Citizens Automobile Finance Inc

Citizens Automobile Finance Inc

won’t discuss mixing up billing

Q : I called voters Citizens Automobile Finance Inc on May 12, 2005, to get a payoff amount on my Jeep Cherokee. I sent in a check for the amount quoted — $8,824.

I got three letters congratulating me for paying off my loan “in full.” One letter contained my car title, and another held a check for $1.13, that the company announced was a repayment for overpayment.

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2 years on, I got a collections letter demanding another $250 for this same loan. I called citizens and it recounted it would most likely take care of the problem.

two months back, I asked for a{ credit | credit card and was denied. I got a copy of my credit report and revealed that had listed my loan as uncollectible because of a Chapter thirteen filing — although I haven’t ever applied for bankruptcy.

Now the firms I have cards with are lowering my credit limits. I called citizens and now it claims I owe cash on the paid-off loan.

Sherri Bittner
Strongsville

A : OK, maybe the entire subprime screw up proves that banks aren’t so good at working out lending risks, but is it too much to expect a money establishment to be able to handle basic math?

Citizens Automobile Finance Inc is part of the voters monetary Group, which does business in Ohio as Charter One Bank.

Spokeswoman Carrie wood worker said that, as a matter of policy, the company “does not debate customer matters.”

I would not put it into my advertising leaflets, either, if I was a monetary establishment that :

Either miscalculated your payoff amount or sent you a title for a vehicle you didn’t yet own.

Issued you a $1 refund on your payoff but later alleged you were just about $250 in arrears .

Sicced debt collectors on you after it had congratulated you for paying down your loan.

Put erroneous info on your credit report.

This situation really begs explanation, particularly since it’s affecting not only your ability to get new credit, but also your use of your present cards. You have spotted some of your store-branded cards are refusing to permit you to make charges, and you think it’s because of the credit-reporting blunder by citizens.

chippie said the corporation’s policy precluded her from pronouncing anything more than the company had been “in touch” with you and the problem was resolved.

Apparently, she was referring to an August. 4 letter voters vehicle Finance sent you apologizing for the credit reporting blunder.

The apology possibly would have gone over better had it not been followed within days by another collections letter demanding $295.

Later somebody from the company left you a voicemail insisting that you still owed money but the bank had decided to write off the remainder on the loan.

“Write off” infrequently means “forget about” and occasionally means “sell the remaining debt.” citizens has not made clear what it suggests.

So what are a client’s rights when she pays off a loan per the lender’s instructions and then is told years on the payoff amount wasn’t correct?

Laura McDowall, a consumer attorney in Akron, announces courts recognize that record-keeping mistakes occur, but they rely on all parties to act faithfully.

If you call your bank for a loan payoff and are given an amount that’s’s manifestly wrong — you owe $17,000 and they say you owe $200 — “you can’t benefit if you know it [is wrong] and you don’t point it out,” she says.

You have to speak up if you think an error.

On the other hand, the lender is expected to understand what’s due and give reliable info to consumers. “If they say it’s $200, and it’s truly $300, how’s she supposed to know?” McDowall asked. If the figure seems reasonable enough but is off a bit, the company can’t later penalise the client for counting on erroneous information it provided, she is saying.

When you get a collections letter for a debt you don’t believe you owe, it’s important that you very quickly fire off a letter announcing you do not believe the debt is yours.

If you do not dispute within thirty days, McDowall announces, the company can assume the debt is yours. Send the letter by certified mail and keep a copy for your files.

Citizens Automobile Finance Inc should clean up the mess it made of your credit report and call off the debt hounds.

If it doesn’t, you may need to contact a lawyer. Citizens Automobile Finance Inc is a big organization.