Consumer complaint received 2025-08-28 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Repossession — Account reinstatement or redemption after repossession
Company: Westlake Services, LLC
State: MD

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year> around XXXX am I was pulled over and my car was towed because my registration was suspended. 
I immediately called XXXX the next day to resolve but was told my registration is suspended because the car is not titled in Maryland and In order to get the vehicle out of the impound I would need a new title. I then called Westlake the financial company to inform them of the situation and was told that because I had a repossession 2 years ago, my name was automatically disassociated with the title of the car and I would need to submit a redemption package in order to have a new title reinstated. They also said they when I got the car back 2 years ago the redemption package should have automatically been sent out to me and this situation could have easily been avoided. They told me the reinstatement process takes up to XXXX weeks and and I try to put emphasis on the fact that the car is impounded and I dont have XXXX weeks to wait but they unfortunately couldnt speed up the process. I call the impound lot which is located on XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, Md XXXX to see if there anything I can do to get the car and they told me that I would just need to bring my id, the title of the car. I nervously asked about storage fees because I knew the car would be there for some time and she insured me that the car wasnt racking up storage fees because they stopped charging for storage after covid and instead went to a flat rate of {$270.00} & thats all I would need to pay. In the photos above I included the information they requested for the reinstatement along with the original document they sent me. Keep in mind they told me it would only take XXXX weeks. I didnt received those documents in the mail until XX/XX/year>. I was able to send them the information requested on XX/XX/year>. XXXX XXXX  website says it was delivered to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. After they verified that they received the documents they told me I would then have to wait another couple of weeks to receive the title by mail. They issued the title on XX/XX/XXXX & I didnt receive the title until XX/XX/XXXX. At this point my car has been sitting in impound for 3 months. I immediately scheduled an appointment the next day with XXXX to have them change the information to allow me to go and pick up the vehicle however, I was informed upon arrival that the title I just received was canceled out on XX/XX/XXXX because it was issued to someone in West Virginia. I call Westlake to see if they know anything and they tell me they dont have any information and that they would have to start an investigation and I would have to wait some more. This prompted me to try and dig into the situation myself. I called the impound lot where my car was stored and asked them if it was still there and they said that it was sent off to the auction that they associate with named XXXX XXXX XXXX which is located on XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Md XXXX. I called the auction and they told me that the car had been sold to someone whose information they could not release to me and they were about to come and get the car. I call westlake to inform them and they said that they didnt have any information on any sale of the car but informed me that I would still be responsible for the loan which is ridiculous. I asked to speak with multiple supervisors and none of them could help me or even give me any information on what steps to take moving forward. I spoke with one whose information I took down because she displayed a bit of empathy but they all actually said that westlake was in the wrong and this situation should have been avoided and that it makes no sense. But they ultimately couldnt do anything but try and pass it up to someone else and told me I would need to give them some time to figure it out. I call back a few weeks later and they tell me that they abandoned the vehicle because it would have cost more than the vehicle was worth to retrieve and at this point I feel scammed. I lost my mom in XXXX, my car in XXXX and my job in XXXX. My life is spiraling and i dont know what else to do so any help if possible would be great.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation