Citifinancial
Loan Rewritten to $4,500, Then Car Repossessed, Daily Calls

Please, you must help me! I have had a personal loan with Citifinancial, located in York, Maine, for the past couple of years. I am only 22 years old and have never dealt with such an ordeal in my life! My boyfriend and I were living together, and we fell behind on bills. He had purchased some car stereo equipment at a store that financed through Citifinancial. After that we were constantly sent flyers and letters telling us we were eligible for a personal loan. We could really use the money, so we went to the office to speak with someone. The gentleman who set up the loan was new and gave us incorrect information about numerous things. Anyway, we were naive and signed on the lines because, as I said, we really could use the money. Unfortunately, shortly after that my boyfriend lost his job and was on unemployment. We had plenty of bills to take care of, and my income was not enough to keep us going.

We fell behind on payments, and they threatened to take my car. It was a 94 Sundance that I got in high school and only paid about $500 for. They quoted the car as $2,500 worth of collateral, which surprised me, but I was not going to complain. My boyfriend and I were out of town, and before leaving I spoke to a Citi rep and asked if I would be OK with my loan while I was gone. She said yes. I figured that was because I had made some sort of payment a week or so prior. We were gone for a week or so, and when we got back, I had more than one angry message from Citi about my payment. My final message was from my dad, also angry, because Citi had shown up at his house for my car! He paid the $100 or so for them not to take the car. He is a very Portuguese man, and he was ashamed that a repo man was in his driveway! No one at Citi could really explain. They told me the only choice was rewriting the loan, so we did. The rate went down, but the loan amount went from the original $3,500 to about $4,500!

It seemed like the only fix, and we would not have to make a payment for another couple of months. It sounded like the easiest fix, but that is not what it was. All the payments I make seem to go to ridiculous interest and charges that I do not really understand. No matter what payment I made, there was always that exact amount in interest and charges. So of course I am just digging a hole with no way out! I finally told my mom about the situation. She was angry, but mostly at Citi. Recently I was out of work for a month. I got a new job, but I did not get a paycheck for another month, so it has now been two months without a paycheck, and bills fell behind again. Citi calls daily, at home and at work, it does not matter. They actually came to my job once, randomly, to get a payment. It caught me off guard, considering I had spoken with a rep an hour or so earlier. But I gave her what I had for a payment, because I felt like I HAD to. It was cash, and I am not even sure it was ever posted to my account.

Last week they called again and told me that I needed to make a payment or they would come take my car. I told them to come take it because I did not even care anymore and was sick of all the trouble. She said she did not want to do that and wanted me to come down on Saturday to rewrite the loan again. I am hesitant because I know what happened last time. The next day I came home from work to find no Sundance! I was very confused, considering the conversation I had the night before with the rep (the only one who was ever nice). I called her immediately, and she was very angry herself. Apparently her other employees had decided, and I quote, "they were sick of dealing with my excuses." She (the nice one) did not know what was going on either and wanted to help all she could.

I went in and spoke to her the next day. I found out that my car would only be worth what the first bidder bid on it. I knew I was told when writing the loan that my car's quoted value would be put toward the balance if it was ever taken or totaled, so that was my understanding. Anyway, now I am told I have to pay for the towing, and the saga continues. Please help me find some direction with this situation! I cannot stand all the harassing phone calls and conflicting information!

Company: Citifinancial
Country: USA
State: Maine
City: York

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