Wells Fargo Auto Finance End of loan nightmare Phoenix, Alaska

on the web. The CEO of Wells Fargo appears towards the end of that 4 minute video. You might want to send him a copy of your Ripoff Report, so he knows what's happening to people like yourself, wouldn't you agree?

Good luck to you and your family.

***NATIONWIDE MORTGAGE ALERT: Make sure to type in 481508 at this site and read St. Clair's Ripoff Report for valuable information if you have a mortgage in the USA.

I did not realize the following: "My statements never showed me owing any additional principal or interest." I stand corrected, and apologize.

If that is the case, you have every right to be pissed off. Also it sucks that they would not change your payment date; almost ALL lenders will allow you to do that for a car payment. 

I am inclined to believe what you say due to the fact that you are obviously more intelligent than your average "I did not pay my bills on time" person; your writing shows that. Also the fact that you were able to get a loan with them (and not a subprime lender) shows your credit must have been decent. 

FWIW, people in these situations are almost always single parents. I don't know your circumstances, but that should be avoided at all costs.

Anyway, call Wells Fargo and ask them why the extra charges/balance on your statement was never shown. This does sound vaguely illegal, but Wells Fargo is a big company that generally knows what they are doing. It is not like they are a sub-prime lender. ALSO, check with them to see if your credit has been dinged; that is of course amazingly important. They usually do not if you were only 30 days late. 

BTW, what is your education level, and what kind of jobs do you have? Your writing skills vs. the level of jobs you seem to have indicate to me you may be overqualified for your current jobs. 

Okay it is great that you were able to make your payments, and  you should be proud that you did that.  But you seem to be missing the point that not only was this is what you were supposed to do, but the same thing would have happened with just about every other lender.  Everyone has struggles at one time or another, and unfortunately there is no "struggle" clause in your auto loan..nor is there one with any lender.

BUT I made the payment every single month within the 30 days. 
- What do you think they gave you a DUE DATE?   There are a lot of people think that 30 days is some "magic number" because they can't report you late until you are at least 30 days.  Well of course that is true but it doesn't change the fact that you are late. 

By the way you talk about how bad they are but do know that you don't have to be 30 days late before your car is repossessed.  With some lenders constantly being 1-2 weeks late would be grounds for them to repossess your car.  So not only would you have had additional interest but probably a few hundred dollars in Repo fees.

it is the reason for the deficit and the fact that it is not listed in my contract and there has never been balancing owing past the payment due on my statements.
- It was there.  But even by your own words you didn't fully understand what everything meant. 

So if you have learned anything I truly hope that is is that you NEVER sign another agreement without fully knowing what everything means.  And if you ever get a car loan again to ask how their interest is calculated and what happens if you are late.  Because there are other loan types that are a lot worse than the "Simple Interest" loan.

By the way are you aware that just about every Credit Card and other major types of loans use the same "Simple Interest" loan calculation?

"No disclosing terms to the consumer is surely against the law."

The terms are clearly noted on the financial agreement you signed.

"there has never been balancing owing past the payment due on my statements"

You already told us that you had several late payments.

"This is a case of fraud"

There is no fraud unless your claim that the terms of the loan are not on the financial agreement which is highly unlikely.

While I can appreciate that, by admitting I struggled with this loan, I opened myself up for such judgmental response.   I feel you have all missed the point of my concern.

I paid the loan every month.   My statements never showed me owing any additional principal or interest.   This should be shown on any statement coming from a company.  This would have raised alerts years ago. 

I am not an idiot.   I am not a never do well.   I am a hard working, tax paying single parent who, like millions of other people, have struggled to make the ends of the budget meet every month.   I have muddled through 2 job layoffs during the loan of this term and I never missed a payment.  Due to the way my paychecks came in, and because they would NOT change the payment date (even during my jobless days), I was not able to make my payment right on the date.  BUT I made the payment every single month within the 30 days. 

I do not begrudge this company their late fees.   I never said or felt they HAD an obligation to refinance me.  I believe that when a customer is struggling, perhaps it is wise for everyone concerned to rethink the loan.  It helps the consumer, it helps the company.    But I never stated they owed me anything but honesty and transparency.  No disclosing terms to the consumer is surely against the law.  

This complaint is not about me whining because I owe money - it is the reason for the deficit and the fact that it is not listed in my contract and there has never been balancing owing past the payment due on my statements.  How in the hell was I to know I owed them anything beyond the late fees if it is not disclosed?  Do you think every consumer is a finance expert and understands the ins and outs of loan terms?   If this were true, there would definitely be less consumer fraud.  Yes, we as consumers have responsibility to understand what we are signing.  But if we do not know the questions to ask, and we are simply told our payments will be set at a certain amount, for a certain period of time - and that no other terms were disclosed except the monthly late fee, how would I have known what to ask?   I find your response to this irresponsible and dismissive.   You assumed I was an idiot who didn't read the contract.  I did read it.  

You have not walked in my shoes throughout the term of this loan.   They are not reputable company.   Period.   This was a subprime lender owned by Wells Fargo who ran their business like the wild west.   While I know that WF has made strides to improve the operational policies of this entity, and in the past year there has been a visible improvement in the tone of their staff, they are far from restored.   I know this because a well respected bank manager of a local Wells Fargo bank told me so.  I have been apologize to more times than I can count because of their lack of professionalism and refusal to put anything in writing.

This is a case of fraud - failure to disclose -  and I stand by original claim.  

I think she is talking about the extra interest incurred due to her always paying one week later than scheduled, i.e. during the grace period. 

But what I do NOT get is her complaint that she owed money past the "end" of her loan; if you pay later than scheduled, you will incur more total interest than scheduled, and thus have a longer loan (assuming you made the same monthly payments as scheduled). That's just math, and has nothing to do with lender policies.

And there is really no difference between interest and principal; I mean if your principal is $100, and you incur 10% in interest, then your new principal is $110. 

And what I REALLY don't get is why she seems upset about the fact that what she owed at the end of the loan was "principal," as opposed to late fees or interest. Money is money. 

A "Simple Interest" loan is the most common type of interest and is a lot "fairer" than other types.  An while it really is simple(more on that in a minute).  If you didn't understand it then why did you sign it?  Do you make a habit of signing things you don't understand?

Anyways, when your original loan is calculated it is calculated based on paying a specific amount on a specific date.  If you made every one of your payments ON-TIME you would have had no additional money to come up with.   

In a "Simple Interest" loan the interest is calculated on a based on the balance of your loan. This is why in the beginning of your loan you were paying mostly Interest, but as time goes on you started to pay more toward the principal.  However, if you are late in your payment the balance of your loan is higher(because you haven't made a payment).  So the Interest calculation is based on this higher balance so you get charged additional Interest.  This gets added to your principal and can have a "s****.>

the loan company did NOTHING wrong.

This is how loans work and they don't need to explain every detail of it to you.  That's why you have a copy of the agreement you signed.

"I have asked repeatedly to get a refinance to lower the payments, but they repeatedly denied me.  Now I know why.    They make more money off of you if you are struggling than if you are able to manage the debt more successfully."

They are under NO obligation to refinance you and can hold you to your original agreement.

" I was never a full 30 days late, but always late by a week or so due to how my income falls.  Now, at the end of the loan I owe nearly 2K additional in principal to them.   It was recently explained to me that when you make your agreed contractual payment and you have paid it late, they apply the payment to the interest first and then to your principal"  

You are just now learning how the plan works.  Have you ever thought of putting the money aside to pay your payments when due instead of just paying "how your income falls?"...Thought not.

"But I will never again give this company a dime of my income. Please be aware and do not borrow money from Wells Fargo.  Ever. " 

FYI, they appear to have treated you relatively well. Other lenders may have repo's you multiple times for a lot less reason than you late paymentS. 

I don't care much for Wells Fargo, but they don't appear to be at fault here.

No, I don't work for them.

"always late by a week or so... Please be aware and do not borrow money from Wells Fargo"

All finance companies charge late payment penalties. Not a rip off.