Wells Fargo Bank of Novato California approved an auto loan for me in May. I was told that (and signed) the agreement that an extra $900 was to be included in the loan to cover the transfer of title and a new registration. I was also told that "everything would be taken care of" and that I could get the keys to the vehicle that same day as long as I had full coverage insurance on the vehicle.
I went home with the vehicle and the keys in my hands. A few weeks later I had asked why I hadn't received the new registration and plates and also why they hadn't sent me all of the paperwork for the loan that I had signed that I was rightfully entitled to (that was also promised to be sent to me in the mail). The answer that I got was that the registration was processing through the DMV and that I would get it in the mail within 4 weeks. 4 weeks later, I didn't get anything in the mail regarding the vehicle.
I then called Wells Fargo back and asked what was going on. I got a laugh or "giggle", if you will, from the banker that I had received the auto loan from and was assured that he would "take care of it". At this point I was becoming frustrated for the registration and tabs on the license plate were about to expire the next month.
I then decided to call Wells Fargo again and speak to a branch manager. I was directed to the assistant manager. I told her of the person that I was originally working with at their branch and that nothing was being done and none of my questions were being answered. She then took the matter into her own hands and sent me the paperwork I was requesting months ago overnight rush. She also told me that to get my registration, all I had to do was take all the paperwork she sent me to the DMV, and that they would handle it. I received the paperwork the next morning as promised.
This past week I made an appointment with the DMV to get the registration. When I handed the lady at the desk my paperwork she looked at me funny saying "this is all financial paperwork, and you do NOT need this to get your registration". So, she looked up the VIN number on her database, and nothing was showing that I bought the vehicle in May this year. I was mad! I asked her whos name was showing on the vehicle and sure enough it was the seller's name still! She then told me to go back to talking to Wells Fargo and figure out what was going wrong with them.
I called Wells Fargo yet once again and talked the the head branch manager this time. I told him what I was told by his assistant manager and what I was told by the DMV personell. He said that his assistant manager was "wrong" and that he would investigate this ongoing problem and he would call back shortly. Well, he wasn't calling me back, and I even called them back to find out what was going on, but he was "too busy" to get to my call. I decided to take this another step further.
I got in touch with the seller (which is my supervisor at work) today and told him everything that was going on. He then called his leinholder on the car to find out if paperwork got messed up when sending the title to my bank (wells fargo). They looked up the backfiles on the information and told my supervisor that everything was sent to Wells Fargo back in May.
His Leinholder then decided to call Wells Fargo and ask them what was going on with the paperwork. Wells Fargo then told them that for some "unexplainable" reason, the vehicle was still titled to the seller!!! At this point, my supervisor and I were infuriated for I was paying for a car that technically wasn't mine and my supervisor was going to have to pay for the late registration fees because the tabs expired in August!
My supervisor and I needed to get to the bottom of this. We went to another Wells Fargo bank in the local area to see what we should do. We talked directly to a representative and told her the story about what was going on with the title and the registration. She personally called the Novato branch Wells Fargo and spoke to the head branch manager (the same gentleman that I spoke to earlier in the day and then was "too busy" to take my call). He claimed that they werent aware that there was a hold on the title because of a minor problem with the vehicle vessel/transfer form, yet the representative that we were speaking to in person told us that they should have been notified immediately to fix it.
The branch manager at the Novato branch continued on with the excuses. The representative then asked him on the phone what to do about all the late fees that were incurred during this time for the registration. Neither I nor my supervisor were going to pay for this because it was obviously Wells Fargo's problem because they had neglected our phone calls and requests for the past 4 months.
He threw out excuses for about 20 minutes on the phone and the representative talking to him gave him legal reasons why this was their fault and even had to get stern with him. Finally, he gave in and reassured us that it would be paid for, but not by his branch, but by the "loan officers responsible." We will see if that really happens or not.
Now, my supervisor has to take his time and go to the DMV and fill out a report proving that he no longer owns the vehicle and fax a copy of the late fees incurred for the registration (this is all on his DMV records since he is being considered as the lawful owner) to the Novato branch of Wells Fargo. He will then be "reimbursed" the money into his checking account. Now, I on the other hand, have to wait yet again, for the title paperwork to go through Wells Fargo and go through the DMV before I can make any actions to getting the registration and a copy of the title.
All in all, I have been VERY upset with this branch. I paid an extra $900 for all the title transfer and registration to be taken care of and none of this has happened. I am paying for a vehicle that technically "isn't mine" and is not registered any longer in the state of California. It will probably be sitting in the driveway for a while since it is going to take another 6 to 8 weeks for everything to go through to the DMV.
I don't want any other person to even consider getting an auto loan through them. They do not care for their customers and only care that they are getting their money regardless of whether or not they do it legally.
Natalie
fairfield, California
U.S.A.
0 comments