Consumer complaint received 2018-09-13
Company: U.S. Auto Credit Corporation
State: FL
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Problems at the end of the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Problem related to refinancing

Complaint:
I purchased a 2009 XXXX XXXX about two years ago. I financed the vehicle with US Auto Credit Corp. I recently began to have mechanical issues with the vehicle. The repair costs made it difficult for me to afford my bi-weekly payments. I reached out to US Auto Credit to inform them of the situation and to find out if there were any options available to help me reduce the financial strain to avoid late payments or defaulting on the loan. The only option presented to me was a forbearance. The forbearance wasnt a good option because it would have extended my loan term. The maintenance is going to be required more frequently in the future. The forbearance only provides temporary relief. At this point Ive made over 50 bi-weekly which totals close to {$10000.00}. The interest rate is 26 %. It would be close to impossible for me to pay the car off before it died. Since US Auto Credit didnt have any other options I had to look into refinance options. Luckily my bank approved the refinance but they would only approve {$6600.00} which is the value of the vehicle. I was told the payoff amount was around {$7700.00}. I would have to pay the difference. I didnt have {$1100.00} but I really needed to do this refinance. It lowered my interest rate, payment, and term by almost 50 %. I went back to US Auto to ask if they would write off a portion or reduce my balance. They sent me a settlement offer for {$7100.00}. The loan wouldnt be reported as paid in full but as paid in full- charge off less than balance. They also said that the would issue a XXXX for the any reduction amount greater than {$600.00}. I finally spoke with a supervisor XXXX XXXX who said there wasnt much more they could do. He advised me to continue paying on the car for another year ( {$4400.00} ) and try to refinance at the end of the year. At the end of our conversation he told me that he would have upper management look at it but he was almost positive that they didnt have any other options available. He said hes never seen them offer any other options for situations like mine in the 4 years of his employment. The companys mission statement says the want to help and treat consumers with fairness and dignity. My experience has been the complete opposite. I feel like this company is taking advantage of people with less than perfect credit. I dont feel like the lending practices are designed for you to successfully pay off a loan. And when you get into a situation like mine which I feel was created by their predatory lending practices ... they dont offer viable options to help. They relentlessly demand money and refuse to offer fair resolutions ... leaving you stuck or putting a person into a worse credit situation. I was young with poor credit and I needed a car. This company took complete advantage of that. The dealer made it seem like this company would be doing me a big favor by approving my loan because my credit score was low but I was actually being lied to and taken advantage of. I can only imagine how many people have gone through this and didnt know what to do.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation