December 5
I contacted Federal Financial aka United Financial Group in Mt. Airy, NC regarding an auto account
involving a 2001 Nissan Xterra.
I purchased a 2001 Nissan Xterra on Feb. 18. Payments were due every month on the 23rd. I
made my 1st payment, $296.21, March 31, 6 days late because of the day my pay fell on with my
employer. I notified Federal Financial of this and they were ok with this arrangement. The second
payment was mailed out April 19, $297.00 and was received by Federal Financial April 21
but was returned because my employer direct deposited my paycheck into the wrong account. I was notified from my bank April 25 that this item was returned. I immediately contacted Federal Financial and made a payment by phone, $296.21 using my debit card. Federal Financial at this point still had not been notified of the returned item. On May 1 I had taken a payment directly to the dealership for them to credit my account, (the bank and dealership are linked). This payment was for $297.00. This payment was not due until May 23. On June 18 at approximately 10:30 pm
the vehicle was involuntarily repossessed. I contacted Federal Financial immediately the next morning,
June 19 and they said the only way that I could retrieve my vehicle was to pay $570 in repo fees
and 2 payments that day. This is their policy on repoed accounts. I offered them a postdated check for
5-7 days out and they refused payment unless it was cash or money order on June 19.
On Dec 5 I spoke with Jessica at Federal Financial, she was able to confirm payment history on
my account and was not sure why my vehicle was repossessed. She transferred me to Michelle,
Assistant Branch Manager. Michelle stated that she doesn't know the reasons for the repossession and
upon my request for Federal Financial to remove this item from my credit stated that it is against their
company policy to remove items once placed on credit files, that it costs money. I offered, with a
written statement from the company, to pay the fees associated with removing derogatory information
from my credit file. Michelle refused, again stating that that it was against company policy. I
requested a statement of my account from Federal Financial and again she refused that information. I
also inquired about the 30 day late and she told me after repossession the vehicle still legally belonged
to me and was not sold until July 10. They count the days from the last payment, which was
May 1, until the date of sale, which was 69 days total. I have not received any notification of
intent to sale not that the vehicle had been sold.
I called Federal Financial again today and spoke with Paige the account manager. She said that there
were two $35 late payment fees on my account, from March and April. Since I had two unpaid late
payment fees for more than 30 days, it was grounds for repossession. I told her that I was not even
aware of the late payment fees and told her that had I bee notified that they were outstanding I would
have paid the fees. I again requested my account statement from Paige and she said that the records are
purged and since I am not a current account holder that I do not have access to my statement, unless as
a courtesy which they will not extend to me. Paige confirmed what Michelle has said about the 30 day
late being reported on my credit due to the date of sale of the vehicle. She also refused to remove any
derogatory information from my credit file.
Note: After the situation with my employer and my paycheck I opted out of direct deposit so that
I would ensure that my pay was received in a timely manner.
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