Consumer complaint received 2025-08-13 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — Problem with the interest rate
Company: Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc.
State: KY

Complaint narrative:
In XXXX i was searching for a vehicle and had been turned down by a few different places when i decided to go to XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX. They decided to approve me for a car loan on XX/XX/XXXX but didnt tell me how much and they actually only gave me the option of 1 vehicle. Being desperate for a car to get to my job, and not knowing any better i let them sell me the car. Around 2 weeks after, we were supposed to get a bad snow storm so my dad was putting antifreeze in it to make sure that it didnt freeze over when he noticed that a sensor was unplugged and just plugged it up. After that, it started up weird and then had died when i got to town maybe 10 minutes later. We actually ended up buying 2 new sensors thinking maybe that was the issue but that didnt work. I kept trying to have people look at it to see if they could figure out why it was starting period. I ended up getting ahold of the owner and she finally agreed after refusing for a while to look at it and said that she would pay to get it diagnosed. She kept it for a few weeks at her shop before ever even sending it to actually be diagnosed. It costed almost XXXX dollars to get fixed and she did finally agree to pay for it. They had to rebuild the entire motor and they finally fixed the drivers side door handle so i wasnt having to get into the passenger side to climb over. It took me until XXXX of XXXX to get the title for the car after getting the attorney general, sheriffs department and a personal attorney involved and despite me asking her almost every week to get it to hopefully trade it in because by this point the car barely ran again and was completely overheating within less than 5 miles of driving despite 2 new thermostats that i paid for and had paid to get put in and a few mechanics not even being able to diagnosis it. She finally met me at the court house with the title on XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX and she still actually had to pay to transfer it into my name, at that same time i received my tags instead of the temporary tags i had been given for the last 7 months. XXXX XXXX XXXX would actually would date the temporary tags out for a few months each time so i wouldnt have to drive back there to get more when they expired. During all of this, i actually had to purchase another vehicle at a buy here pay here to get to and from work because i had no title and then no one would trade the car because of how backwards it was because the loan was XXXX down. I had still never missed a payment despite the car being broken down and paying for another car as well. i didnt end up not paying for the car until i had to buy a new car in XXXX of XXXX because i needed a reliable car as i found out i was pregnant and the other car that i had ended up buying after the broke down car was a good car but impractical for a baby. I voluntarily surrender the XXXX XXXX  in XXXX and because i had not missed a payment they tried talking me out of it and when i was firm on my decision they finally ended up sending someone to pick it up on XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX because i was 90 days behind. I hadnt been in contact with the owner of XXXX XXXX XXXX since she got me my title but i had been in contact with the loan servicer ( consumer portfolio services ) multiple times about how the car was broke down and to expensive to be paying for considering it had barely ran the entire time i had it. I was paying XXXX dollars a month when i stopped paying in XXXX despite it maybe only running for 2 months the entire time i had it without it either not starting or it overheating constantly. The loan company was completely aware that this dealership did not have a license to sale. They had numerous complaints according to the attorney general and yet still the dealership was selling lemon cars to unsuspecting people and the loan company was still writing loans left and right, outrageous overpriced loans at that. Consumer portfolio services, offered me to pay off the car in full which was XXXX dollars and when i declined they sold the car for around XXXX dollars and they are now contacting continuously wanting me to pay the XXXX remaining. The biggest problem here is that the loan company was engaging in predatory lending with an unlicensed dealership taking advantage of young girls and offering no resolutions despite every payment being paid on a junk vehicle the entire time it was owned, not honoring open communication, and doing shady business dealings despite their claims of being a honest company and being fully aware of what the dealership was doing but more interested in making a dollar. Now as a new mother and looking to start off a better life for my child, i have a credit score that dramatically declined from this and a XXXX dollar debt hanging over my head, which is stopping me from being able to eventually get a house or anything else i may need to benefit my child. i feel as if im being harassed all while this credit company is still doing this to other people. The dealership is now shut down but its rumored that they are under a different name and still operating and preying on people. Now that im wiser, i realize they this is most definitely predatory lending and i hope to make you aware of this to help other people but also to try to hopefully gain a solution to my situation as well.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation