As part of the refinance of my home I included the payoff of my auto loan with Capital 1 Auto Finance. The amount paid was $10,333.00; the payoff amount due on 11/9/02 was 10,310.64. Per the copy of the payoff check, it was deposited into Capitol 1's bank on 11/6/02. My account number is clearly printed on both the front of the check (and on the back by Capitol 1's processing unit).
On 11/10/02 I contacted a customer service representative to determine if they had received my payment. I had done so daily since 11/7/02 (when the other payoffs had been received by the other companies).
I was told that I needed to make a payment by phone to protect my credit rating as I would be 30 days overdue if I didn't do so BEFORE 11/15/02. I called again on 11/11/02 and was told there was no payment mentioned in my file, there was no amount of 10,333.00 on the "missing list", and a letter of default had been mailed out. I made the payment by phone required on 11/12/02, in the amount of 298.15 to protect my credit standing. This amount was determined as follows: 291.20 payment 6.95 for the CONVENIENCE of using the "pay by phone" feature.
On 11/14/02 I received, in the mail, the Notice of default and intent to repossess. I called Capitol 1 once again on 11/15/02 and spoke to Mark in Customer Service, informing him that not only had I made the payoff, but had made an additional payment. He confirmed they received the payment of 291.20 on 11/12/02, but there was no record of the payoff made on 11/6/02 as of 11/15/02. On 11/18/02, I faxed a copy of the processed check provided to me by the Title Company that had handled my refinance, with a note requesting that my situation be addressed immediately to 1-888-722-5119. This was done at 7:30am PST. I waited 20 minutes and called 800-946-0332.
I was informed by Debra, at x6229 that the check posted on 11/15/02 and there was no information supporting my claim that they had actually received the payment on 11/6/02. She instructed me to fax a copy of the check to a different number to "expedite" resolution of the matter. However, the fax log stated the number busy or invalid. So I called them again attempting to reach Debra, but instead was transferred to a Mr. Allen at x3442. Mr. Allen said they posted my payoff on 11/15/02 but had backdated it to 11/6/02, I again posted all required documents, via fax, to another 888 number.
I complained about the letter of default, the fact that my account had not been noted when they received my payment on 11/6/02, and that the letter of default had led me to make an additional payment I would not have made if they had posted my payment correctly. He said I would have to wait 45 days for a refund of any remaining funds. I protested, and he stated they would refund the telephone payment portion directly to my account within 72 hours, due to the mistake the company had made.
That was 11/18/02. On 11/20/02 he left me a voice mail to call him back, I did so and had to leave a message on his voice mail to call me back as I was unaware of what he required of me. I got no return call, but did get him on the phone on the morning of 11/21/02, at which point he informed me that they no longer had the bank account information for the refund transfer and asked for that information again. On this occasion he promised my refund by Monday, 11/25/02. On 11/21/02 I also went to the trouble of filing a complaint with the State of California, Department of Corporations.
Today, 12/09/02, I received a letter dated 12/03/02. Notice of default and intent to repossess. I held this loan for about 18 months. I have NEVER been late with a payment.
When I called them, once again, today I spoke with a lady named Charlie. She was very nice. She says that Mr Allen didn't post my payment till 12/04/02 and due to the computerized system the letter was sent out in error.
AVOID this company!
Either Capitol 1 Auto Finance is attempting to collect as much interest and fees (not due) as possible or they simply have a bad setup for payoff handling. At this point I feel it is the former, with all the references to "procedure" made by the representatives I have spoken to. Is there a way to persue this further?
Yes, I have copies of everything!
Cynthia
Vacaville, California
U.S.A.
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