Consumer complaint received 2017-09-27
Product: Debt collection — Auto debt
Issue: False statements or representation — Attempted to collect wrong amount
Company: FIRST CREDIT FINANCE (CA)

I would like to start off with saying that I appreciate any help that you can give into this matter. I 'm also letting you know that I 'm not going to pretend like I do n't know where the account that I am filing this complaint for came from. What I am filing this complaint about is because I am being extorted for far more money than I should legally owe and I 've done everything in my power to attempt to correct the situation and am being met with hostility and brick walls in my attempts to resolve the situation with the creditor. 

I will fill you in on the details and am hoping that you see the plight that I 'm in and the audacity of First Credit Finance to continue to do something which I know is not legal since I 've had to research it on my own extensively. 

Back in XX/XX/XXXX I obtained financing by First Credit Finance for a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. The amount financed was {$8800.00}. I made payments on that vehicle forseveral months before tragedy struck in my life and I was unable to afford making payments any longer. Within a few months the vehicle was repossessed. I already knew that simply turning in the vehicle was n't going to completely satisfy the debt but I was assuming that they would at least get something reasonable for the vehicle and I would only be left owing a few thousand dollars. What I was n't expecting was never to hear from the finance company after they took their vehicle back. Since I never heard back from the finance company I figured they must have recovered their money. I left it as that. 

It took a few years to finally get myself in a financially stable situation where I can now start applying for credit again. I recently went to a lender to attempt to apply for a loan and they told me that my credit was fair but that I had a repossessed vehicle with a balance of over {$11000.00}. I 'm not kidding when I say that I almost choked on my drink when I heard that. I asked the lender to double check and make sure. She did so and told me that First Credit Finance had me with a balance for over {$11000.00}. I decided to give them a call and figure out what 's going on. 

I called First Credit Finance and started speaking with a collector named XXXX. I began asking basic questions about the account such as how the balance is {$11000.00} when the amount financed was in the {$8000.00} range. The supervisor informed me that my current principle balance was {$6500.00} and {$4800.00} was interest. Somewhere along the conversation he said they sold the vehicle for {$3000.00}. He also mentioned that the original amount financed was {$8800.00}. He also said that I made 6 monthly payments. After hearing all those numbers the math did n't add up. I asked him to clarify as if I made 6 monthly payments and the vehicle was sold for {$3000.00}, how was the principal {$6500.00} and not lower. This is where he started getting rude. He told me that the payments get applied according to the terms of the contract. If there is interested accumulated, then payments get applied to the interest. I asked him to break down how my payments were being applied to my loan and he refused to answer my question. He gave me general answers of how loans work in general. I again asked him to provide me with specifics and he told me that in my case I paid one year of interest before the vehicle was sold! ONE YEAR FROM WHEN IT WAS REPOSSESSED BEFORE IT WAS SOLD IN AUCTION! 
I was clearly upset and so I questioned him some more. I asked him if he was telling me that his company held on to the vehicle for one year before selling it. He started raising his voice some more and kept cutting me off to speak over me. He told me that they did n't hold on to the vehicle but that they ca n't force anybody to buy the vehicle ... The vehicle was turned in to auction and it took one year before someone bought the vehicle. I know that I was n't at the auctions but that is extremely far fetched. I find it difficult to believe that there would n't be any offers on a vehicle at an auction for that long. Selling it for pennies on the dollar is believable but not being sold for 12 months at an auction is not. I then started asking him when the repossession date was and he told me in an attitude and disrespectful tone that I should know when the repossessed date was. I told him this was 5 years ago and did n't remember hence why I was asking and he told me that I should look up my records for that information. He then cut me off and said " do me a favor are you going to pay this account? '' I asked to speak to a supervisor and he said he was a supervisor. I asked for his last name and he said I already told you my name that 's all you need. He then said again " do me a favor, if your not going to pay this account or have a dispute with this credit reporting then submit a dispute and we will comply with whatever we get requested. '' Then I began to ask for his supervisor again and again in an altered voice and interrupting me and being rude and obnoxious said " sir you are no longer a customer but a debtor. Unless you are going to pay this account then I would be happy to speak with you. If not please follow the appropriate channels. '' I told him this is the appropriate channels and he kept interrupting me. I started trying to make a statement about how if I was asking for the repossession date but they refused to answer me then how could I know if their records were even legitimate but unfortunately he hung up on me. 

My irritation was at a boiling point but I decided to XXXX it up and call back as I needed to speak to a supervisor. I was very upset at how I was being treated as trash and less than a human being. Just because a debt is owed does not mean that I do not have the right to ensure that the amount they are attempting to collect is legitimate. I also deserve to have my questions answered if they pertain to the debt in question. When I called back a customer service representative answered. I explained what had just happened and that I wanted to speak to someone above XXXX. The representative kept trying to transfer me to him but I made it very clear that I needed to speak to someone who could answer my questions regarding my loan. He said they were n't available. I kept asking for who the names of these other people so I could call back at another time when they were available but he refused to name them. Eventually he put me on hold and someone answers and said " How could I help you XXXX '' I asked who it was and he said " you already know who this is '' " I told him you could help me by answering my questions '' He then states that he would answer my questions if I would answer his first. I decided to play along and he asks me " what 's your address and your place of employment? '' When I refused to give him my place of employment he stated that he has nothing to talk to me about. Until I gave him my proper address and place of employment so they can " serve '' me with proper documentation then nobody will help me with this. He then hung up again. I called back a third time and now all I get are voicemails. 

I am beyond outraged at this. After I calmed down and decided to research help with dealing with this type of situation I was not surprised when I learned that this company broke so many laws in this matter that if I really felt like it I could hire an attorney to sue for their willful negligence of the law. For starters, when they repossessed the vehicle, under California Law they are supposed to send me a notice informing me that I have a right to reclaim the vehicle and that I have a right to request what they sold the vehicle for. They never did so. Next, In order to attempt to collect a deficiency balance on a repossessed vehicle, when selling the vehicle, they are supposed to do so in a " commercially reasonable '' manner. Selling a vehicle in an auction 1 year after it 's been repossessed thereby allowing the original loan to accumulate 1 year of interest is in no way, shape, or form " commercially reasonable. '' That already makes this debt highly questionable and illegal. It does n't end there however. California also has the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. That law extends to original creditors if they are attempting to collect a debt. By informing me that nobody would talk to me unless I provided their company with my address or place of employment so they can " serve '' me with the appropriate documentation, XXXX willingly and knowingly broke the law. In California, the statute of limitations for suing someone is 4 years from the last payment made. If I only made 6 monthly payments starting in XX/XX/XXXX, then the final payment I made was in XX/XX/XXXX. 4 years from that is XX/XX/XXXX.  Threatening to " serve me '' for the purposes of suing me is in violation of both the Federal and the Rosenthal Fair Debt collection practices act. Also, when asking for validation of the debt, refusing to provide me with it because they do n't have it or simply do n't want to is also a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Insulting me and talking to me in a demeaning manner is also a violation of the F.D.C.P.A. 

I am very close to taking legal action against this company. I am hoping you look into this matter and do something about it.