Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  03/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Robin drive auto repossessed my 2013 White Volkswagen Passat on 03/05/2024 without notification. As of today/8 March 2024, Robin Drive Auto has refused to inform me of where my vehicle is located so that I am provided my legal right to remove my personal possessions from the vehicle which Robin Drive Auto towed away from my residence on 5 March 2024. I have cash, my wallet, my banking information/cards and my driver's license stored under the visor in the vehicle. In addition, every receipt paid which records every CASH payment I made to Robin Drive Auto is also stored in the xo my partner of the vehicle. I've had to file a police report on this issue as of 8 March 2024.

  Business response

  04/17/2024

  Thank you for giving us an opportunity to address this situation.
  This is a situation where the customer missed many payments on their account. We discussed it
  with the customer, who made promises to bring in the payments, but the promises were
  repeatedly broken and replaced with new promises about future dates. There were always
  apologies and excuses, but no payments. We’ve now received notice that the insurance was also
  canceled for nonpayment.
  At this point, the customer refused to return our phone calls and told us previously we are not
  allowed to speak to the co-buyer on the account anymore. Unfortunately, the customer went all
  of January and all of February without making any payment to us. We reviewed the account with
  the customer many times because the account is always past due. This time, the broken promises
  added on top of the already past due balance and combined with the cancellation of the insurance
  for nonpayment meant that we needed to escalate it to an outside office for collections. The
  customer has refused to cooperate with the collection agency at all. First, they reported the car
  stolen, then they claimed they didn't know where their key was, then they blamed their son for
  taking the car and the key. We have tried to help them with the situation, but are only met with
  screams rather than conversation.
  The customer still refuses to make any of the payments that are due or past due. They now think
  that they should be getting a refund for all the payments that they have made which would
  essentially mean that they have had the car as a free rental car during the time they weren’t
  making the car payments.
  The logic doesn’t exactly make sense, they have an unpaid debt, if they simply make their car
  payment, no one would bother them. They did file a police report, and told the police that the
  vehicle was stolen. The police contacted us and we explained the situation. The police also spoke
  to the collection agency that collaborated our story of the lack of payments in the past due
  account. The customer knows and understands what they need to do to rectify the situation, but
  instead of making the few missed payments that they owe, they are now focusing on wanting to
  get all their money back after having used and abused the vehicle for a year.
  The customer is given a receipt every time she makes a payment. Over the last year, we have
  compared notes on the receipts many times and our accounting has always been correct. The
  customer seems to get confused when she misses two months worth of payments but then brings
  in $500 or $600 and thinks that makes up for an account that’s $1,000 past due. We understand
  that a $600 payment is significant, but not very significant when compared with $1,000 in
  missed payments in a row. We do not know if there is anything that can be done to resolve the
  situation.
  
  All the cards are held by the customer. They simply need to make up for their missed payments
  but seem to refuse to want to do that. We are not aware of any other way around the situation. We
  are willing to discuss the situation with the customers if they are willing to talk about it calmly
  without screaming. The young ladies that work in our office did not deserve to be verbally
  abused.
  
  Resolution : Customer needs to catch up on the missed payments.
  
  1. At the time of sale, every vehicle has a 30 day basic warranty offered to the
  customer at no additional charge. The basic warranty offered to the customer at no
  additional cost covers the engine and transmission. The customer is offered at dealer
  invoice price additional bumper-to-bumper coverage. The extended warranty is under
  the discretion of the customer to purchase. Standard warranties can be waived in
  exchange for a reduction in cost or the customer may opt to have the vehicle
  purchased “as is”.
  2. Each purchase, the customer is informed that they are responsible to pay for
  the tax, tags, title, registration, and purchasing the rights to this vehicle. This process
  is completed at the time of sale and we expect to be reimbursed in full for all these
  costs incurred. This includes the seller’s fee. The total amount is disclosed to the
  customer before and during the closing of a sale. Delaware State Law does not
  provide for any cooling off period or any refund on these fees. It is for this reason that
  we make sure every customer understands, there are no refunds on purchases. The
  moment the customer requests to purchase the vehicle, we must process the
  paperwork accordingly by entering their name and payment of the fees resulting in no
  refunds.
  3. If a customer requests to finance the vehicle and cannot get financing with
  any bank, we will arrange financing with an outside lender which deals with people
  who has been rejected due to issues with creditworthiness. In these circumstances, the
  customer is held to strict standards imposed by these lenders. If the customer is not
  approved by an outside lender, we can also provide them credit on strict payback
  terms through our “Buy Here Pay Here Financing Program”. The customer must
  adhere to the strict guidelines set forth in their repayment terms which will not
  include any default in payments. It is made very clear to ALL customers, prior to
  their entering into the agreement, that they are only getting a vehicle if they agree to
  make every payment, as promised in full and when due. We go over the contract in
  GREAT DETAIL, prior to delivering the vehicle to the customer.
  
  4. Unfortunately, some customers still allow themselves to default on their loans
  and this situation, as previously explained, will not be tolerated by the lender(s). Our
  facility has hired a full-time staff whose job is to work with delinquent accounts,
  assisting the account holders getting back on track with their loans to avoid
  repossession of the vehicles. Customers that fall on hard times with honest intentions
  always get a break as we will work with them. When all efforts fail, unfortunately
  repossessions are necessary and unavoidable. It is important to understand that it is
  
  not the company who has breached the contract or entered into default status on the
  loan(s), but the consumer. Moreover, it is our company policy that we always offer
  numerous work-out agreements to avoid further collection activity, as repossessions
  benefit nobody. When the vehicle is first brought to us by a wholesaler, it had been
  recently tuned up, washed, waxed and shampooed. Anything that the vehicle needed
  has been addressed. We are given the opportunity to inspect the vehicle and reject
  anything that does not meet out strict standards. In the case of a repossession, we
  usually get back the vehicles that are dented, damaged, abused, or in poor operating
  condition and very dirty. Even if the vehicle was in pristine condition, it still will only
  bring at best wholesale value at auction.
  5. We are not a holding or transfer facility. When a vehicle is repossessed, it is
  picked up by a repossession agent and is transferred to their storage facility for a
  period of 21 days to give the customer an opportunity to reclaim the vehicle or any
  belongings that remain inside the vehicle. In some cases, the customer must provide a
  key. Without a customer giving the repossession agent a key to the vehicle and
  permission to enter the vehicle, the agent will usually not touch the vehicle. Every
  customer that gets financing through us is given a copy of this procedure and signs
  off on a repossession agreement at the time of purchase. Repossession leaves the
  customer with the remaining balance unpaid. Auction value will not pay for their tax
  and tags, the registration, title clerk fees, or the cost of the loan. This is why we make
  every attempt to assist the customer with any issues they may have.
  
  Glance at our company’s statistics. We make in excess of 1,000 deals annually. Nearly 60% of
  these deals pay for their vehicle without any incident or concern. The 40% that incur payment
  issues usually make good faith efforts to resolve their own circumstances and we will work with
  them. As a result, an additional 30% usually make good through these efforts. This includes
  working with them to set up and abide by a work out agreement. We may not get exactly what
  we expected on the dates anticipated but it is a situation that we can work out with the customer
  and come to some mutual agreement. Of the remaining 10%, 3% requires a great deal of effort
  on our part. We sometimes have to go to extraordinary means, but we can usually get some kind
  of workout agreement with about 3% of the unpaid debt. It is only about 7% of our clientele that
  seem to think they do not need to honor the agreement that they have made. It is our company
  policy to ensure that they have signed or initialed off on each detail so that they have thoroughly
  understood the circumstances. It is our belief that by following these principles, we will have
  satisfied customers. We do in fact have a great deal of repeat customers, so the system must
  appeal to the general public. Usually, members of this 7% are repeat offenders and have no
  intention of living up to their promises and generally have a bad reputation at many facilities.
  Although we try, sometimes no amount of effort will resolve these cases.
  Thank you for your time and attention to this matter and we would be happy to speak with the
  customer should they have any additional questions.
  
  Sincerely,
  Robin Drive Auto, LLC

  Customer response

  04/17/2024

  Better Business Bureau: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my complaint and have determined that this does not resolve my  issue.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. **In order for the bureau to continue to assist you, you MUST provide your view on the matter or your complaint will be closed as answered. I tried answering to the response but I did not select the correct option to input my answer.  The response from Robin Drive Auto is completely FALSE.  NEVER did I nor my husband ever claim the vehicle was stolen.  In fact Robin Drive Auto removed the vehicle from the driveway of our home.  In fact, when we visited Robin Drive Auto, we were informed Robin Drive Auto retrieved the vehicle but "did not know where the vehicle was".  When we received that response from Robin Drive Auto, I contacted the police while I was still onsite at Robin Drive Auto.  The officer arrived, went inside to speak to Robin Drive Auto and was told the vehicle was taken to Manheim Auto Auction in PA.  The officer also informed me when he asked fo see their video footage to confirm my visit to Robin Drive Auto where I remitted payment the video the officer was shown was "unclear and of poor quality" at which time the officer was told by Robin Drive Auto they would contact their "IT department to obtain clearer video".  The officer also provided me with a report number same day. The police officer also provided additionally disturbing information on the business practices of Robin Drive Auto.  Robin Drive Auto retrieved the vehicle from the driveway of our home March 1, 2024 and to date after numerous requests to obtain my personal belongings from the vehicle, Robin Drive Auto has refused to provide exact information/location of where my personal belongings are.  Robin Drive Auto has repeatedly told us "if we pay $200, we can get my personal belongings from the vehicle".  Robin Drive Auto has edited the books on what was my account and Robin Drive Auto is unable to provide accurate accounting record of my account every single month I walked in to make payment.  In addition, prior to March 1, 2024 when Robin Drive Auto retrieved the vehicle from the driveway of our home, the account representative contacted me to say I owed 650.00 when I asked what my balance was.  Each time I made a payment at Robin Drive Auto, my question was ALWAYS "what is my balance".  I pay the balance in FULL and the next month, somehow my balance was always beyond what I actually owed.  I made a request several months ago to make 1 lump sum monthly payment and was approved by the Robin Drive Auto account representative.Robin Drive Auto has a record of my account which does NOT reflect all totals paid in cash by myself and my husband.  In addition, among my personal belongings inside the vehicle Robin Drive Auto retrieved from the driveway of our home includes payment receipts which confirm my cash payments to Robin Drive Auto.  The expenses I incurred to get the vehicle through inspection were absorbed by me not Robin Drive Auto.  Robin Drive Auto charged me a fee to service the headlights which failed inspection and I was never reimbursed for.  When I provided Robin Drive Auto a copy of the failed inspection and requested my money returned, RObin Drive Auto asked me to provide them a receipt of what I paid for auto service.In addition, I've unfortunately researched many other consumers who have been duped by Robin Drive Auto who seem to be operating business in the State of Delaware unofficially.  Someone needs to investigate Robin Drive Auto and how they do business.  They falsify account documentation which leaves a consumer stuck in a situation which financially benefits Robin Drive Auto SOLELY. Regards, Complaint ID: 21407290    

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