Consumer complaint received 2018-05-09
Company: BBVA FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: AZ
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Billing problem

Complaint:
Payments are not being applied correctly and unethical, deceptive, and possibly fraudulent behavior being conducted by BBVA Compass Bank. 
In XX/XX/XXXXI took out an Auto Loan that was secured by BBVA Compass. I filed for chapter XXXX bankruptcy in XX/XX/XXXX and it was discharged in XX/XX/XXXX. For the life of the loan I have never submitted a payment 30+ days late. During my bankruptcy period I continued to make timely payments. 
Since filing for bankruptcy all my payments have been processed via in branch cash payments. BBVA Compass has disabled my online access due to the bankruptcy. BBVA Compass Bank has placed a restriction on my account internally. The restriction prohibits any employee from BBVA Compass Bank that is in a physical branch, call center customer service, or loan department to assist me in serving the account or answering any questions in regards to my account. I am not even able to receive a statement from any of the sources mentioned above. Every branch that I have been into and every department that I have contacted through the customer service number has told me they need to redirect me to a specialized " Bankruptcy Department '' in order to even assist with most basic questions and requests. The special conditions placed on my account have stemmed some serious issues. Ever since my account was moved internally to this " Bankruptcy Department '' some payments have not been processed correctly. This may be due to the restrictions on my account or with the change in software systems internally as the employees have stated there new system has caused a lot problems in there transition. I always take a receipt after a payment in order to verify the transaction was processed, but I do not store the receipt. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I went into a branch to make a payment as usual. The teller informed me that account stated I was 90 days past due, but the teller recognizing me from coming in every single month only to make this auto payment knew that this could not be accurate. So she attempted to sit me down with a banker and the branch manager in order to attempt to resolve the issue. The teller notified the branch manager that I have been coming every month and making payments and is not sure how it would show no payment for three months. I unfortunately never stored the receipts as I only took the receipts to verify the teller processed the transaction, there was no way for me to see if it was actually being applied to the loan because they disable my online banking and refuse to provide me statements via mail. The Branch manager and banker were unable to assist me because my account was moved to this bankruptcy department and they were informed only they could service the account and assist with any disputes. The branch manager and Banker attempted multiple times to get in contact with this " Bankruptcy Department '' but were unsuccessful after multiple days of attempts. They emailed the department and called, but no response. I also was attempting to reach the " Bankruptcy Department '' after numerous phone call attempts ( XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ), no call back was achieved and the bank internally was still unable to get a reply. In fear of getting my vehicle repossessed, and not retaining my receipts, I decided to make the three months payment that was past due in order to bring my account current an amount in excess of {$1700.00} between XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX. This was to bring my payments to current. 

The Branch and I knew that I was making payments every month but there was no proof without the receipt. After this point I decided to hold on to all my receipts in case this occurred again. 
Unfortunately the issue did arise again. On XX/XX/XXXX I walked into a branch to make a payment and the teller again was puzzled as it stated that I was again 90 days past due. It seems that some payments post but most do not. This time I had proof and the receipts to show that my payments are not being applied. The banker and manager filed an internal investigation in regards to the matter. I was told someone was going to reach out to me within 72 hours of XX/XX/XXXX in order to discuss the situation but that has not occurred. The Branch manager was facing the same issue as before because no matter what internal department or authority the manager attempted to reach everyone said the same thing only the " Bankruptcy Department '' can handle this account. The bank attempted numerous times to contact this " Bankruptcy Department '' via phone and email no success. I was also attempting to reach them. I called customer service several times ( XX/XX/XXXX,XX/XX/XXXX,XX/XX/XXXX,XX/XX/XXXX ). I continue to be deceived and lied to by the phone representatives. No one is able to assist me not even the supervisors of the call center. 
My phone calls all go through the same cycle. I call in to customer service, and the first point of contact tells me that they need to transfer me to the " loan department '' who usually service loan accounts. Once I reach the " loan department '' they all tell me the same thing sorry we can not help you we have to direct you to the " bankruptcy department ''. I try and explain to the supervisor of the " loan department '' that there is no one calling me back or reaching out to me from this so called " bankruptcy department '' after over a dozen personal and internal branch attempts to reach this department via phone and email. The supervisor states that he will escalate this situation to the " corporate office '' and I will receive a phone call within 24 hours, and the employee also state that he will call within 24 hours to ensure I received that phone call from the " corporate office ''. This exact scenario has happened three times. As if it is a scripted response. Not once did I get a call from any one at BBVA ; not the corporate office nor the employee to verify that I received the call. I do have all these phone calls recorded and employee IDs. 

I do want to keep in mind that I am towards the end of the loan term and I have high amount of equity within the vehicle. 
The Branch manager who has been the only person attempting to assist me has found out that internal branch payments made on loan accounts that are in Bankruptcy restriction do not get processed sometimes and payments should be mailed directly to this " bankruptcy department ''. This information was never relayed to me nor did the branch ever say anything as they continued to my payments for months. The Manager is attempting to fix the situation but has no authority as the Branch manager can not reach the " Bankruptcy Department '' either to remedy the situation. Even the banks district operations manager is being refereed to this " Bankruptcy Department '' and has no success in establishing a connection with department. 

No one has the authority to help me besides this " Bankruptcy Department '', which at this point may not even really exist. When you call this " Bankruptcy Department '' it rings for about a minute and then a voicemail recordings comes on to leave your information for a call back. Between the local branches and I over twenty attempts have been maid via phone and email to get response back. Not only are my payments not being applied the company is also misreporting information to the credit bureaus. This is not the first time BBVA Compass has not been applying loan payments to my account, it is the first time I caught them.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief