Class action lawsuit filed against PNC Bank on behalf of defrauded vehicle owners
TorHoerman Law LLC and Walton Telken LLC have filed a class action lawsuit (Case 3:23-cv-02355) on behalf of plaintiffs alleging that PNC Bank fails to properly deliver release of security interests and/or certificates of titles to customers who have paid off their loans.
In essence, the Complaint alleges that after customers paid off their car loans, PNC did not provide the customer with a release of lien or their car title, but rather, PNC lost the title and claimed the documents were “lost in the mail.”
PNC then required the customer to pay a fee to a third-party to obtain a release of lien. The customer then had to present their release of lien to their local DMV for a replacement title, which incurred an additional cost.
Specifically, Defendant PNC Bank is being sued for breach of contract, violation of the Illinois Vehicle Code, and violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act.
“Paying off your car loan should be a moment of accomplishment and relief for someone; not a pathway to manipulation and frustration,” said Tyler Schneider, a Partner at TorHoerman Law.
According to the complaint, PNC is statutorily and contractually required to provide the release of security interest and/or certificate of title for free after borrowers pay off their vehicle loans.
“This should not be a complicated process. When someone pays off the loan on their vehicle, they should get title to the car. Unfortunately, for our client, it was anything but.” said Troy Walton, managing partner of Walton Telken.
The class action complaint was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on July 7, 2023.
Plaintiffs are represented by Tyler Schneider and Kenneth Brennan of TorHoerman Law LLC and co-counsel Troy Walton and Michael Marker of Walton Telken LLC.
For more information about the class action lawsuit against PNC Bank, contact TorHoerman Law or visit https://www.torhoermanlaw.com/class-action-case-types/lost-car-title/.
Hi I just received a 50 dollar prepaid gift from a survey I took and when I activated my gift 4 dollar was absent and I had purchased anything so how it fair .The Pnc prepaid gift states Northwestern so I didn’t buy in a store and the paperwork that came prepaid card is from 2019
Is this class action still open with PNC? I have been trying to obtain my vehicle title for over 25 days since paying off the vehicle. Before that I was attempting to get my title (with lien) transferred from NC to Ohio since December 2023. It still hasn’t happened. I have called NCDOT (the original holder of the title with lien) and they stated they “mailed the title to PNC on December 1st which PNC DID receive.
PNC bank claims they mailed it to Franklin County, OH and the county clerks office, but after calling them they claim they never received it either. I then attempted to get the title transferred to the neighboring county of Delaware, OH. They have not received it either. Upon calling back PNC multiple times they continue to claim that they mailed the title to Frankling County Court of Clerks back in December, but they never received it either (that is my understanding). Delware County has not received it either.
I have been lied to multiple times by PNC title clerk service technicians over the phone. The lien was paid off on March 14th but is still listed with a lien designation with the state of NC (NCDOT) as they have not received an electronic notification from PNC bank that the lien is now clear.
I know this because I talked to an NCDOT Administrative specialist, and she even showed me the screen shots of the title still listed as under lien. Upon calling back PNC several times to try and resolve the issue I was told it can take up to 45 days for lien designation to be cleared which is total BS. I was also directed to Vehicle Title My Way.com, but the bank technician didn’t even know that you can’t even use this service as PNC has FAILED to notify NCDOT that the title does not have a lien and therefore Vehicle Title My Way can’t process a lien release letter.
I have made dozens of calls with PNC bank over the past 4 months (to their vehicle title department customer care representatives) and have been told me everything you can think of.
From: “a title was already mailed to you already and you should have received it” to “we’ve mailed you a lien release letter already you should have received it,” to “the post office may have lost it,” and several versions of “we no longer have the title the state of NC has it” or ….”the state of OH has it,” etc. All not true.
One interesting piece of tidbit I did receive from one of the PNC bank customer representatives is that APPARENTLY PNC Bank does not internally process lien release letters or title releases. APPARENTLY that goes out to a third party company which I’m guessing is that silly Vehicle Title My Way they keep telling me. Not sure but I think that has played a factor in all of this.
PNC is a HORRIBLE bank. They are dishonest, slow, and deceitful. VehicleTitleMyWay will not process a lien release letter if the state originally holding the title still has it in their system as “having a lien.”
I have called PNC dozens of times (first about the title transfer fiasco beginning in December 2023 and then obtaining the title over the last 25 days). I am at wits’ end. I am about to be dropped by my insurance company and my plates and registration are about to expire. If ever there was a case for a lawsuit this is it. I don’t care about the money, i just want my damn title so i can register my vehicle before I can’t drive it anymore without valid tags or insurance.
You go through all this effort to work, save up the money, get financing, buy a vehicle, work to pay it off, and you can’t get the title because the bank has a crazy system of handling vehicle titles. It’s insanity.
Best Regards,
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