CitiFinancial Auto Problems?

[McDuck 0]

Has anyone here had any loan or other business dealings with this company that seemed suspect? I'm asking because I used my credit union to take a lower-interest-rate loan for my vehicle that was originally financed through CFA, and now it seems that I'm stuck with two loans because CFA hasn't cashed the payoff check from my credit union. CFA claims that the check was received but by the wrong department, when it was sent using the payoff information CFA provided. It has been floating around their offices for over a month and a half, with me none the wiser. Now CFA claims I'm about to go delinquent, but I'm paying on my credit union loan, as I assumed that everything was handled appropriately between the two banks. It's inconceivable to me that this could happen.

I've been reading about a lot of class action lawsuits filed against CFA for shady practices, but I'm wondering if anyone here has encountered similar problems, and what advice might be offered.

Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28
"I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC
Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

[lisamariewillbe 1]

Great, thats who just financed my new car

Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

[matt1215 0]

Sounds like it's time to sue Citicorp for all their worth and move into a bigger place.

Seriously tho, your credit union can provide you with documentation regarding the CFA loan payoff on request. A check in x amount was sent to the provided payoff address at x date.

You'll undoubtedly have to spend hours on the phone with CSA's, fax in your documentation, probably get your credit union involved.

Clearly fraudulent activity on CFA's part.

Good luck.

• Quote

[flyangel2 2]

I have CitiFinancial for my car and my home and haven't had any problems with them.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[BIGUN 1,471]

And, watch your credit report.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[lisamariewillbe 1]

Its barely been a month so I have no idea yet, I do know they didnt defer the payment like they said, it was supposed to be 45 days, got the first bill a little over 2 weeks after getting Bonnie.

Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

[tigra 0]

Don't be so quick to blame CitiFinancial. The credit union could have very well screwed up and sent the check to the wrong place, with incorrect information or without enough information for the funds to be properly credited. (Not saying they did, but its possible, and even likely.) Regardless, since the credit union sent the money, its their responsibility to track the funds down and if needed, replace them. If they can prove it was signed for on a certain date and time, they might be able to get some of the additional interest and penalties waived.

[Snowwhite 0]

I had a similar problem with them, although on my house payment. They kept taking the money out of my checking account, but they never knew where it went after they took it. We argued for about 3 months, and then they 'suggested' that I just go ahead and pay them the last three months payments all over again, until they figured it out. I explained that it was all very clear on my end, and that my bank here had clear evidence that they were withdrawing the funds, and that my lawyer was satisfied that I had grounds to follow thru. They figured it out the same day.

skydiveTaylorville.org
freefallbeth@yahoo.com

[matt1215 0]

I agree with you there. The credit union definitely has the burden of tracking the funds and finding out why the payment wasn't properly applied.

He's definitely due recoup on finance charges and penalties. Who eats the additional fees and interest generated by this fiasco should be dependant on who's fault it was. Credit unions certainly aren't perfect.

[tigra 0]

CitiFinancial certainly isn't my favorite financial insitution- they're sort of like Citibank's shady cousin! But, I've also seen some really stupid things title companies and other lenders have done with payoffs so I think its likely that the credit union is at least partially to blame for the whole mess.

[McDuck 0]

The credit union verified the address they sent the payoff to, once with me and once with CFA, and it was the one I re-verified with CF Auto today. The one discrepancy is that when you talk to tier 1 support, they tell you to send payoff checks to a particular address (a P.O. box), but now I'm being told that the address CF Auto supplied was the one for payments, not payoffs. Regardless, with the account information, including title, VIN and registration, what is so difficult about handing the payoff over to the correct department?

What CF Auto is telling me now is that they are "researching" the issue. "We have five departments, and we have to research this through all of them."

As with Beth, everything is clear and straightforward on my credit union's end. They sent a guaranteed cashier's check to the address supplied by CFA, and it was lost at the receiving end. CFA is the culpable party here. You can bet I'll have nothing nice to say about them when this is all over, regardless of how polite I'm being over the phone with them now.

Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28
"I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC
Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

[Shell666 0]

Quote

What CF Auto is telling me now is that they are "researching" the issue. "We have five departments, and we have to research this through all of them."

As with Beth, everything is clear and straightforward on my credit union's end. They sent a guaranteed cashier's check to the address supplied by CFA, and it was lost at the receiving end. CFA is the culpable party here. You can bet I'll have nothing nice to say about them when this is all over, regardless of how polite I'm being over the phone with them now.

Is there a way you can get a copy of the cancelled cheque, front and back, from your Credit Union? That may show "who" cashed the cheque (ie: what department).

We have this happen all the time at work (University of Alberta). Cheques get sent to the "UofA" and end up at the wrong department. We just found out that a client of ours had the cheque they sent to OUR department cashed by another department. We only found that out WHO cashed it by having them send us a copy of the cancelled cheque.

It may be worth a shot.

Good luck!

'Shell

[tigra 0]

Well- if they can prove the check was received, then once all the "investigation" is finished, CFA should credit any interest and fees they have tried to charge. BUT....... the one thing your CU should have done (IMO) is sent the check to a street address instead of a PO box, and gotten a signature- either certified mail or an overnight delivery service- but I know that's something credit unions don't usually do.

[McDuck 0]

I know it's a bit of a stretch, but when I ask a financing company what address they would like me to send my payoff check to, I generally take them at their word and use the address they supply me with for such transactions. Call me silly. In this case, tier 1 support supplied an incorrect address for payoff checks.

Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28
"I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC
Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

[tigra 0]

I'm simply speaking from experience here- years of it- sorry if you don't like it. You can't get a signature or proof of delivery if you mail something to a PO box- if I'm paying off a SECURED loan or sending a large check with interest ticking, I'm going to want proof of delivery.

Anyway, since you say CFA acknowledged that they have (or had) your check, this should be resolved eventually.

[McDuck 0]

There's no like or dislike about it, it's a matter of trust: I expect the businesses I have transactions with, the ones who have been doing what they do for many years, to know the inner workings of their business better than I do. If they supply me with an address for a payoff check, that's the address the check will be sent to, especially if I've called more than once and verified the address with several customer service reps. Years of experience notwithstanding, it seems (or seemed) silly to escalate a call beyond tier one when you're calling to get or verify an address provided to you by a representative of that company.

As for the signature or delivery proof, we go right back to businesses knowing their jobs better than I do. I don't know what I don't know, you know? When banks do business with each other, as they do on a continual basis, each and every day of their operation, they have their procedures in place to handle their transactions. I'm not privy to that process, but I'm learning a little bit each and every time I interact with them. Providing the incorrect address to begin with makes them culpable, as they are the ones responsible for imparting the proper contact information for their company's transactions. Misplacing the check because it wasn't sent to the proper department within their company is also a product of their failure to provide the proper contact information. Again, they are at fault. My credit union does not own, have controlling interest in or have any partnership with CFA, so my credit union's procedures for handling payoff information for another company would necessarily come from that other company and their customer support representatives. Seems fairly cut and dried from my admittedly limited perspective.

Thanks for the input.

Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28
"I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC
Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.