DCU demand to be added as lienholder on title or interest will increase to 18%

[Royalbacon]

So I bought my truck at beginning of January. Just received the title at the end of February in the mail. Anyways I refinanced with DCU at end of January before my first payment was due because the dealer approved me at almost 13% with Huntington. They just last week sent an email saying they needed to be added as the lienholder on the title within 180 days or my interest will increase to 18%. Assuming they mean 180 days from when my loan was opened at the end of January rather then when they sent the email... Which still does give me plenty of time.

Anyways I thought DCU would take care of all this themselves but w/e. I am just 23 though and this is my first time buying a vehicle that isn't a cheap junker I paid in full with cash so i'm still learning how everything works.

Went to the DMV and said I needed a lien release from the bank currently on the title who I had my loan with before I refinanced before I can switch lienholders. Never got said form in the mail, not sure what it looks like. Only thing I got is a letter saying my loan was paid off and they're transferring the title to the financial institution that paid off the loan, which I don't think counts as a lien release form. So anyways I call up Huntington and said I should receive it within 4 business days. So hopefull they get me that form like they said I would and hopefully the DMV can get something, the title or something official indicating they're the lienholder so my interest doesn't get jacked up and possibly worse things may happen.

And last thing, I live in Minnesota and this state is different then a lot of states. In Minnesota the owner holds the title regardless whether or not you have a loan on the vehicle or you own it outright. They just list the bank on the title who you have the loan with and to get it taken off when you pay the loan off you get a form indicating the loan is paid for in full and you take that form with the title and go to the DMV to get the lienholder removed.

My two problems are

1)Why couldn't DCU mention this on the phone when they approved me for the loan? Seriously why tell me like 5-6 weeks later? Gives me a bad impression of credit unions especially when they brag about how they exist to help people rather then screw people over and make a hefty profit. At least they told me now and not at like, at 170 days into my loan then sending me an email "Oh hey you got 10 days or were jacking your interest up to 18!" Why just assume every one of your customers has boughten several vehicles in their life and knows exactly how everything works?

That in addition to compared to USBank and Wells Fargo who I banked with in the past, DCU's website and everything is so archaic and convoluted along with the other credit unions I have been a member with. At this point im sort of planning on keeping my USBank account open and when I pay my loan off (have a 36 month loan at around $8600, paid about $1500 so far in 2 months, should have it paid off in 12-18 years) i'm just going to go back to using my USBank account and dump DCU. I have a credit card with USBank so my monthly maintenance fee is waived. Or maybe i'm just currently a little bitter and need to rant.

2)And why couldn't Huntington just automatically send me the form when DCU paid the loan off? Why did I need to call them up asking them to send it out to me?

[Revelate]

Well, not defending any of the financial institutions here (something went wrong somewhere for sure, that should've gone directly to DCU and certainly did when I refinanced my WFDS loan with them) but to be fair they gave you copious amounts of time to resolve it, and it is a legitimate issue: namely, if they don't have rights to the asset securing the loan, they're going to jack you up to an unsecured lending rate.

Anyway sounds like an easy fix though you're having to spend time correcting one of the two lender's mistakes (whoever lost the paperwork) which admittedly does suck.

[Royalbacon]

I think it did go straight there to DCU from Huntington because they told me they received the title but aren't listed as the lienholder

[Luscher]

They must be listed as one to protect themselves. Just sign the piece of paper and keep your rate.

[Royalbacon]

Yup, I live in MInnesota and were different then a lot of other states. In Minnesota you hold the title to the vehicle regardless if the vehicle has a loan or you own it outright. I requested the lien release form from Huntington and as soon as I receive it in the mail, I can go to the DMV and remove Huntington from the title and add DCU. I already went to the DMV and tried removing Huntington and they told me I can't do anything until I get that lien release form from them.

It's not as simple as just signing something.

[Chris679]

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@Royalbacon wrote:

So I bought my truck at beginning of January. Just received the title at the end of February in the mail. Anyways I refinanced with DCU at end of January before my first payment was due because the dealer approved me at almost 13% with Huntington. They just last week sent an email saying they needed to be added as the lienholder on the title within 180 days or my interest will increase to 18%. Assuming they mean 180 days from when my loan was opened at the end of January rather then when they sent the email... Which still does give me plenty of time.

