Consumer complaint received 2024-01-07
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Repossession — Account reinstatement or redemption after repossession
Company: Auto Now Financial Services, Inc., Phoenix, AZ Branch (AZ)

This has been an ongoing problem with this company and the root of the problem comes with the ethical practices of this dealership. Both XXXX XXXX XXXX Auto Now Financial are owned by the same person, XXXX XXXX XXXX, so that implies these companies are one and the same. This company is a buy here pay here. When a vehicle gets repossessed, it goes straight back to this company. 
From the beginning, this company was fully aware of my financial situation. they entered me into a high payment/ high interest loan, charging me a little less than XXXX the amount of the XXXX XXXX, as well as having me pay for what is pitched to be gap insurance in lieu of getting full coverage insurance on top of the car payment all while under the impression this place helped you to be successful. This company targets consumers with blemished credit who have trouble finding vehicle loans elsewhere, making them feel this is their only option. They lure people in with the promise of wanting to help you be successful, but in reality are preying on the uninformed, uneducated consumer with the intention of churning vehicles. 
Given that this company does not make exceptions for economic hardship, I am sure they are thriving from people who have been hit harder than me. This further supports my theory of the dealers true intentions of churning vehicles. The community this dealership targets are typically unaware of their rights, so a lot of the dealer practices remain unreported. Because this auto lender is a buy here, pay here facility, it is not regulated by the FTC and does its own financing on transactions. 
Because XXXX XXXX XXXX Now Financials a buy here, pay here lender, if my vehicle got repossessed, I would still owe the remaining balance, I would have negative marks on my credit score, but the vehicle would go back to Cactus XXXX XXXX XXXX Now Financial for them to resale to make more of profit. So not only would they be getting the money from me, the SAME vehicle would be resold for about the SAME amount of money. So then now XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Now XXXX just made 2 times the amount on the same vehicle. That's crazy profit and also, I feel, taking advantage of the uneducated, disadvantaged consumer. Also referred to as " churning. '' Per Federal Law : As a matter of law, churning is considered a violation of federal securities law proscribing fraud in connection with the purchase and sale of securities. 
A quote from an article : Disreputable buy here, pay here car lots will churn or sell the same car several times in a year. The buyer may fall behind on payments or stop making them if the car is a lemon and doesnt run right. The dealer repossessed the car as soon as legally possible and puts it back on the lot for the next unsuspecting buyer. The first buyer loses any money paid so far, including the down payment. 
I was not avoiding them, I had been calling and emailing my representative XXXX multiple times. She never called back. I still have the call logs & emails. I then started receiving calls from a random number that my phone showed as XXXX. By the time I received communication from Auto Now Financial, it was a different representative named XXXX XXXX who reached out to me by email, after inquiring on a payment plan, she only replied back that the vehicle was up for repossession. I called shortly after receiving the email and as I was calling, the repossession truck was already outside hooking up my vehicle. I had called again, not knowing that the vehicle was in the process of being repossessed, to try to see what could be done along the line of a payment arrangement. I spoke to someone who referred to themselves as a Manage named XXXX, who called me a liar and laughed at me multiple times. He showed absolutely no compassion. Auto Now Financials XXXX is Our B.E.S.T. sets us apart from the rest! -Benefit our Customer in everything we do -Exhibit our core values to our Customer every opportunity we get-Strengthen our Team daily-Take ownership of the task at hand ; if it is to be, it is to be done by me In what way did Auto Now benefit me? Are their core values to laugh unapologetically in someone's face when they are going through a hard time and call them a liar? If so, then yes, I guess they are exhibiting their core values. I am sure they are strengthening their company/team by churning vehicles. No one took ownership of the task at hand. 
In regards to the repossession : XXXX AZ XXXX : If the consumer objects to their actions, the repossession company must stop the repossession and leave their property. If they do not stop the repossession after the consumers explicit objections, they can risk breaching the peace. 
Not only did I let the repo company know that I was objecting to their actions, my fianc, XXXX, came out to let them know they were breaking our peace/ the neighborhood 's peace. My fianc works from home, so not only did it break her home peace, this also broke her work peace. They continued with the repossession after we both objected. 
I feel that the vehicle was wrongfully/illegally repossessed. 
Additionally, as a result of the repossession companys actions, a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act may have occurred and caused the repossession to be unlawful. If the repossession company breached the peace during the repossession, its likely that they violated the FDCPA. If this is the case, then pursuant to the FDCPA, the repossession company would have to pay the compensation of up to {$1000.00} in statutory damages and the company would have to pay for their legal fees and any costs as well. 
I would like to let you know of the impression that XXXX XXXX XXXXAuto Now XXXX left me. In the beginning XXXX XXXXAuto Now XXXX was great. But as time went on they had been treating me like I am someone who treats their car payment as something that is optional. I would like to let you know that my bills are my # XXXX priority and it GREATLY bothers me, that I had been consistently late. When entering into the loan agreement, I was entering in the agreement thinking that I would have support from a trustworthy and consistent job. Unfortunately, that company had been extremely inconsistent & had problems submitting my hours correctly, thus causing me to fall behind. I immediately got another job working night shift security and had even gotten a part time moving job during the day to catch up on bills. Unfortunately as a new hire, I didnt receive my checks for XXXX weeks after the start date. 
I feel that XXXX XXXXAuto Now XXXX has XXXX and unjust policies & procedures. 

I will continue to research other ways to file complaints. In addition to this I will also be creating a social media page on my experience with XXXX XXXXAuto Now XXXX XXXX Hopefully encouraging other consumers to speak up regarding their experiences with XXXX XXXXAuto Now XXXX XXXX I will be scrutinizing my sales contract and interest rates. In reviewing XXXX XXXX XXXX, it looks like my vehicle was sold for twice the actual value of the vehicle. XXXX XXXXAuto Now XXXX was aware of my current situation but still sold me the vehicle, knowing that I could potentially be " high risk, '' thus, once again, leading me to believe Cactus Jack/Auto Now XXXX true intentions were to " churn '' the vehicle sold to me. XXXX XXXXAuto Now XXXX was also aware of pre-existing conditions with the vehicle such as problems with the drivetrain, struts, & axle. They did not disclose that information to me. I brought this to their attention at the time of sale after the test drive. I asked to have a We Owe made up but they told me they didnt do that/didnt like to do that. XXXX XXXXAuto Now XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX TRUST CACTUS XXXX 'S AUTO TODAY! If youre ready to work with a transparent dealership you can trust, visit XXXX of the XXXX XXXX XXXX Auto locations in AZ today! They were not transparent about the pre-existing concerns with the vehicle and did not act trustworthy because they wouldn't make a We Owe for the known concerns.