1-800LOANMART They took and sold my car right from under me! Not given a chance to redeem the car or make arrangements! ripoff Encino California

As a company individual of this business it saddens me to hear a story like this. Simply because situations of this nature can be easily avoided by understanding a couple of things. For people reading this, consider this tips from an employee or company individual in the pink slip loans industry.

First, and most important, communication is key. If a payment is expected to be delayed due to unexpected circumstances, contact the loan company. Most times they have a Corporate Advocacy Program that make the above situation easily avoidable. In the past, a person in the Army Reserves would be called to active duty, thus, putting any and all of that persons current loan payments on hold. Of course, he has to utilize the Corporate Advocacy Program of the lending companies to arrange this. This is done by a simple phone call.

Corporate Advocacy is a 'buzz' term that companies have implemented because of issues that come across with bad customer experiences. Programs have been created to help customers and companies avoid unexpected circumstances simply because of a loophole that proper procedure doesn't cover. This prevents bad experiences for both the customer and the company. Some customers that use title loans often do because they have failed in the past with traditional lending institutions. Other customers utilize our services for emergency purposes. And rarely, bad things happen repetitively like the above story.

A story like this saddens me. This industry employees a lot of people and this story puts jobs at risk & careers that support families. Our contracts protect us from irresponsible borrowers. This is where a person needs to openly communicate with others about their troubles.

In Melissa's case, she obviously fell into a loophole. Instead of acting maliciously after the fact, she would have been better to contact our company and asked about our Corporate Advocacy program or hardship program. We keep records in our database of unforeseen situations. In addition to this, before moving, have all her mail forwarded onto her future address - thus assuring that bills be received, paid, or dealt with in a timely manner. We have situations like this that rarely happen and always recommend letting family members know about outstanding debts and monthly bills that should not go delinquent. Again communication is key.

Lastly, coming from a company individual, people should know that title loans are most beneficial to our customers as short-term loans. We recommend they are best utilized under these conditions. People should have a plan to pay them off as soon as possible and only borrow what they can afford. Many customers come to us because they have over-extended themselves in the past, thus having credit problems. We recommend not making the same mistake twice by borrowing more than what is possible to pay back. Be responsible borrowers.

To conclude, every financial disaster can be avoided. As a worse case scenario, Melissa could have contacted her parents to sell her car to pay off the remainder of a debt. Instead, she made matters worse by saying nothing. The best case scenario would be to roll over the payment to another month and keeping her car. Our loans function on the same basis as a traditional car loan when people purchase from a dealership. If someone falls behind on those payments the same thing happens. Our business model works to help people that need emergency money in a timely manner using their car as equity. And just like traditional car loans people do not use logic before agreeing to the contract terms.

Again as a company individual it saddens me to hear this story. Our company has provided many customers and their families with a second chance to make things right with positive results. Unfortunately this attempt was unsuccessful.

Unfortunately if you are not current on your account, it is subject to repossession and sale, as per the terms of your contract. You, yourself stated that you tried to move the car out of state, which in itself is against the terms of any sales contract in the state of California. In addition, you also stated that the payments were not made, and you had no way to pay them. It is a very difficult situation, but if the $$ loaned out is not able to be paid back, we have no choice but to protect our interest, which can include securing the collateral on the loan.

After the unit was repossessed, a letter would have been sent to your last known address, stating the terms of redemption. If these terms are met, the car would have been released back to you. If they were not met, the car would be sold at a dealer auction. This is a live auction, which delivers the best selling price. Please remember, that you were given more $$ than we received back from selling your car, so nothing is gained by trying to sell your car for less. Loanmart wants to get top $$ for your car to help recoup the $$ that was given to you, and never paid back.

I am sorry for the circumstances you are in, but unfortunately the terms of your contract weren't met, so repossession and prior mentioned sale took place. Please understand that we likely gave you far more $$ than we ever received, so we too, lost out on this situation.