Westlake Financial Caused a late fee before processing extension/deferral request Los Angeles Ca

My car payment is due on the 3rd every month.  That is before the grace period for which I would be charged a late fee.  I called Westlake Financial on 2/27/23 to ask if they could grant me a payment deferral or extension for my upcoming payment.  I was instructed to call back after the payment was due after 3/3/23.  I called back on 3/4/23 and was told that I needed to pay a $50 fee to be considered for an extension or deferral.  They also added a $5 fee for using a credit/debit card, a fee for which must be paid because they offered no alternate means of processing a payment so the fee for an extension/deferral was actually $55 and not $50.  Over the next 19 days I was receiving collection calls multiple times a day.  On 3/24/23 I received an email from Westlake Financial that they were offering customers a payment extension, something for which I had already paid the $55 fee to do.  This email was not stating I was approved for the extension but just a blanket email stating I might qualify for one if I contacted them even though I had already done so on 3/4/23.  I called them and representative named Isaiah processed the request and I asked about why there was a late fee assessed because I had in good faith and before the payment was due called to apply for an extension/deferral.  He said he knew nothing about that call I made on 3/4/23 and that I was responsible for the late fee.  I spoke with a supervisor named Eyvine that agreed to waive the late fee as a “one time courtesy”.  I asked why the extension request was not processed until after a total of 20 days and a late fee being assessed.  He said the request was being processed.  I don’t fall for that nonsense.  Westlake Financial is intentionally waiting until the customer id past due and assessing a late fee before they are processing the extension/deferral request. It is just another way to charge customers additional fees, just like the $5 debit/credit card fee, even when the customer is contacting them in good faith before a payment goes into the late status.  It is nothing more than a scam instead of helping customers who are trying to be responsible.  BEWARE OF THIS THIRD RATE AUTO FINANCING COMPANY, even if it means you have to pay a higher rate somewhere else.