Consumer complaint received 2021-01-19
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Lease
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — Billing problem
Company: VW Credit, Inc (NY)

I am writing to complain about Volkswagen Credits unfair and deceptive business practices and accounting errors which, on XX/XX/XXXX, led to a near repossession, a horrible exchange with their tow agent, and a risky interaction with six police officers and at least 6 XXXX  at the ready that put my life, and those of my husband and our XXXX children, at risk. 

I first financed a vehicle through Volkswagen Credit in XX/XX/XXXX and traded that vehicle ( XXXX XXXX XXXX - account no. XXXX ) in for a new lease ( XXXX XXXX XXXX - account no. XXXX ) in XX/XX/XXXX. I had not missed a single payment from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX ( or to the present ) and expect all future payments to go through without a problem. There is no dispute that every payment was received by Volkswagen Credit in a timely fashion. The vast majority of those payments were made through bank transfer from my account at XXXX  XXXX XXXX to Volkswagen Credit. 

Despite making all required payments, on Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX at about XXXX XXXX. I heard the car alarm go off in my driveway and, investigating, noticed an individual standing in the open drivers side door of my vehicle ( with no mask or gloves despite the COVID-19 pandemic ), and that my vehicle was attached to a wheel-lift tow truck being operated by a second person - despite the fact that my vehicle is all-wheel drivXXXX and transmission damage was almost assured. I immediately asked the individuals why they were on my property and in my vehicle and they said, Its being repossessed ; talk to the bank. Those individuals, who Volkswagen Credit later informed me were their repossession agents, refused to identify themselves or present a valid repossession order and, in violation of 20-496 ( a ) of the Administrative Code of XXXX XXXX XXXX, drove a vehicle with no license number, medallion, or exemption sticker on it issued by the XXXX Department of Consumer and Worker Protection ( DCWP ) formerly the Department of Consumer Affairs ( DCA ). They also refused to provide that information at my request. The vehicle had NJ commercial plates ( XXXX  XXXX ) and a XXXX NJ tow truck sticker expiring in XXXX ( No. XXXX ) but nothing showing that it was permitted to engage in towing activity in XXXX XXXX XXXX. The police later informed me that they were from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX located at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, NY XXXX. They appear to be working with XXXX XXXX XXXX, a foreign business corporation located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX. 

I assured the Volkswagen Credits repossession agents that there was a mistake as my payments were current. They continued to direct me to the bank and never identified themselves or presented me with a valid repossession order. As I would not turn off the vehicles anti-theft alarm, Volkswagens repossession agents called the police ( 2 officers were dispatched ) and flagged down a passing squad car ( contained two police officers who were on the scene first ). These officers then called their supervisor ( two more police officers arrived ). Volkswagens agents eventually left the vehicle even before they received clearance from Volkswagen. Their actions, however, put me in a situation that could have been fatal. As a XXXX family I am keenly aware of the hazards of police interaction - an exchange that could have been avoided were it not for Volkswagens improper actions on my account. 

Prior to this incident, in approximately XX/XX/XXXX, a Volkswagen Credit representative called to notify me that some of my XX/XX/XXXX payments were inadvertently sent to the XX/XX/XXXX account. The rep informed me that they would transfer the payments from the closed XX/XX/XXXX account to the new XX/XX/XXXX account - a common practice when a customer opens a second account but continues to send payments to the closed first account. I updated my banking information with the new account number and payments continued to be submitted as scheduled. 

In a call with a Volkswagen Credit representative on XX/XX/XXXX, while Volkswagen Credits agents were incorrectly trying to repossess my car, the rep informed me that they, inexplicably, did not transfer the payments from the XX/XX/XXXX account to the XX/XX/XXXX account but instead chose to assess late fees on the payments that they had already timely received, refund 3 months of payments ( I did not receive those checks and Volkswagen could not tell me whether or not those checks were cashed ), and apply my XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX payments to XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. As such, I was supposedly 90 days late and the collateral was up for repossession. Although I had made all payments, Volkswagen Credit would not cancel the repossession order until they fraudulently induced me to immediately make another 3 months of payments plus late fees. I did so over the phone.

Volkswagen Credits failure to transfer the payments as they agreed to do in XXXX, collecting 3 more months of payments, and assessing and collecting improper fees was predatory and was unfair and deceptive in violation of General Business Law 349 ( New Yorks Deceptive Practices Act ). Additionally, their actions proved dangerous as those actions led to a situation where their repossession agents in an unmarked vehicle unregistered with the XXXX DCA, and who refused to identify themselves, chose instead to involve 6 police officers in an attempt to secure a vehicle that they were not entitled to have.