Consumer complaint received 2023-01-25
Company: Westlake Services, LLC
State: IN
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Struggling to pay your loan
Sub-issue: Lender trying to repossess or disable the vehicle

Complaint:
Westlake Financial has been a predatory lender with crippling high interest rates, and the lender makes it impossible to pay off your loan amount. The company offers payment extensions to clients that are facing hardships, but when they offer you the extension they report to the credit bureaus inaccurate late payment information that kills your credit score that makes it impossible to refinance the vehicle to get out of their lending practices. 

Here recently in XX/XX/XXXX due to me being in a bad accident in the vehicle and being hospitalized I called and requested a payment extension. In order to make the payment extension request I was required to make a {$200.00} payment. For some reason the customer service rep stated that they were having a problem and that I would need to go to a XXXX to make the payment with a link that was sent to me. 

I call back through the automated system and made the payment with. no problem. XX/XX/XXXX I go into a XXXX store and use the link that was previously provided to me to make a payment of {$390.00}. This payment even with a receipt Westlake Financial is stating they don't see this payment has been made. 

I made an additional payment of {$300.00} on XX/XX/XXXX via my bank account. I have not once received any documentation or anything that my payment was behind or that I was in a delinquent status. XX/XX/XXXX I disputed with the local bureaus that there is an inconsistency with what West Lake Financial was reporting to the agencies. Every time they would approve a payment extension they would report my account to the credit agencies as being derogatory extremely penalizing my credit score. 

On XX/XX/XXXX they came and repossessed the vehicle saying that I was XXXX days past due on the loan. I advised I just made a payment on XX/XX/XXXX that wasn't even due yet. They advise that payment went towards XXXX payment. I advised I have a receipt of the XXXX payment in the vehicle and I can prove that the payment was made. They advised that I would have to take that up with XXXX and that is not a problem that Westlake Financial could assist with. 

At that point I asked what do you guys want to release the vehicle all reps would say I have to wait until the repossession review is completed. Which makes absolutely no since because if I was behind in my loan they know exactly how much money I owe them. 

I stated through the length of this loan I have received calls notification etc in regard to the status of my loan. In this instance I have not received anything from you guys about a missed payment of anything. Westlake response is that I requested to be placed on their DO NOT CALL LIST. Which is an absolute bold face lie. I have never requested an such thing from the company. 

I feel like this repossession is a sabotage in the efforts to take the vehicle back and resale it to another person when I have paid the original loan off XXXX at this point. Westlake Financial predatory tactics are hurting the consumer more than assisting. Ive tried to work this out with them asked them to fix their error, even reached out the VP of the company, tried to make payments and the company refuses to take any payments which leads to believe this repossession was done illegally and in error for the companies own financial gain, due to me filing a dispute with the credit bureaus due to Westlake financial providing inaccurate derogatory account status.

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