Consumer complaint received 2023-12-21 00:00:00
Product: Payday loan, title loan, personal loan, or advance loan — Title loan
Issue: Received a loan you didn't apply for — 
Company: Westlake Services, LLC
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
WILSHIRE 'S RESPONSE TO MY COMPLAINT Wilshire Consumer Credit is claiming that I entered into a PROMISSORY NOTE AND SECURITY AGREEMENT MOTOR VEHICLE DIRECT CONSUMER PURPOSE contract with XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX where I agreed to finance {$7200.00} at an APR of 77.16 % using my XXXX XXXX XXXX as a security interest. Wilshire claims to have purchased the contract from XXXX XXXX XXXX and began servicing the loan. XXXX XXXX is a partner used by both XXXX XXXX XXXX and Wilshire Consumer Credit to solicit loans. Wilshire does not believe this is a false advertisement, as described in XXXX XXXX complaint. Wilshire received permission to run XXXX XXXX credit to determine loan eligibility when he completed the online application on XX/XX/XXXX. We have reviewed how we are reporting XXXX XXXX account is to the 3 Credit Reporting Agencies and can confirm we are accurately reporting his account to all 3 CRAs. This response was received from XXXX XXXX ( Director of Compliance ) at Wilshire Consumer Credit. 

COMPLAINT : 1. Wilshire refinanced my Auto Title Loan originally held by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX dba XXXX. 
2. Wilshire claims to have purchased the contract from XXXX XXXX XXXX but has not given any proof of that activity. Who is XXXX XXXX XXXX? I never gave my information to XXXX XXXX XXXX nor do I have an account with them. How did they legally obtain my credit information ; and what are they doing with my personal credit information? 
3. Found a title loan flier on the windshield of my car advertising Title Loans up to XXXX offered by XXXX XXXX. I went to their office to get more information. They told me that the Title loans were offered from their head office in California, so what I needed to do was fill out an initial application to see if my vehicle qualified. I filled out the application and was told someone would call to let me know if I was approved to proceed with the application. 
4. A Loan Center agent called to finish my application.

5. Wilshire did underwriting and approved my Title loan. The car was inspected at XXXX XXXX after which I signed the contract ( XX/XX/XXXX ). 
6. Wilshire deposited {$4500.00} into my bank account and paid off {$2600.00} to release my lien with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and transfer the lien to their name. 
7. On all three ( 3 ) CRAs, Wilshire has identified itself as the original creditor of the Auto Loan. 
8. Wilshire claims that XXXX XXXX XXXX is the lender on the loan that was finalized on XX/XX/XXXX. I signed the loan documents at XXXX XXXX and did not get a chance to read them. The person I was signing with just kept pointing to where I was to sign, so I did. When I got copies of the loan documents, I noticed Wilshire Consumer Credit was named as the lien holder and XXXX XXXX XXXX as the lender. Alarmed, I called Wilshire customer service on two occasions to inquire if the loan was fully funded by Wilshire. They told me yes and to disregard the bank as it was for their internal accounting purposes. 
9. XXXX XXXX XXXX does not have an economic interest in the loan. It did not fund this loan and all core loan functions were done by Wilshire. 
10. Require the OCC to determine that XXXX XXXX XXXX is not a True Lender on this loan. Wilshire only partnered with the bank to protect itself from the substantial licensing and compliance burden of title loan regulations under Chapter 537 Florida statutes. 
11. Determine that state law applies to the loan as Wilshire Consumer Credit is a nonbank and does not derive preemptive rights through XXXX XXXX XXXX. ( Wilshire - Nonbank lender solicited and arranged the loan, set the terms, funded and serviced the loan even though XXXX XXXX XXXX, an FDIC-supervised bank was named as lender on the loan contract. I believe preemptive rights are not supposed to be leased out to nonbank entities for a fee. 
12. Require Wilshire to comply with the law in the state of Florida concerning Title Loan Lending. I have checked and found that they are not licensed to offer Title Loans in Florida. 
13. XXXX XXXX advertised Title Loans, and I applied and got approved for an Auto Title Refinance. Why is Wilshire reporting this as an Auto Loan to the credit bureaus? Why were all of these companies involved when I only agreed to work with XXXX XXXX? I believed that the people I was interacting with on the phone were affiliates of XXXX XXXX. I believe it is false advertising for XXXX XXXX to offer a title loan and then have a different company work on the application without giving me a heads-up.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation