Consumer complaint received 2019-10-03
Company: TOYOTA MOTOR CREDIT CORPORATION
State: IL
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:
Hello Toyota Motor Credit Corporation, I have looked over the Affidavit of Defense To The Creditor form that was sent to me on XX/XX/XXXX. I am contacting you all in my defense. While I understand that you all are the lien holder of the vehicle that Ive had sense XX/XX/XXXX, I have maintained the vehicle at least 4 years now. I only owe a small remaining balance and I believe I can pay the vehicle to the end of term. 

On the date of XX/XX/XXXX, my car was booted by the City of XXXX due to a personal matter between myself and XXXX regarding a ticket payment plan. The price to recover the vehicle was really high, so the car was towed and impounded by the XXXX of XXXX due to inability to cover funds. On XXXX the XXXX XXXX, I contacted Toyota financial services and notified them of the impound by the City of XXXX. We set up a verbal payment arrangement for the date of XX/XX/XXXX. I have email confirmation from that verbal communication with the card that I do have on file ending in XXXX. Attached is the email. 

Naturally, I was highly surprised when my vehicle was repossessed from the impound on XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX. I contacted the impound to see what the total cost of the vehicle was. The impound states that the car was already taken by the lien-holder. I contacted Toyota Financial Services on XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX and the representative told me that the car was repossessed by XXXX  and towed by XXXX XXXX XXXX. I was told that I had to pay {$840.00} plus {$520.00} impound fees Plus repossession fees. I was told that I had until XXXX XXXX to bring for the funds before Toyota takes complete possession of the vehicle. I had limited funds at the time, and the city of XXXX gave me a hardship because I have section XXXX and food stamps. My payment plan amount was only {$150.00} and some change to start though it was originally quoted a couple XXXX. 

Next, I contacted Toyota Financial Services on the XXXX of XXXX. I was notified that a payment for {$280.00} was attempted to be debited from my debit card on file on XX/XX/XXXX, and that I only owed the {$560.00} on top of whatever the additional fees were. But then the Representative naturally noticed that the payment did not go through. How is it that there is an attempt to take out a payment on a payment arrangement that we made and my car was still repossessed because Toyota financial thought that the car would be smashed or taken by the city of XXXX? I was never notified that the vehicle would have been taken out of the impound, because to my understanding there was a payment arrangement made when the representative did know that the car was impounded and I made the payment arrangement to save the repossession, in the first place. Now at this point, theres a repossession on top of additional fees for an act that I had no idea, was happening. Now Im in an even deeper hole. 

I contacted Toyota Financial Services to negotiate extension, they gave me to the XXXX of XXXX, but was then pushed back to the XXXX, once I spoke to a Manager. ( They took almost 72 hours to speak to me though it should have been up to 48 hours, and I had to call ). At the time of the original arrangement I was only behind by two payments and I was willing to figure out how to pay the other two pretty quickly, especially with everything thats been going on with the City of XXXX. I have attempted to sell things, nothing of real worth. My car is my only monetary asset right now. Ive contacted family members and friends. Ive done everything I could to this point. Yet, I believe I was prematurely repossessed when there was an arrangement in place. I was speaking to supervisors and managers and managers managers. I have been trying to figure out what could be done, because the thing thats really holding me back, is honestly the {$990.00}. If I had a payment plan in place, a repossession should not have been made. If the car was never repossessed from the impound, that would have been in my payment plan to the City of XXXX. The fees would have been included. And Toyota Financial Services repossession fees would have been half of that amount of {$990.00}. 

I was told everything from Weve given you too many extensions! to Youve been repossessed one time already, and youre definitely not eligible for any grace! to Even if you were not ever repeat death, were not extending a payment arrangement of any sort to you at this point. to Sell everything you need to in order to get the money ; we are only helping you with other options. Finally, to take out my XXXX, if I had one. I just completed school. 

Quite honestly, there was a payment plan in place, I did not expect a repossession from the impound, and I was prematurely repossessed. That is my defense. 

I am requesting information about the communication that does not need to be had between the customer and Toyota Financial Services with regard to a third-party and a repossession. 

I do have hardships. Anything could happen within a 60 month period. While I understand that Toyota Financial Services is the lienholder, I am also aware that Im almost paid off. I just want to complete this car note, and have a lien myself. I would like to be the lienholder on the vehicle that Ive had for over four years. Please let me know what could be done as far as some type of payment arrangement. Since all of this has happened I owe one more payment. And this is on top of the {$840.00} that I already had to pay from the day of the impound which was XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX. As a person who is still working on finding a job, but willing to fight to keep the car, to get there, I need something to be done. I owe under {$7000.00} on the car at this time. 

Please contact me at XXXX or XXXX for further information and detail.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief