DCU: Vehicle Title issues

[Cyberdelia]

I need some advice. When I purchased my Model Y, I financed through Tesla - it was assigned to Wells Fargo. I refinanced with DCU a few days later. A week later, I received a notice from Wells Fargo - my loan was paid in full, they mailed the title to DCU, and I verified the address was correct.

• Yesterday, I get a notice from DCU saying they did not have my title.
• This morning, I call DCU, they verify they don't have the title. I told them Wells Fargo mailed it on 11/2. They tell me I need to contact Wells Fargo to have them give me a lien release letter and to file for a duplicate title at the DMV.
• I call Wells Fargo, inform them that I spoke with DCU, and they do not have my title yet. The lady at Wells Fargo said they did mail it via USPS, they have no tracking, but that they did mail it. I ask for a lien release document so I can file for a duplicate title. They refused, saying they can only provide the lien release document to DCU and they will only talk to DCU about the title.
• I call back DCU, and she could not help me. She told me to go sit at a local Wells Fargo until someone can help me. She said we can't call anybody at Wells Fargo, and it's in my contract to get them the title. She told me it would be good to get DCU on the phone while I'm sitting at Wells Fargo. I'm not sure how I can do that, since the hold times with DCU (or callback times) are 1-2 hours.

I'm so angry right now. How can I get DCU a title if Wells Fargo refuses to speak with me? Apparently, if they don't get the title within 90 days, my interest rate goes to 18%.

 

[leaftoy]

I am curious what is your delta between WF and DCU interest rates.

 

[Corndart]

That really stinks. I had issues with Honda Finance before not sending a release of interest or a clear title. It had been a few years since it was paid off, and we didn't notice they were still listed as a lienholder until trading the vehicle in. HFS refused to provide a clear title or lien release letter. We ended up going through a third party to get a release of interest letter from HFS. Seemed totally backwards and mildly annoying it was on me to pay to get something they should have provided.

[edit] NM I see this company only deals with a few lenders.

 

[907XCP]

I work at a financial institution and I handle lien releases all the time. Wells Fargo should be able to provide you with a Lien Release document since the original title is MIA. The lien release simply removes WF as lien holder and does not transfer ownership nor does it assign a new lien under DCU. You need to speak with a Supervisor/Manager at the WF loan servicing. They should not be refusing to offer that letter.

 

[Johnny Vector]

WF ended up holding the mortgage at my previous house, and when it was involved in a hit-and-run collision*, they simultaneously acted as if they owned the house so all the checks have to go through them, and I own the house so they can't be bothered to pay any attention to any of the paperwork. Between that experience and all the forged eviction notices and fraudulent account setups, I have to say that if I were suddenly made King, one of my first acts would be to dismember WF, sell the assets, distribute the proceeds to everyone who ever had an account with them, and impale the corporate founding documents on the horns of the Wall Street bull as a warning to other companies.


*Yes, my house was involved in a hit and run. Fortunately the truck involved was damaged pretty badly too, so the police just followed the oil trail down the road a half mile until they found the vehicle abandoned. The owner's insurance paid of course, so it should have been real easy. Hah.

 

[jjrandorin]

WF ended up holding the mortgage at my previous house, and when it was involved in a hit-and-run collision*, they simultaneously acted as if they owned the house so all the checks have to go through them, and I own the house so they can't be bothered to pay any attention to any of the paperwork. Between that experience and all the forged eviction notices and fraudulent account setups, I have to say that if I were suddenly made King, one of my first acts would be to dismember WF, sell the assets, distribute the proceeds to everyone who ever had an account with them, and impale the corporate founding documents on the horns of the Wall Street bull as a warning to other companies.


*Yes, my house was involved in a hit and run. Fortunately the truck involved was damaged pretty badly too, so the police just followed the oil trail down the road a half mile until they found the vehicle abandoned. The owner's insurance paid of course, so it should have been real easy. Hah.

I had WF for almost everything as well, but was found out I was a victim of them "accidentally" adding insurance onto my car loan as if I had not provided proof of insurance. I ended up getting refunded, but I only really found out when that came to light for others.
(this case : https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/banking/article237666879.html. )

Anyway, I moved my checking account away from them, and they came up for financing a car loan through a dealer when I was buying a car for my daughter.

I told the hyundai dealer "I wont be doing a loan through wells fargo, if thats the only place you have that can offer those rates, then we dont have anything further to discuss and I will be leaving now." The "finance person" then magically found another company, after saying wells fargo was the only one who could offer the rates they had promised.

Anyway, rambling, but I agree with you on WF. I absolutely wont do business with them unless something is forced on me where I have no choice... and most times you have a choice.

