I often keep my cool, but this situation has really upset me. I went to a dealership to purchase my car in January, and they informed me my lender was called AGORA CREDIT. They told me my first payment of $522 wouldn’t be due until March 1st and that I would receive instructions on how to make my payments by mail.
By the end of February, I hadn’t received any communication. No emails or phone calls at all. As my payment date approached, I started calling the dealership and searching for this Agora company online to understand the situation better. After a lot of back and forth, I was finally given a number for Agora. However, they told me I didn’t have an account with them.
Then in mid-March, I received an email from Westlake stating my account required immediate attention. I was confused because I didn’t even know I had an account with them. When I called, they explained Agora was a subsidiary of Westlake, and my loan was actually with them, leaving me nearly a month behind on payments through no fault of my own.
Fast forward to May, I lost my job, and as a single parent, I was struggling financially. I was about a month and two weeks behind on my payment, approximately $100, and they offered a deferred payment option. I signed an Extension Agreement through DocuSign, which stated that Westlake AGREES to defer my April payment until the end of my term.
However, two weeks later, my car was repossessed. I called to find out why, as I was not even 30 days late on my full May payment. They claimed my request for deferring April was denied. I pointed out that the document I signed said they agreed to it and questioned whether I had received any notifications about this denial. They claimed that they had called me numerous times, but I checked my call log and had no missed calls from them.
Eventually, after explaining the situation, they agreed to let me pay what I owed plus some fees totaling around $560 to get my car back, which I did.
Now it’s June, and I checked my account. Instead of just owing June’s payment, I was shocked to see a balance of over $2,200! They included July’s payment and claimed my May payment bounced, even though I paid it via debit card over the phone and the funds were deducted from my bank. They have also charged me $680 for the repossession, which seems excessively high for having the car for such a short time.
I’m feeling overwhelmed because I rely on my car for work while I search for new employment, and I have children to support. Has anyone else faced similar issues with Westlake? I’d appreciate any advice.