USASF Servicing, LLC
On August 2, 2023, the Bureau filed a lawsuit against USASF Servicing, LLC, an auto-loan servicer headquartered in Lawrenceville, Georgia. USASF offered both Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) and collateral-protection insurance (CPI), which are products that consumers can buy when they buy or lease a car. GAP covers some of a consumer’s loan balance if their car is totaled but they still owe money on the loan even with car insurance. CPI is physical-damage insurance that protects the lender if a consumer does not have auto insurance that covers the amount of their car loan. The Bureau alleges that USASF engaged in unfair acts and practices by: (1) wrongfully activating nearly 80,000 times starter-interruption devices, which are devices that warn consumers with beeps or disable their car altogether when they are late with a loan payment; (2) failing to ensure refunds of GAP premiums when consumers were entitled to a refund because they paid off their loan early or their car was repossessed by USASF, totaling millions of dollars for thousands of consumers; (3) erroneously billing 34,000 consumers for CPI by charging them twice each billing cycle, totaling around $1.9 million; (4) wrongfully applying extra consumer payments first to late fees or CPI instead of accrued interest; and (5) wrongfully repossessing consumers’ cars dozens of times due to errors by USASF or its vendor. The Bureau seeks, among other things, redress to consumers, civil money penalties, and injunctions to prevent future violations.
Related documents
Press release
CFPB Sues USASF Servicing for Illegally Disabling Vehicles and for Improper Double-Billing Practices