This is a long story, and I am sure I will leave out some details...
In March of I purchased a car with my fiancee' (now wife). The dealer had all of the paperwork through and approved, and we drove away in our new car. The next day, we drove to TN from VA to get it registered (I am military). The next week, we recieved a call from the dealer, saying we needed to come in and fix some issues with the paperwork.
As it turns out, the original deal had 'fallen through, ' and our contract was purchased by AmeriCredit. The payments and interest were pretty much the same, so I signed the new contract. Unfortunately, the new creditor would not allow my fiancee' on the contract (claimed they only served E-5 and up, she was an E-4 at the time).
I notified the Tennessee Department of Safety (TDS) of the change in lienholders. The lady in charge of military registrations (Joyce) assured me it would all be taken care of. I also submitted new allottment paperwork through the payroll office, and the payments began.
Fast-forward to June. I deployed to Europe for a 90-day mission.in July of my fiancee' finds a notice in the mail from the TDS informing us that our registration was REVOKED! The reason was not listed on the letter, but to call for more information. She notified me when I called home later that week, and I called TDS to find out what the problem was.
It took a little time for me to catch on to what had happened. The TDS had sent out a request for the MSO (Manufacturer's Statement of Origin) for the new car. Multiple requests to Americredit went unanswered. Behind the scenes, Joyce had granted us a 45 day extension (45 days is the limit for this process to be completed), but couldn't let it go on. She gave me another extension of 45 days, as I was not even in the country to fix it.
I told my fiancee' about it, and she called AmeriCredit to find out how to get it fixed. Lo and behold, they refused to speak to her about it, even though she had 2 powers of attorney... 1 was a general, the other specifically for the vehicle! I told her I would get it fixed as soon as I returned.
Fast-forward to October... Danged terrorists caused my return from Europe to be delayed by 3 weeks. I come home, get settled in, and start the long fight with AmeriCredit. It seems that noone is willing to do anything, as long as they have your money. Many repetitive called followed... I was calling almost daily to get it fixed, only to get the same lack of info. They eventually claimed to have gotten it fixed, and I was somewhat satisfied. They were unwilling to provide any proof of it, however, and I was tired of arguing over it.
November... Get another notice from the TDS... Revoked again! I had to drive to Nashville in person to get it fixed this time. AmeriCredit still claims to have the title. When I get to Nashville, Joyce produces the title for me to see! I was shocked. There was no misunderstanding here... AmeriCredit LIED to me! I was given one final extension (45 days), and told that she could not continue on like this... It had been almost a year. There would be no more extensions available, as the next one would bring us up to 10 weeks prior to expiration. This had to be resolved before we could renew our tags.
After reviewing the contract for the specific language used, I contacted AmeriCredit one last time for a resolution. I informed them that it would be a one-way conversation, and they had better record it, because I was not going to repeat myself anymore. I told them that they WILL have this mess fixed, or I will consider them to be in breach of their contract with me, specifically the clause stating that they (the lienholder) will MAINTAIN the title IN THEIR POSSESSION. I had proof that they had done no such thing, and I faxed over a copy of all my documentation as proof of my claim. They were given 30 days to have it fixed. After the time elapsed, I would place one call to the TDS to verify that it has taken place. If they can not fix this in the allotted time, they will have breached the contract, and they could have the car back, provided they return all of the money I have paid them. I also informed them that I had stopped my payments as of that day, and the payments would be held in a separate account, to be released upon completion of their end of the deal.
After the New Year's holiday in I contacted Joyce at the TDS. She informed me that no action had been taken, and that she still had the title in the vault. I then contacted AmeriCredit, and informed them they could pick up the car... It would be in my backyard without tags, and I could not even use it because of them. I told them to send an agent out with a cashier's check for the amount they owed me, and they could have the car back.
Of course, this did not happen. All that did happen was continual calls for payment... 3 times daily at a minimum, to include calls to work. My Command knew about it, so I was not given much flack about the constant calls. I had shown them proof. The Military's JAG Corps was unable to help me... They laws have been rewritten in such a manner to prevent them from getting involved in corporate disputes.
In March of a Repo agent came to the house to pick up the car. We explained the situation, and he even called to try to get info on the title's whereabouts, only to get the runaround of different numbers and extensions... But no answers. He gave us time to clean out the car, and carted it off. I cannot fault the repo man. He was just doing his job.
The next day, I contacted Joyce at the TDS once again. She still had the title. She agreed to call me as soon as she saw paperwork on it. Of course, I got the call 10 days later (the same as the legal period to reclaim your car), and she sent me a screenprint of the data, showing the date the title was released.
I have since moved 2 times, and have been unable to start the legal fight against these criminals. I have, however, saved a binder full of correspondence from the TDS, the original contracts, and the notably lacking correspondence from AmeriCredit. I would urge everyone to avoid these scammers... I did everything right, but I still got swindled in the end. I still have a repo on my credit, and an outstanding balance of roughly $5000.
I am ready and willing to start legal actions against AmeriCredit, but am financially unable to. This has cost me so much money, that I can barely keep up these days. I can't even think of getting a loan for less than 16% APR. I didn't want to go the class action route, but I may have to go this way for the lower costs incurred. Lawyers are welcome to contact me to start the battle!
James
Beverly Hills, Florida
U.S.A.
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