Consumer complaint received 2025-10-14 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Problems at the end of the loan or lease — Unable to receive car title or other problem after the loan is paid off
Company: Headwaters Financial Corp.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I am the court-appointed temporary administrator of a decedents estate, which includes a XXXX XXXX XXXX financed through XXXX XXXX XXXX . I submitted legal documentation to the company and maintained ongoing communication with their legal and customer service teams. Despite this, the company allowed an unauthorized change of address on the account and released the vehicle title to a third party with no legal standing in the estate.

Timeline of Events : XX/XX/XXXX : I emailed the official Letters of Administration to XXXX XXXX, identifying myself as the temporary administrator of the estate. 

XX/XX/XXXX : The Operations/Legal Accounts Manager acknowledged receipt and sent account payoff information. At this point, the account correctly reflected the decedents Georgia address. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I sent an email confirming the correct mailing address for the title. 

XX/XX/XXXX : The customer service rep I initially contacted called me and asked that ( a third party with no legal authority ) contact him. When I inquired about the accounts status, he refused to share any information, despite having done so previously. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I wrote to the Legal Manager to report the call and expressed serious concerns about confidentiality. He confirmed a Priority Note was on the account directing staff to communicate with me only and acknowledged I had full access to the account. I formally requested that the representative be removed due to misconduct and repeated inappropriate communication with unauthorized individuals. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I emailed the Final Order of administration to the legal department. 

XX/XX/XXXX : The Legal Manager responded, stating he would notify the title department.

A Title Department representative contacted me confirming that the account had been paid in full on XXXX, and the electronic title had been released to the address on file. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I immediately replied requesting confirmation of the address where the title was mailed. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I emailed Legal again after discovering that the vehicle title had been mailed to a Michigan address associated with an unauthorized third partythe same individual the customer service representative previously asked me to have contact him. This address was never listed on the account and has no connection to the decedent, the heir, or myself. In that email, I made the following formal requests : Who at the company processed the change of address?

Who requested the change, and when?

Immediate recovery and reissuance of the title to the correct address. 

I also reiterated my previous concerns from XX/XX/XXXX, noting that the situation now involved a potential privacy breach and unauthorized disclosure of estate information. 

XX/XX/XXXX : The Title Department confirmed the title had been mailed to the unauthorized Michigan address, not associated with the decedent, heir, or previously provided pay off letter provided by legal. The address had not been provided by me, and no explanation was given as to how or why the change was made.

Company response to consumer: Untimely response