Loan servicer illegally disabled consumers' cars, lawsuit alleges

Nothing is worse than jumping into your car and finding it won't start. There can be any number of common reasons, starting with a dead battery. But as more and more cars are equipped with remote control devices, there can also be more nefarious reasons.

A growing number of car finance companies, insurance providers, rental agencies and others are equipping cars with "kill switches" that can disable cars remotely because of payment disputes or other irregularities.

This capability is not supposed to be abused but at least one auto loan servicer is accused of wrongfully disabling borrowers' vehicles and as well as improperly repossessing vehicles, double-billing borrowers for insurance premiums, and failing to return millions of dollars in refunds to consumers.

In a lawsuit, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is charging that USASF Servicing did all that and more.

“The CFPB is suing USASF for a range of misconduct, including illegally activating devices that prevented borrowers from starting their cars,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Given the rising cost of cars during the pandemic and jump in auto loan debt across the country, the CFPB is working to root out illegal activity in this market.”

USASF is an auto-loan servicer headquartered in Lawrenceville, Georgia. USASF serviced auto loans that were originated by an affiliate, U.S. Auto Sales, Inc., which went out of business a few months ago.

The allegations

The CFPB alleges that USASF:

• Illegally disabled cars: USASF allegedly incorrectly disabled vehicles at least 7,500 times and caused these devices to play warning tones in vehicles over 71,000 times during periods when the consumer was not in default or was in communication with USASF about upcoming payments. USASF remotely disabled vehicles at least 1,500 times after explicitly promising consumers it would not do so.
• Failed to refund premiums to consumers: USASF offered consumers Guaranteed Asset Protection, which covers some of the difference (or gap) between the amount a borrower owes on their auto loan and what the car insurance will pay if the vehicle is stolen, damaged, or totaled. When consumers paid off their loans early or USASF repossessed a car and charged off an account, consumers were entitled to refunds of any Guaranteed Asset Protection premiums paid in advance for periods where they would no longer have coverage. USASF failed to obtain millions of dollars in refunds from the Guaranteed Asset Protection administrator.
• Double-billed consumers and misapplied payments: When consumers were enrolled in collateral-protection coverage by a USASF affiliate, they were also charged for that same coverage by USASF. Approximately 34,000 consumers were double-charged for the insurance each billing cycle, in some cases for over a year, costing consumers millions of dollars.
• Wrongfully repossessed vehicles: USASF illegally repossessed the vehicles of some consumers who never qualified for repossession or had taken action to stop the repossession. In some instances USASF sold the vehicles that it had wrongfully repossessed.

The CFPB is seeking to obtain consumer redress and civil money penalties, as well as stop any future violations.

Read the complaint.