$5200.00}. I didn't receive any additional bills, collection notices or phone calls regarding that balance. In XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter stating after a review of my account it was identified they did not provide the required notification when the account became past due. As a result, they enclosed a check for {$270.00} for any costs & any payments after the sale of the vehicle. The amount included {$3.00} as compensation for the time these funds were not available for use. It also stated they were waiving the outstanding balance on the account following repossession of and sale of the vehicle. 

I called the XXXX XXXX XXXX phone number multiple times in XX/XX/XXXX. I was able to speak to someone on XX/XX/XXXX. He told me they were currently identifying the accounts affected by the settlement. He advised due to the large number of accounts they had to review it could take quite a bit of time. I would receive a letter or phone call advising if my account was affected. I've received no further communication from them.

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