Consumer complaint received 2016-01-28
Company: First Premier Financial, Inc.
State: CO
Product: Consumer Loan
Sub-product: Vehicle loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease

Complaint:
We purchased a vehicle from Best Car Buys dba First Premier Financial in XX/XX/XXXX. Due to our busy work schedules we had an agreement to fully authorize discussing the account via email as First Premier Financial were calling us numerous times a day and calling our references. Over the course of nearly 3 years, we have been bombarded with calls once the account was due and the days past due. While we understand that they can contact you if late, there is no reason to call up to 7 times in one day AND call all the references. Under FDCPA they may call references to try and gain information on our whereabouts. But not call the references on a regular basis as if they were the account holders. However the vehicle has GPS tracking on it so they know exactly where it is at all times. In addition it was not disclosed to us that the vehicle would have GPS tracking on it at time of purchase. That was covered up by them presenting it to us as this paper to sign is in case the vehicle breaks down we know where to send help by finding it. Come to find out they have hidden tracking in the car and have found the vehicle on several occasions and put notes on the window. This feels like invasion of privacy. The collection tactics of them calling over and over all day long is harassment and very stressful. We would email them to advise on payment so they would stop calling and they would ignore the email and keep calling over and over. Even when we did talk to someone they would still call over and over and say that the phone number is on an auto dialer and can not be removed until the account is in good standing. They would call our references at least 5 times a week along with the calls to our phones. They would text us as well. We never gave authorization to contact us using an autodialer on our cellphones and to text us. They have disclosed personal information on several occasions to our references which again is a violation of FDCPA laws. First Premier Financial claims that they are a Financial Institution and therefore are regulated by someone and need to be held accountable. That is where this complaint filing comes into play. Due to financial stress and continued pressure, harassment and repeated phone calls over and over from this company, we advised that we can no longer do this and it has taken its toll. They tried to present an work out to lower the payments which I asked about a year ago or more and now they decide to say ok we can do that. Within 24 hours of that option being presented and we were contemplating our options, they continued to call another 7 times and call our references again. They were advised to pick up the vehicle and a cease and desist letter was sent via email and postal mail as well as verbally spoken. They have ignored our requests to refrain from calling references over the past 2 years and continued to do so over and over. They have ignored our requests to stop calling our phones over and over every day. They have ignored the email authorization agreement that was in place since XX/XX/XXXX so we can avoid all the phone calls. They have ignored all the emails we would send to update them on payments etc. They have breached their own agreement to communicate the account via email. This is a form of harassment and we need out of this account with First Premier Financial. We have bought XXXX cars from Best Car Buys since XX/XX/XXXX and never have seen such unprofessional treatment ever since First Premier Financial was created as the Financing Department. Their collection tactics are to harass, annoy and pressure one into making their payment. That is terrible way of doing business. There is so much more to tell but limited in this section.

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