Consumer complaint received 2018-06-04
Company: Westlake Services, LLC
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Auto debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
Westlake Financial is a predatory lender with very dangerous business practices that violate state and federal laws of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Westlake Financial services have very fraudulent accounting practices they are able to assess any additional penalties and fees to their client accounts and fraudulently, illegally and unlawfully increase their profits. The State and Federal authorities need to immediately investigation the business practices of the predatory lender and take appropriate action against them to prevent any further victims. 

My car was totaled as a loss by my insurance company on XX/XX/XXXX. My insurance company made immediate contact with Westlake only for Westlake to intentionally delay the settlement proceedings with my insurance company so they could slow down the clock, so to speak, and fraudulently add additional fees and penalties to my account. Once my insurance company mailed Westlake Financial the payoff amount for my vehicle, they again intentionally stalled in applying this payment to my account and then reported my account to the credit bureaus as past due. They never adjusted the balance of my account with the insurance payoff amount although they had already cashed the check by the time they made their reporting to the credit bureaus. Westlake Financial cashed the check from my insurance company and updated my account in their system on XX/XX/XXXX ( although they received it on XX/XX/XXXX ). They proceeded to submit incorrect and adverse account information to all credit bureaus on XX/XX/XXXX with my account not reflecting any payments since XX/XX/XXXX and declaring me 60 days late. This caused my credit scores to drop dramatically as I have never had negative credit reporting by Westlake before this in the history of the loan that began in XXXX. 

It was only since XX/XX/XXXX, with the total loss of the car and hashing out the details with insurance and gap insurance companies, that Westlake decides to turn this into some adverse reporting act. The initial loan was for about {$16000.00} in XX/XX/XXXX. With the loss payout and history of my payments towards the loan, the balance is now about {$2000.00} ( which the gap insurance company would cover ). Thanks to Westlake 's intentionally delayed communication with my insurance company, the gap insurance only received the documents for this loss on XX/XX/XXXX. The gap insurance company has begun to process the claim, yet have not finished. But Westlake, as of today - JXX/XX/XXXX, has decided to charge off my account. This is to purposely cause me harm with the adverse reporting the credit bureaus and causing my credit history to be detrimentally affected. 

I am requesting and immediate review into my account and for all penalties of the highest amounts to be assessed for their fraudulent lending practices. PLEASE DO NOT EVER USE WESTLAKE FINANCIAL FOR ANY OF YOUR LENDING NEEDS. THEY PREY AGAINST CONSUMERS AND SHOULD BE PLACED OUT OF BUSINESS. DO NOT ALLOW ANY DEALERSHIPS TO COERCE YOU INTO DOING BUSINESS WITH WESTLAKE FINANCIAL. TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE AND PROTECT YOUR CREDIT. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH WESTLAKE FINANCIAL.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation