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Wells Fargo is violating state and federal laws regulating repossessed vehicles, a class action lawsuit alleges.
The plaintiffs say they were making loan payments to Wells Fargo when their vehicles were repossessed starting in 2014. During this process, they claim they weren’t properly notified by Wells Fargo, had “unfair” fees attached to the outstanding balance and were not given a fair chance to redeem the seized vehicle.
“Plaintiffs challenge Defendant’s concealed wrongdoings including…Defendant’s systematic ending of statutorily non-compliant [repossession notices] which failed to inform the debtor of the intended method of disposition, their redemption rights, and fees which resulted in an inaccurate redemption amount,” according to the Wells Fargo class action lawsuit.
During the repossession notice process, plaintiffs say Wells Fargo violated the federal Uniform Commercial Code and Pennsylvania’s Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act .
“Repossessors of vehicles; such as Wells Fargo, are required to comply with both the UCC and MVSFA,” the plaintiffs said.
The repossession notice from Wells Fargo “failed to state that the borrower had the absolute right to redeem the vehicle up until the date of the sale,” according to the class action lawsuit. Instead, plaintiffs claim, the notice “improperly” limited the amount of time to redeem.
Additionally, plaintiffs claim the repossession notice sent by Wells Fargo provided “conflicting” statements regarding the money owed to get their vehicles returned, which was “especially confusing” and against Pennsylvania’s motor vehicles finance law regarding a description of liability.
Plaintiffs point to the language Wells Fargo used in the repossession notice. At first, according to the class action lawsuit, the repossession notice said paying “full amounts owed” would reinstate the loan, but the consequent messaging gave an option of “paying the full amount owed or by paying the past due payments.”
The repossession notice sent by Wells Fargo to plaintiffs also uses the term “reinstate” and “redeem” interchangeably when “these are separate terms and processes,” according to the lawsuit, and adds to plaintiff confusion.
In addition, the repossessed vehicles were taken to auction prior to a required 15-day redemption period, plaintiffs said.
According to the class action lawsuit, Wells Fargo led plaintiffs to believe their vehicles would be sold in a private auction, but were instead listed publicly.
“Wells Fargo systematically failed to inform the Public Auction Class Members that their vehicles were being sold at a public sale, and the date and time of that sale, as required,” plaintiffs said.
The repossessed vehicles were being handled by unlicensed repossession brokers, according to the class action lawsuit, something required by both the MVSFA and UCC. Specifically, plaintiffs point to the use by Wells Fargo of Victory Recovery Services.
“Victory is a company incorporated in Georgia that is neither registered to conduct business in Pennsylvania nor licensed as a repossession broker in the Commonwealth.”
These third party brokers were allowed to charge additional fees not allowed by law, according to the class action lawsuit. The repossession notice also failed to disclose the entirety of the fees.
“Wells Fargo (or its broker) had arrangements with the repossessor, repossession broker, and/or auction permitting the assessment of a Storage Fee, Redemption Fee, Reinstatement Fee, Administrative Fee, and/or Personal Property Fee that would be required to be paid by the borrower to these third parties in addition to the reinstatement and redemption amounts stated in the Notice of Repossession,” according to the Wells Fargo class action lawsuit.
Plaintiffs claim the amounts owed were not accurately detailed in the repossession notice. These fees are “not actual, necessary, or reasonable expenses as they were not expenses incurred by Wells Fargo,” according to the class action lawsuit.
Plaintiffs Joseph and Tammy Yerty says they reinstated their loan with Wells Fargo after getting a repossession notice but were surprised to see they owed even more when they traveled to the repossessor (a subcontractor of Victory recovery services).
“This deceptive and unfair practice had the effect of imposing a non-consensual lien on the personal property owned by Class Members which neither Wells Fargo nor any third party had a right to assert,” plaintiffs said.
Additionally, plaintiffs claim Wells Fargo failed to send “post sale” notices via certified mail after the vehicle was auctioned off.
The case, filed initially in Pennsylvania state court, has been removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Have you received a repossession notice from Wells Fargo? Let us know in the comments below.
Richard Shenkan of Shenkan Injury Lawyers LLC is representing the plaintiffs in this class action lawsuit.
The Wells Fargo Repossession Notice Class Action Lawsuit is Vincent Sorace, et al. v. Wells Fargo Bank NA, Case No. 2:20-cv-04318, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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206 thoughts onWells Fargo Unfairly Repossesses Vehicles, Class Action Lawsuit Says
I never received a notice from Wellsfargo that they were taking my car. I looked at my records and I was not behind . I loss my job sure yo covid. My new born had to spend 6 weeks in the hospital from a birth defect .I had to borrow $4,000 dollars twice against my inheritance from my Dads passing . A few months later Wellsfargo did it again they repoed my car my Mother who is on fixed income and my Brother who had to barrow also against his inheritance which was not much. I had to pay again $5.000 dollars. Wellsfargo is a rip off and they keep doing it. Now Wellsfargo is not reporting my payments. My parents paid 8 months of payments and yet Wellsfargo says no payments were maid my parents have proof they paid it every month.
I have a similar situation with the vehicle repossession process I experienced with Wells Fargo. They also to my car to auction earlier than the State of Florida Law allows! Then they lost my car and I had to call around to different people at the auction house in Atlanta to find it myself then notify them where it was and who I talked to! They also were unfair about getting my car back to me and also failed to tell me that my car was already gone to auction when excepting my payments in rears. It took them over a month to get my car back here. They also were denied permission to bring the car back to the repossession company in Milton Florida in which whom I believe also broke rules in the process of taking and storing my vehicle. I think they might have sold my car at auction before the deadline to reclaim my car and have it reinstated is why they could not find it and took so long getting it back to me. They also were going to force me to drive to Atlanta to get my car which is over 5 hrs away from Pensacola Fl where we live and where they repo the car from. I took notes and kept a ledger of this whole ordeal. I have a long report of the screwed up confusion that Wells Fargo Reps caused and straight up lied to me then ignored my calls or made it as difficult as possible to communicate with somebody competent enough to handle my case. I lost my job and almost my marriage over their mistakes and I want them to pay for this game they played on me when we were already in a hardship without having the vehicle.
right before covid hit i lost my job and fell behind with wells fargo they denied every attempt at refi even the hardship refi and they took my car sold it and sent me a bill for what i owed i payed off 15k of 20k then they wiped my account as payed they screwed me so bad i dont even know where to begin
Wells fargo had a repossession come and get my car with no price and they did not let me know about it and they claim they sent out notices which neither one of us received and their representatives are very unprofessional and disrespectful how can some one do business with them I am 7 months pregnant and the tow company was disrespectful as well I lost my job they wells fargo was aware I gave what i could I thought they could not come and tow your car If you pay half by law and they still broke that
I was very sick and started the process for disability I was making payments and I was only 1 pmt behind I was getting ready to go to chemo and my truck was gone no notice no nothing they basically stole my car I was 1 ont behind not enough for it to be repossessed they don’t care
My used truck was repossessed without note. They would only let me have it back if I paid the entire balance which was in the thousands. They said I was a risk to set up another payment because I wouldn’t take their calls and I hid my truck for two months. I’m disabled and my truck was in my drive 85% of the time. They wouldn’t take a statement from neighbors. I received a check for $5.00 then $10.00 then $220.00 ‘to correct an error’. I haven’t cashed it in case that would stop me from a class action.
I only owed a very small amount of money and they respond my car. Now I’m receiving all these checks that amount more than what I owed. I am without my car still struggling to find something as nice as my Honda. I could use some help. I got two checks from wells Fargo in the past month.
I called asking for help because I was falling behind on payments, they said “ this is a debt collection” after I gave them my information even though I called them, and same night they repossessed my car. They said I owe upwards of $7,000 to get my car back, but the total amount I was behind was $1,500? Very sad
Hi yes mine did a few years ago and they sent me a check but I want more money.
I was not behind enough for reposesion and they took my truck and is going to charge me 50$ to get my belongings back and not telling me how much time I got to get truck reinstated
Is there anyone I can contact in regards apology letter from Wells Fargo for not allowing me to reinstate my vehicle and send me a check
Top class lawsuit pain and suffer
They illegally reposed my vehicle and then this year charged it off after 5 years. It is still on my husbands credit report and caused us to be denied a loan!