Friend can't get lender to release car title after car has been paid off.

A friend of mine recently paid off his car which was bought new many years ago. He wants to sell the car now, and needs to get the title, but apprently here in IL you must jump through some hoops with the lender in order to have the title sent to you. It doesn't happen automatically.

So he's trying to contact the lender but they WILL NOT answer the phone. He has yet to get through to a human. He has tried over and over, but the best he's done is to get into someone's voicemail. He leaves messages and they never call him back. Furthermore, this place has "banker's hours" so he can only call while he himself is at work and he is not able hang around on hold for hours.

What can be done in the situation?

He can apply for a lost title. A place that shady probably never actually filed a lien and the replacement would be free and clear. If they did file a lien he might have a lien release form already and not know what it is. Lien release plus replacement title with lien plus trip to DMV equals title without lien.

Send them a registered letter?

Odd. I just paid off a Chase loan and I had my title in 6 days. I'm in Illinois too.

Got any lawyer friends? A quick phone call from one tends to get shady folks off their asses.

I've paid off several cars over the years and never had a problem. Is this some fly-by-night lender he's dealing with?

Datsun310Guy wrote: Odd. I just paid off a Chase loan and I had my title in 6 days. I'm in Illinois too.

This^ when I lived in Illinois I would get the Lein free title pretty quick after paying one off.

Yeah, lien release after payoff should just happen. I would get the CFPB involved at this point.

just a thought.... for the other folks in Ill...

What is this lenders name? So they can avoid said lender

I work in Illinois, in collections for a lender. Specifically, I work in the repossession and remarketing sphere--I deal with title issues every week, if not day.

What lender is this? Can he get through to anyone whatsoever? What he needs to do, is get through to anyone in the bank. Personal Banker, customer service rep, whoever. Tell them you need the title, and if they can't get you through to someone today, you are going to contact the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) and notify them of a UDAAP violation (unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices). That should light a fire under their asses and get something moving here.

If it doesn't then file a complaint with the CFPB. This will result in them contacting you to make it right.

If all else fails, contact the state AG.

Most states have a law that provides for assessment of fine, cost and attorneys fees if the lien is not released within 30 days. Ur friend just has to make contact with the right person at the financial institution.

yamaha wrote: If all else fails, contact the state AG.

yeah, this. In Ohio, the AG is not to be fooled with. Shady characters will often get back in line when the AG's office calls on your behalf.

In reply to 4cylndrfury:

Granted that probably won't work in Illinois without a 5 figure bribe.....

First things first...Who is the lender? Might make a difference to the approach.

Guys, thanks for the responses. Sorry for disappearing. I haven't had time to respond.

The lender is RBS Citizens.

I gave my understanding of what was going on but since then I've gotten more information.

It seems my friend originally thought the title had been released a long time ago, and was in his mom's possession (he used to live with her, and she co-signed for the car when it was purchased since he was sort of a youngster then). His mom didn't have the title though, so he thought it was lost and sent away for a new copy through the IL DMV.

The DMV told him a couple weeks later that there was still a lien against the car (which was supposedly paid off) and shortly afterwards he received a letter from RBS Citizens stating vaguely that they "could not process his request at this time" and that he was to go to a website called www.mytitlesupport.com. He's tried going through that site, but it tells him there is some issue that has to be resolved through RBS Citizens. And as explained above, he can't get through to RBS Citizens to get any answers.

I said in the OP for the sake of simplification, that he wanted to sell the car. The truth is that I am wrapped up in this mess as well, because the car is the Cavalier with the bad motor which I mentioned in a recent thread about a potential flip.

I bought the car from my friend thinking we were just waiting for the title to come from the DMV (he told me it was simply lost and that he'd already requested a new one). And I let the car go to the buyer with the agreement that he didn't have to pay me until I sent him the title (buyer is a friend of another friend so I felt comfortable doing this). Well, the buyer has already purchased and installed another motor, is ready to sell the car, and understandably, he is after me for the title.

What a morass of asininity this is.

How long is "a long time ago"? RBS Citizens as a combined entity isn't that old. At any rate, you may find this of interest: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=4183454&authType=OUT_OF_NETWORK&authToken=67B8&locale=en_US&srchid=92253581401792304600&srchindex=7&srchtotal=109&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A92253581401792304600%2CVSRPtargetId%3A4183454%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary

does RBS Citizens have a physical (brick and mortar) presence where you are, or close enough that you and your buddy can drop in on them ?

I suspect a simple issue of the car was never fully paid off. Could be as simple as a the last payment did not cover the previous late fee that had accumulated. Payment and clearance of the late fee amount and the car is free and clear.
I suspect this is a less than $500 problem. Maybe less than $100.

Find the loan account number and call about it specifically. Seems you have been calling about the title. Instead, call about the loan.
Seems you are calling them trying to get something from them. Try calling about giving them something (money) and you might find you can get farther.

^^^ This. Lender never released the title after the lien was satisfied so either the lender is holding up the works or the lien hasn't been paid off. Regardless, whoever had the loan needs to straighten it out.

James, set up an hour of time during business hours with your friend. Do this with him to make sure it gets done, because you could be in a mess of legal trouble if it doesn't get done quickly. A small mess, but a mess nonetheless.

There is a general phone number for the bank. Go on their website and find it. Tell them: "Hi, my name is Debtor McDebt and I have a loan that I need to check the status on. They'll ask for the loan number and probably the last four of social, or ask you to verify the address, or something to that nature. Might need to get the co-signors social as well.

After that, they'll either say "This is paid off" or "You have a small balance".

If it is "This is paid off", ask to speak to the title admin. If they can't transfer you to someone (a person, not a voicemail) who can help, call back and ask for a supervisor. At that point tell them that you need the title within 1 week, otherwise you will be filing a complaint with the CFPB about a UDAAP violation.

If it is "You have a small balance", they'll either tell you that you need to call a different number to get to a collections representative, or that they can help you. Don't let them hang up, ask that they transfer you. When you get to the collections folks, they'll probably tell you that you have a fee. Ask if they can remove that fee. Then go about paying off the loan, and ask when the title will be sent.

I am writing this from my cubicle in a bank in Illinois. About 25 cubes down from me is the title admin. About 10 cubes down from me is a collections representative who does this stuff every day. Any time that we have issues with this, I usually have to be involved. So what I wrote should work.

I suspect there may be a little bigger problem. If the owner thinks it was paid off long ago, and it wasn't, there may be some serious interest and penalties. Like they could be trying to repo this thing and can't find it.

spitfirebill wrote: I suspect there may be a little bigger problem. If the owner thinks it was paid off long ago, and it wasn't, there may be some serious interest and penalties. Like they could be trying to repo this thing and can't find it.

Doubt it. Chances are it was a small balance and was charged off a long time ago, and the balance was too small to pursue. It costs on average about $800 to repossess and sell a vehicle at auction, and usually about $400 to repossess one. If it was a cavelier with a busted engine--or even without--the Blackbook and MMR value would be too low for them to pursue it.