Consumer complaint received 2024-11-11
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Problems at the end of the loan or lease — Unable to receive car title or other problem after the loan is paid off
Company: CENTRAL BANCOMPANY, INC (MO)

I have a complaint against Central  Bank located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX, MO XXXX, in which I have outlined below. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I opened auto loan with Central Bank in the amount of {$19000.00} for a term of 72 months ( six years ) with the monthly payment to be {$310.00} XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : Every month I faithfully paid my monthly payment of {$310.00} via the online bank site XXXX of XXXX : I missed making my standard car payment in the month of XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : I resumed making my monthly car payment of {$310.00} online XX/XX/XXXX : I began trying to pay off all outstanding debts to include this auto loan. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I accessed the online banking site to review my loan balance, which revealed the balance to be {$4000.00}, and I went ahead and made a {$3000.00} payment online. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I proceeded to make an additional payment in the amount of {$1000.00} through the online site. 

Month of XX/XX/XXXX : Payments that I made in the month of XX/XX/XXXX totaled {$4000.00}. After payments, the online site reflected that the remaining balance of the loan was a total of {$400.00}. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I made my regular loan payment of {$310.00} online XX/XX/XXXX : I went online to pay the remaining balance of my loan, in which the site reflected the remaining balance to be {$93.00}, in which I paid {$93.00} to satisfy the loan. 

The Next Several Months : With the loan paid in full, I awaited the lien release to arrive in the mail. I planned to keep my vehicle, therefore there was no urgency in receiving the lien release. 

A Saturday, between the end of XX/XX/XXXX and the end of XX/XX/XXXX : With months passing since I paid the last payment, I called the bank to question the status of the lien release. Due to it being the weekend, the only information I could obtain was the name of a supervisor of whom I should call and speak with during the week. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I became aware of derogatory remarks on my credit report that were negatively affecting my credit score and found the impact was from my auto loan with Central Bank. 

Concerned with the negative impact to my credit score, I attempted accessing my loan information online, just as I had done when making my payments online ; however, the bank had deactivated my online account, and I was unable to view any information. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I called Central Bank and asked to speak to XXXX, who was the supervisor that I had been referred to in my earlier call. Unfortunately, I never thought to obtain XXXX last name ; however, to my knowledge she is still employed with Central Bank. 

My phone conversation with XXXX on this particular day, consisted of me explaining all the details which are outlined above and up to this point. XXXX stated that she needed to review the details of my account, and that she would return my phone call within a few business days. 

Mid-XXXX  XXXX : I had not received a call back from XXXX as promised, therefore I decided I would call to follow up with her. XXXX stated she had reviewed my account and though I might have paid the remaining balance of my loan showing online, the online balance did not include the late fees on my loan. I was then informed that late fees had been assessed to my account from the time of my missed payment in XXXX of XXXX through XXXX of XXXX. In XXXX of XXXX, Central Bank charged off my account as a Profit and loss write-off and reported this to the credit reporting bureaus. 

When asking why the payments in XXXX of XXXX, which totaled {$4000.00} did not cover any outstanding late fee ( s ), I was told that this would have required me providing specific instruction to the bank. Though the {$4000.00} payment exceeded my monthly loan payment of {$310.00}, the bank did not put any of the payment towards the prior late fees and left them outstanding. 

XXXX offered to remove two of the late fees assessed, but claimed there was nothing more she could do, and said that I should have called the bank for a pay off balance. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I called Central Bank and spoke with XXXX XXXX, who was the Vice President/Consumer Loan Office, and we went over the same material that is outlined throughout this complaint. At the end of our conversation, I received the same exact response that I had received from XXXX, in the call documented above. 

Since I was unable to access my account information online, I requested that XXXX XXXX provide me with a full statement of my loan activity, in which she mailed to me and is attached hereto. 

The account activity confirms that from XXXX of XXXX through XXXX of XXXX, that XXXX of XXXX was the only month during the entire loan that a monthly payment was not made. 

Needless to say, I was highly upset as the bank and I both agreed that the auto loan of {$19000.00} was paid in full, but the bank claimed I had not paid the account in full, due to the assessed late fees. 

What is more upsetting is that Central Bank reported this loan as a charge off and a Profit and Loss Write-Off to the credit reporting bureaus, which is and has been damaging to my credit. The bank refuses to release the lien on my vehicle, and to this day, late payments continue to be reported to the credit reporting bureaus. 

So what has happened is Central Bank was assessing late fees on late fees. Is this legal, because I don't believe it is? 

XX/XX/XXXX : After reviewing the statement of my loan activity, I personally went to Central Bank and spoke directly to XXXX XXXX, in attempt to work out a resolution ; however, I got no further on XX/XX/XXXX, then I did in my previous phone conversations with the bank, which is the reason why I am now turning to your agency. 

Additional Upsetting Factors to Resolve : From XXXX of XXXX, when the auto loan was opened through the end of XXXX, I never communicated in person or via the phone with Central Bank. All loan payments were paid online and I always retrieved my account activity online as well. Therefore, when the online site listed the remaining balance of the loan as {$93.00}, I assumed that was the " actual '' balance of loan. I paid the {$93.00} and assumed the loan was satisfied in full. 

Central Banks online site allowed me to successfully pay the remaining balance of {$93.00} and did not provide any obvious online instructions that directed me to call the bank for a pay-off amount. 

The printed statement of my account activity, in which Central Bank provided to me reveals that my {$4000.00} loan payment in XXXX of XXXX was not substantial enough to cover late fee ( s ) previously assessed to my account. The account activity also reflects that after I paid the actual loan in full, the bank continued to assess {$10.00} late fees up to the time the bank reported my account as charged off and a Profit and Loss Write-Off. 

Upon review of my credit report, which is attached hereto, you will see that the bank is reporting 15 late payments, beginning in XXXX of XXXX, the date of my last online payment of {$93.00}. 

The 15 late payments reported by Central Bank and are shown reported from XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, showing that only 81 % of payments to be made on time. This has impacted my credit in such a way, that I can not even obtain a credit card. 

Though the actual auto loan is paid in full, Central Bank has not released the lien to the vehicle to this day.