Consumer complaint received 2018-01-11
Company: SUNTRUST BANKS, INC.
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Auto debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive enough information to verify debt

Complaint:
I am a co-signer on an auto loan for my son who is XXXX XXXX Military. SunTrust Bank holds the loan. It was problematic right from the start. They had incorrect information on their documents which required us to make two special trips back to the dealership which was very difficult for my son to do since the base was an hour and a half away from the dealership. My son moves around a lot and changed bank accounts a couple of times and the automatic payment for the vehicle did not go through at one point. My son made a payment which he intended for the missed payment only it did n't get posted to that. It was posted as a payment to his current bill. We did not realize this payment was still outstanding. 

In XX/XX/XXXX apparently there were insufficient funds in his account to cover the payment so it bounced back. Neither he nor I had any idea this had happened. On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX I picked up my mail and saw a notice from Suntrust Bank dated XX/XX/XXXX showing an amount owing of {$1200.00} ( an amount equal to two payments ). I planned to call SunTrust the next day ( Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX ) to find out what this was about but before I could I received a call from my son telling me his truck was gone. 

When I did speak with SunTrust they were the rudest most awful people imaginable. They claimed they sent notices regarding the delinquency but the first and only one we received was the night before the vehicle was repossessed. They claim they called us but neither my son nor I received a single phone call and ALL of our information is on the loan documents and our cell phone numbers have not changed. So they are liars as well as thieves. We were not given any time to do anything about this before they took the vehicle and if you have n't ever dealt with a vehicle repossession trust me you do not want to - It is a royal pain not to mention very expensive!!!! I have called twice to attempt to speak to a Manager at SunTrust and have left messages but no one will call me back. 

I do n't care whether it is legal or not what they 've done but it is immoral. They should not be allowed to treat our XXXX XXXX Military in such a deplorable fashion! And, to have a SunTrust employee lecturing me on how I should have raised my son - that he 's the problem not them - is an insult and a judgement she was not qualified to make nor has any right to make. 

They cost us hundreds of dollars in repo fees, wire transfer fees, and Police Dept release fees. It also cost my son two days off of work to get this all settled and get his vehicle back. All of this would have been completely unnecessary if they would have actually contacted us as they claim to have. Getting a single notice the day the vehicle is repossessed is useless! 

When I first went to this site I looked up SunTrust Bank and found over 1,000 complaints for a wide variety of mistakes and unethical behavior. Something needs to be done about them! The way in which they operate is inefficient and negligent and the way they treat people is downright abusive!

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