Anyways I thought DCU would take care of all this themselves but w/e. I am just 23 though and this is my first time buying a vehicle that isn't a cheap junker I paid in full with cash so i'm still learning how everything works.

Went to the DMV and said I needed a lien release from the bank currently on the title who I had my loan with before I refinanced before I can switch lienholders. Never got said form in the mail, not sure what it looks like. Only thing I got is a letter saying my loan was paid off and they're transferring the title to the financial institution that paid off the loan, which I don't think counts as a lien release form. So anyways I call up Huntington and said I should receive it within 4 business days. So hopefull they get me that form like they said I would and hopefully the DMV can get something, the title or something official indicating they're the lienholder so my interest doesn't get jacked up and possibly worse things may happen.

And last thing, I live in Minnesota and this state is different then a lot of states. In Minnesota the owner holds the title regardless whether or not you have a loan on the vehicle or you own it outright. They just list the bank on the title who you have the loan with and to get it taken off when you pay the loan off you get a form indicating the loan is paid for in full and you take that form with the title and go to the DMV to get the lienholder removed.

My two problems are

1)Why couldn't DCU mention this on the phone when they approved me for the loan? Seriously why tell me like 5-6 weeks later? Gives me a bad impression of credit unions especially when they brag about how they exist to help people rather then screw people over and make a hefty profit. At least they told me now and not at like, at 170 days into my loan then sending me an email "Oh hey you got 10 days or were jacking your interest up to 18!" Why just assume every one of your customers has boughten several vehicles in their life and knows exactly how everything works?

That in addition to compared to USBank and Wells Fargo who I banked with in the past, DCU's website and everything is so archaic and convoluted along with the other credit unions I have been a member with. At this point im sort of planning on keeping my USBank account open and when I pay my loan off (have a 36 month loan at around $8600, paid about $1500 so far in 2 months, should have it paid off in 12-18 years) i'm just going to go back to using my USBank account and dump DCU. I have a credit card with USBank so my monthly maintenance fee is waived. Or maybe i'm just currently a little bitter and need to rant.

2)And why couldn't Huntington just automatically send me the form when DCU paid the loan off? Why did I need to call them up asking them to send it out to me?

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To me that sounds like it would be good enough for the DMV.  I have gotten a couple of lein release letters and that's all they are is just a letter saying the loan is paid off. 

[Royalbacon]

Real simple, if I would of paid my Huntington loan off I would of got sent the lien release. Since I refinanced with DCU, the lien release got sent to DCU, so I called DCU and they told me all I had to do was mail them the title and they take care of the rest. Reason why Huntington didn't send the lien release to me is because I could just remove Huntington without ever adding DCU, thus faking that I own my vehicle outright with no lien on it. Since in Minnesota, the vehicle owner (me in this case) holds the title, and the lienholder holds some other kind of document I think (not sure what, this is all new to me and my first time purchasing a vehicle that wasn't a cheap junker I didn't pay in full with cash)

I love DCU and wasn't in that good of a mood and was tired when I posted this (Had nothing to do with DCU or anything related to DCU or refinancing at all)

[Anonymous]

I guarentee the agreement you signed with DCU requires them to be listed as the lienholder.  That is the case with any car loan.  That is why the interest is much lower than unsecured credit. It they are not listed as the lienholder then if you were to stop paying the loan they would have to right to repossess.  

[Royalbacon]

Yup, like I said I was having a bad day and wasn't in that good of a mood when I opened the email, and this is my first vehicle purchase with a loan so this is all new to me. I simply misunderstood what the email was saying, they weren't "demanding", or threatening or anything like I said when I posted this topic. It just said I have 120 days to update the lienholder on the title, and 120 days is a very generous amount of time. Huntington sent them the lien release when I refinanced with DCU, and all I had to do was mail them my title (in Minnesota where I live the vehicle owner has the title regardless if the vehicle has a lien or not, which is different then a lot of other states) and DCU takes care of the rest. Real simple