Consumer complaint received 2023-08-22
Company: NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: NC
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Problems at the end of the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Problem while selling or giving up the vehicle

Complaint:
In XXXX of XXXX  I discovered that NFCU did not have the title to my vehicle on hand while trying to complete a sale of the vehicle. After multiple phone calls over the course of the two weeks to follow I was condescended and belittled by 3 supervisors who claimed it was my fault that the title had gone missing and one who stated that NFCU records showed them never receiving the title from XXXX. 
Once the records of both the CA DMV and NFCU XXXX and a branch in XXXX XXXX Florida were checked the following was concluded : In XXXX of XXXX, I made a request, through the branch in XXXX XXXX Fl, to have the title sent there so I could register the vehicle as I had just been stationed in FL. A request was made to CADMV to turn the XXXX into a paper copy ( per CADMV records ) That paper copy was mailed to NFCU with a tracking number to confirm receipt on XXXX at the address on file ( XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, PA ) ( per CADMV records ). From there it was sent via XXXX standard mail to the branch in XXXX XXXX FL. ( per NFCU records ). The branch confirmed that it has no records of ever receiving it or reaching out to me to inform me that it never came in. NFCU has an internal policy that if a title is sent to a branch and not claimed by the member that it is to be returned to the main title holding section in PA after 30 days ( per NFCU ). That policy was never carried out. ( per NFCU ) The events as outlined above and the negligence demonstrated by NFCU to follow common sense practice, such as utilizing mail with tracking service, and disregard for internal policy resulted in the title for my vehicle going missing and remaining missing for a period of 2 years and ultimately resulted in the inability of myself to sell the vehicle to an individual who had arranged to pay more than the remaining loan amount.

In order to try and correct this matter NFCU filed for a duplicate title from CADMV ( per NFCU record ) and charged me a {$25.00} fee ( which they said would be waived prior to me giving consent for the order ). It was only after I received a letter stating that the amount had been debited from my account and confirming via the online app, and calling the help line that the amount was refunded to me. 
I tried negotiating for fair resolution on three separate occasions through a case manager as NFCU supervisors said case managers are the only ones who can do anything beyond. All three were denied. 
No further resolution has been reached. 

For these reasons and pursuant to 12 USC 5531 I am filing the complaint of abuse. Navy Federal Credit Union took unreasonable advantage of my reliance on them to safeguard the property held and displayed negligence on multiple occasions to follow set policy, which is not consistent with acting in the best interest of the consumer.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation