CitiFinancial - Citi Financial
Magistrate Denied Judgment After Collection Calls to My Workplace

This is long, but please read it. It may help you or someone you know. Borrower beware!

Six years ago my husband left me, which was an emotional burden, but to make matters worse, my car needed major repairs. I had to have transportation to and from work. Instead of getting a new car, I opted to have my car repaired. That is another rip-off report by itself. After I spent money to replace auto parts, the mechanic shop then decided that the motor needed an entire rebuild. Now I was husbandless, carless and soon to be jobless without transportation.

I thought it was a godsend when I received a piece of "junk mail" soliciting me from CitiFinancial. I made a call, and with my excellent credit I quickly and easily got an unsecured loan.

My payments were less than $100 a month. I had no problems making my payments, but it seemed that no matter how early I mailed them in, my next bill would show late payment fees. I called, and they told me to mail the payment directly to their office instead. Things were okay for a few months, and then the fees were there again.

I continued trying to do the right thing, paying on time and watching every penny go to interest or late fees, with nothing happening to the principal. I had some medical problems and slipped behind a payment. Then two. I always paid something every month, but I was digging in deeper and could not recover. The phone calls were horrendous, not only at home but at work. I spoke with them, made arrangements, paid what I could, and still got no relief from the calls. I asked them to please stop calling my work, but they would just have someone else call who "didn't know" that I had requested no calls on my job.

They offered a refinance, a fresh start and a little extra cash. I felt I had no choice. This raised my payments to about $150 a month, but what could I do? I was behind on my payments. Now I seriously had to watch my finances.

Tragedy struck in 2002. I fell dangerously ill and was hospitalized. I had to wait until I was healthier to undergo surgery, and I was missing work while waiting. My payments got behind again. My children took care of the calls because I was too sick to even respond. I found out that I had no disability insurance on my loan. I was in real trouble.

After I recovered from my surgery, I refinanced again. This time they needed security, so the loan was secured by my car. The loan was rewritten, and this time I opted for all the insurances, and my payments became $230.00 per month. I was ready to throw my hands up, leave the country and assume a new identity. I was behind on all my bills. I felt so buried and so stuck.

This year I lost the job I had held for 9 years because of cutbacks and the economy. No problem, right, because of the insurance? It covers disability and loss of employment. I jumped through hoops for 3 months: faxing, calling, and driving to their office (which is 50 miles away) while frantically looking for work. Then they needed more info, and I went through all of that again and again. I found a new job. Before I got my first check, I received a certified letter stating that my insurance claim had been denied. I was 4 months behind if the insurance did not pay the payments. There was no way I could ever catch up. Interest and late fees were an additional $700 on top of 4 months at $230.00. I had never been this far behind.

Now the fun began. The calls were nonstop. I was on probation at my new job and working very late hours. I knew that if I proved myself to this company, I was sure of advancement and better pay. I was getting home very late most nights. My answering machine was full of calls from CitiFinancial. It was after hours for them, so I called and left them messages. I could not make calls from work. I was sending in what I could. Still the calls persisted. I sent in $100 and got no relief from the calls. I called and did a check by phone for $150 that I borrowed from a friend. Still the calls persisted. I was sending money to them and getting behind on my house payments. Still, I got no relief from the constant calls. I felt awful because I wanted to pay my bills. My previous employer called me because they were making ceaseless calls to her at her place of business and at her home. I was so sorry and embarrassed. They had even called her mother.

I was doing the best I could. I called to tell them what I could send, but that was not enough. The threats started about taking my car. The car was not great, but it was transportation to work and a requirement of my new job. I was threatened that they would place a judgment against my home. I did not understand this. The 20-year-old kid with a punk attitude who said this to me explained that when they took me to court, they could get a judgment against my home even though it was not part of any loan security. This did not mean they would take my home, but I would never be able to sell it or truly own it. I told him I thought that would be nonproductive for them because they would basically be playing a waiting game to see who died first, since I had no intention of selling or leaving my home. I asked them to please stop calling my previous employer. I assured him that I was sending everything I could and that I realized I was behind. They wanted my new employer's number. I told them that they must contact me at home and that I would not subject my new employer to their harassing calls.

