Federal agency sues shut down Ga. car dealership for illegally repossessing cars

Justin Gray
·2 min read
2

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a lawsuit against the in-house finance company for Georgia-based US Auto Sales alleging they broke federal law.

In its lawsuit, CFPB alleges USAF Financing charged improper payments to customers and wrongfully repossessed some vehicles.

US Auto Sales and USAF Financing both abruptly closed their doors and shut down operations back in April.

Channel 2 Action News has continued to hear problems and concerns from customers of their 39 locations.

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Shaunte Strong just learned the extended warranty she paid $2,800 for when she bought a car at US Auto Sales two years ago does not exist.

“I reached out to the [warranty company], which confirmed that I did not have a warranty and that I hadn’t had one since March of 2021,” Strong said.

Nevadia Brooks watched as her car was repossessed this week.

“It was three in the morning,” she told Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray.

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Last month, Channel 2 Action News reported on a company called Westlake Portfolio Management that is now servicing the loans.

Westlake said in a statement when they took over,

“We are committed to making this transition as seamless as possible for all customers of US Auto Sales.”

For Strong, Westlake shows no record of the two years’ worth of payments she made to US Auto Sales.

“I paid almost $11,000 on a car within the past two years. They say that my balance is $17,000 on a car that was $17,000,” Strong said.

Gray’s emails to US Auto sales bounced back.

We also reached out to CFPB to ask how they can find relief for customers since the companies have stopped operations. CFPB declined to comment.

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