Consumer complaint received 2015-07-18
Company: Westlake Services, LLC
State: PA
Product: Consumer Loan
Sub-product: Vehicle loan
Issue: Taking out the loan or lease

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX, XXXX my significant other and I ventured over to XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX Pennsylvania to trade in a truck on a XXXX XXXX XXXX. We took the vehicle for a test drive, and for the most part, we liked it. The check engine light was on and the emissions sticker was missing. We discussed these issues with the dealer who assured us that the issues were minor and he would fix them. Both of us decided that we wanted the vehicle, but we would have to finance the balance after the trade in price XXXX was credited. The total price of the vehicle was XXXX, we paid XXXX with a trade in and were to pay an additional XXXX in cash. The dealer agreed to let us make payments on the XXXX until the balance was paid off. He also was able to get us approved by a bank in California for the remaining balance of XXXX. The transaction went well until we were in possession of the vehicle. We provided the dealer with a payment of XXXX dollars toward the XXXX owed, after three weeks of obtaining the vehicle. I then began to try to get a hold of the dealer, in regards, to him holding up his part of the bargain as far as fixing the minor issues. He would never get back with me in regards to fixing the vehicle, so we stopped paying him. We continued to make our monthly payments to the bank, and decided that we would fix the problems ourselves. In XXXX of XXXX we realized that the temporary registration had went out of date and we had yet to receive the registration card. We contacted vehicle services who stated that they had not received it, and told me to contact the dealer. I called, emailed, and went to the dealers lot, trying to get in contact with the dealer. When I arrived at the dealership, there were no vehicle or signs that the dealership ever existed. We then contacted the bank our loan was through and explained to them that the dealer abandoned the lot and never turned our registration in. I asked the bank if they had received the title yet, and they said, " no ''. The bank stated that, I had agreed to the financial obligation and I am responsible to pay, regardless. At this point we decided to involve the police. We were shocked to find out that we were XXXX of many cases the trooper had in regards to this dealership. The worst part was, we were told by the trooper that we could not legally drive the vehicle anymore. The only thing we could do is hope that the trooper would be able to obtain our registration from the dealer. As time went by, with no luck, we knew we had to make a decision. The last payment made to the bank was in XXXX XXXX. At that point we had the vehicle for XXXX months without registration, and did not know if we would ever receive it. After we stopped making payments to the bank, we finally received the registration at the end of XXXX XXXX. By that point we were XXXX going on XXXX months behind on our payments to the bank. I contacted them to see if they would work with me, since I had made payments even though I could not legally use the vehicle. They refused to accommodate me. I financed this vehicle with the impression that I would be able to use and own it eventually. A vehicle does nobody any good without a registration or a title. I do not see how a transaction can be complete without the transfer of documents that makes the transaction legal. I do not think that we should be responsible for any part of this transaction. The transaction was not official until the documents were turned in XXXX months after the contract was agreed upon. We never agreed to make payments on a vehicle that was not legal to drive, due to the dealer not turning over the legal documents required for us to legally possess or use the vehicle.

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