I called again to try to work things out. The same 20-year-old kid who had made all the threats offered a chance at another refinance. I saw a pattern developing with them, and I knew a refinance was not in my best interest, but I honestly thought about it just to get the calls to my previous employer to stop. We began to talk about the refinance procedure. He started asking questions. He asked for my new employer's name and number. I explained that I was hesitant to give out that information because if they called there, I would lose my job. The little snot-nosed boy hung up on me.

Okay. Now I was mad. I spoke to someone else to complain about the hang-up, and they told me no one works there by that name. That was a lie, because I called back later and he answered. We were obviously past the point of working things out, but I got my paycheck and sent in another $100. About a week after the check cleared the bank, the sheriff came to my house to serve me with a summons to court for a judgment. I was at work, but a visiting relative received the summons for me. I was ready to send in some more money to them out of my paycheck that week, but I decided to have electricity for another month instead. The next day one of their reps showed up at my door while I was again at work and handed a letter to the relative who was visiting. It said my account was seriously past due, but we still had time before court to work things out.

This was a different guy from the one who hung up on me. It was the same story, though, except he was nicer. Unless I refinanced, we were going to court. I could not refinance unless I disclosed my new employer's name and phone number. I asked what happened to the money that was refunded from the insurance company after the denial of the claim. Per their certified letter, the insurance was cancelled and the premium would be returned to CitiFinancial. He said it would be applied to my principal. I asked for proof of this and to this day have not received it.

My court date was Wednesday the 24th of November, the day before Thanksgiving. I had to miss work at my new job to go, and I had to talk to my current employer about why I had to go. I was embarrassed to tell him that I was being taken to court, but he was impressed with my stance on not giving out his number to these people. I did not know what to expect, and I was scared. I watched judgments handed down on people with babies who were being given 10 days to vacate property, and I was thinking the whole time that I was in serious trouble.

I had pretty decent records of the insurance denial and the payments I had made, and notes on some of the calls. What I think saved me was that my previous employer wrote a letter explaining the phone harassment she had received at her place of business and at home.

When the letter was submitted to the magistrate, she was much more willing to hear what I had to say. I also questioned where the money was for the cancelled insurance. Where was it applied? I had been asking for proof of this for months. The CitiFinancial rep said that it would be taken off my principal but had no evidence to provide that this had been done. (I don't think it ever had been applied, since I had never received anything either.) He denied that the guy who called and hung up on me worked for them.

The magistrate denied the judgment. She told the CitiFinancial rep that what they were doing was illegal. They are not allowed to harass you by phone like that, and certainly not at your workplace or previous workplace after having been told repeatedly to stop. The magistrate told him that the refunded money from the insurance company could have been applied to my late payments and we could have avoided court. She told him that even if that was not their company policy, I should not be subjected to this kind of treatment due to faulty and corrupt company policy and procedure. She told him that they could have civil charges brought against them by me and my previous employer.

Wow. I guess sometimes the good guys do win.

I am not sure what this means for me, but I will call the courts after the Thanksgiving holiday. I was surprised that they took me to small claims court seeking only $4000.00 when they show that I owe close to $9000.00 after all the refinances and fees over the years. The car that I had repaired with the original loan is still running. It is a 1988 Honda which is worth about $600 and has cost me so much more. I may request to be buried in it one day, unless, of course, CitiFinancial takes it.

After court, the CitiFinancial rep was a bit more humble. Outside court he assured me that they didn't want to repossess my car. He said to call him sometime soon and we could work something out. I don't think I will make that call until I speak with the magistrate and possibly a good attorney. At this point I am not sure I want to send in another penny. I have always paid my bills and gone above and beyond, only to be treated like dirt and harassed beyond comprehension. I am sure they have already ruined any credit I may have ever had with bad credit reporting. I don't think they will want the civil suit, and I am against lawsuits on principle. I don't want to go through the hassle either, but if people don't start standing up and setting a precedent, this type of company will continue to thrive, feeding off the efforts and hard-earned dollars of American citizens.

Before you borrow, research the company and look for other options. Keep all records, including dates and times of who you spoke to. Don't be naive and think that other people tell the truth or keep records for you. I am not sure what the law is on this, but recordings of phone conversations would be helpful.

Company: CitiFinancial - Citi Financial
Country: USA
State: North Carolina
City: Wilmington

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