 

[DanDi58]

I would never do business with Wells Fargo. Too much sketchiness there. But I think the advice from DCU may be the best, go to a local WF branch and explain the situation. They probably won't be able to help as I imagine that all auto financing is done centrally, but perhaps they can advise you of a higher-level person in auto finance you can call. Failing that, call them back and keep asking for supervisors until you get to someone who can do something. Sending a title out with no tracking is just poor business.

 

[Cyberdelia]

So, I ended up going down to the local WF branch Friday. The banker there was very nice; they don't handle any auto accounts at local branches, but he was able to get ahold of someone in corporate who handles titles. The gentleman on the phone said that Tesla is notorious for taking forever to send out titles after the initial sale. He said combined with extended DMV processing times, he's seen it take up to 6 months to receive a title from Tesla. The paperwork they sent DCU wasn't the actual title, just some paperwork saying they had received the payoff and the title would be sent (similar to the letter I received).

So, I call DCU back and they're still wanting the title within 90 days, even though it's likely that won't be happening - I said I'd do whatever I could, but my hands are tied, WF can't do anything until they receive it, and they'll send it as quickly as possible. I emailed the collateral management team the paperwork from WF indicating that the title would be mailed to them. It seems likely that my rate will probably be jacked to the default 18% rate for a period of time - a rep said I may be able to get the interest refunded, and it will drop down to my normal rate after they receive the title.

What a mess.

 

[DanDi58]

Reading this made me realize I never received my title either! Although my finance company (Chase Auto) hasn't bugged me about it. Guess I need to follow up on this as well....

 

[Corndart]

So, I ended up going down to the local WF branch Friday. The banker there was very nice; they don't handle any auto accounts at local branches, but he was able to get ahold of someone in corporate who handles titles. The gentleman on the phone said that Tesla is notorious for taking forever to send out titles after the initial sale. He said combined with extended DMV processing times, he's seen it take up to 6 months to receive a title from Tesla. The paperwork they sent DCU wasn't the actual title, just some paperwork saying they had received the payoff and the title would be sent (similar to the letter I received).

So, I call DCU back and they're still wanting the title within 90 days, even though it's likely that won't be happening - I said I'd do whatever I could, but my hands are tied, WF can't do anything until they receive it, and they'll send it as quickly as possible. I emailed the collateral management team the paperwork from WF indicating that the title would be mailed to them. It seems likely that my rate will probably be jacked to the default 18% rate for a period of time - a rep said I may be able to get the interest refunded, and it will drop down to my normal rate after they receive the title.

What a mess.

This is may be a state-by-state thing but in WA State at least, the title would be issued by the licensing authority (DMV) when the car is sold, and sent to the lender. The lender would then send a release of interest letter with the title to the NEXT lender (DCU) in this case, or to the purchaser, once the loan is paid off. Telsa would only record the sale with the state DMV, and never touch the title.

So your information seems a little strange, unless this is specific to Tennessee, in terms of the statement "Tesla is notorious for taking forever to send out titles".

[Edit] In our state, if you have a license plate and registration, then the seller has done everything required, as has the DMV, and any additional delay would be 100% on the lender in your scenario.

 

[Cyberdelia]

I agree, it seems strange to me. I actually went down to the County Clerk today and they said they had already processed the title and Wells Fargo should have it. Guess I need to call Wells Fargo again.

I refuse to pay DCU’s 18% default rate - I guess if the title doesn’t show up in a few weeks, I hire an attorney?

 

[ZzzzZ]

Wells fargo supposedly sent me a title on nov 23rd, which is 16 days ago, i got other letters from them but not the title, they have no tracking or anything..... They're sending me some release letter... they were very quick to jump to conclusion that title was probably lost in the mail.. but common how often are things lost in the mail?

 

[Corndart]

Wells fargo supposedly sent me a title on nov 23rd, which is 16 days ago, i got other letters from them but not the title, they have no tracking or anything..... They're sending me some release letter... they were very quick to jump to conclusion that title was probably lost in the mail.. but common how often are things lost in the mail?

Funny how their story keeps changing.

I avoid all the major banks like the plague, particularly after working for a few of them early in my career.

 

[N1L CO2]

WF is the WORST financial institution. I've had the displeasure of being its customer for 9 months. Some 10 years ago, I took over a loan for a car which had 9 months left till it was paid off. They first sent the title with the old owner's name and their name, then it was my name and their name. It took them 2 months to send me a title with my name on it! In another occasion, it took me 5 months to get $55 refund for a membership fee on a WF credit card I cancelled.

Also, a dear friend of mine used to be a branch manager at WF but ended up quitting in a year because she was conflicted with all the "unethical" products and practices she was forced to push to her customers. If you followed the news in the last handful of years, it's hard to believe they are still in business with all the shady stuff they do to their customers.

The moral of the story? "Ask" to speak to supervisors and mention BBB and/or litigation. You HAVE to be persistent with them. Otherwise, they'll piss on you!