agent Entrepreneur logo
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

Wells Fargo Dealer Services to Pay $4.1 million for SCRA Violations

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wells Fargo Dealer Services has agreed to pay more than $4.1 million to settle charges that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) when it repossessed 413 vehicles owned by protected servicemembers without obtaining a court order, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday. The settlement will cover repossessions ... Read More »

October 5, 2016
4 min to read


WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wells Fargo Dealer Services has agreed to pay more than $4.1 million to settle charges that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) when it repossessed 413 vehicles owned by protected servicemembers without obtaining a court order, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday.

The settlement will cover repossessions that occurred between Jan. 1, 2008 and July 1, 2015. As part of the agreement, Wells Fargo will pay $10,000 to each of the affected servicemembers, along with any lost equity in the vehicle with interest. The finance source also agreed to change it reposession policies to ensure that a court order is obtained before reposessing a vehicle owned by an active duty servicemember.

Ad Loading...

Additionally, the settlement imposes a 6% cap on interest rates for any active duty servicemembers and requires that Wells Fargo repair the credit of all affected servicemembers.

“We all have an obligation to ensure that the women and men who serve our country in the Armed Forces are afforded all of the rights they are due,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California. “Wells Fargo failed in that obligation. The settlement announced today, however, vindicates the rights of our servicemembers and will help ensure better lending practices in the future by one of the nation’s largest motor vehicle lenders.”

The SCRA requires a court to review and approve any repossession if the servicemember took out the loan and made a payment before entering military service. According to the Justice Department, the court may delay the repossession or require the lender to refund prior payments before repossessing.

“The court may also appoint an attorney to represent the servicemember, require the lender to post a bond with the court and issue any other orders it deems necessary to protect the servicemember,” read a statement from the Justice Department. “By failing to obtain court orders before repossessing motor vehicles owned by protected servicemembers, Wells Fargo prevented servicemembers from obtaining a court’s review of whether their repossessions should be delayed or adjusted to account for their military service.”

The justice department began investigating Wells Fargo Dealer Services in March 2015, after it received a complaint from the U.S. Army’s Legal Assistance Program. The complaint alleged that Wells Fargo had repossessed National Guardsman Dennis Singleton’s used car while he was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan to fight in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Ad Loading...

The Justice Department found that after Wells Fargo Repossessed the car, it sold it at a public auction and then attempted to collect a deficiency balance of more than $10,000 from the national guardsman and his family. After the vehicle was repossessed, Singleton met with a National Guard attorney while he was seeking help with debt consolidation. That’s when he was informed of his rights under the SCRA.

That attorney later requested information from Wells Fargo about the original loan and repossession, and asked for copies of correspondence and payment history. According to the Department of Justice, Wells Fargo never provided the requested documents and information. A subsequent investigation by the Justice Department corroborated Singleton’s complaint, as well as a more-than-seven-year history of similar repossessions.

This is the second settlement this year the Justice Department has reached with a finance source to resolve similar charges. Just last month, the department reached settlement with HSBC Finance Corp., which agreed to $434,500 to resolve the Justice Department’s charges that it violated the SCRA when it repossessed 75 cars owned by protected servicemembers without obtaining necessary court orders.

This Justice Department’s announcement comes a few weeks after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Wells Fargo to pay $100 million for secretly opening two million unauthorized, fee-generating deposit and credit accounts. Additionally, Wells Fargo was required to pay an additional $35 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and $50 million to the city and county of Los Angeles, and $5 million to customers for a total payout of $190 million.

“Wells Fargo employees secretly opened unauthorized accounts to hit sales targets and receive bonuses,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a statement following the announced fine. “Because of the severity of these violations, Wells Fargo is paying the largest penalty the CFPB has ever imposed. Today’s action should serve notice to the entire industry that financial incentive programs, if not monitored carefully, carry serious risks that can have serious legal consequences.”

Ad Loading...

According to the Justice Department, Wells Fargo began sending payments to many of the affected servicemembers last month. In the upcoming months, Wells Fargo will locate additional servicemembers whose vehicles were repossessed and distribute payments through this settlement.

The settlement is still subject to court approval.

More Industry

Photo of Cadillac Lyriq SUV on road with partly cloudy sky in background
Industryby Hannah MitchellApril 16, 2026

Used Autos Selling for More

A recent price spike due to several larger market forces, though it hasn’t dulled demand, is pushing more consumers to efficient models to squeeze in buys.

Read More →
Photo of facade of Waldorf Toyota car dealership
Industryby Hannah MitchellApril 16, 2026

Maryland Auto Group Sells

A group out West picked up the major D.C.-area collection, putting it in the upper tiers of private automotive groups in the U.S.

Read More →
Line graphic showing Cox Automotive's March Credit Availability Index status
Industryby Hannah MitchellApril 13, 2026

Auto Lending Opens Up in March

Lenders loosened access for subprime borrowers, and consumers with negative equity reached a record high, Cox Automotive reported.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
electric vehicle next to an urban charging station. EV Demand Diverges. F&I and Showroom logo
Industryby Lauren LawrenceApril 10, 2026

EV Interest Varies Regionally

U.S. consumer interest in electric vehicles lags behind other countries despite the rising gas prices caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Read More →
Photo of the rear of a Mercedes GLC 400 electric SUV with a skyline in the background
Industryby Hannah MitchellApril 10, 2026

Brands Weighed on Projected Recalls

Research reveals the brands and models most likely to have higher recall rates over their lifetimes. While some brands rank high, addressing safety issues can be a selling point.

Read More →
Photo of white 2026 Ford Bronco on a sandy beach
Industryby Hannah MitchellApril 10, 2026

March New-Vehicle Sales Don’t Reflect War

Cox Automotive data shows Americans doubled down on big-is-better despite price increases. Slightly higher incentives helped fuel the demand.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Photo of several cars on lifts in a service center
Industryby Hannah MitchellApril 9, 2026

Franchised Dealers Stand to Gain Service Business

Cox Automotive research shows both the opportunities and the challenges in turning consumers’ growing affordability needs into increased fixed-operations revenue.

Read More →
Photo of office desk with open laptop on it and an empty chair next to it
IndustryApril 9, 2026

What Matters Most in Building Your Agency

The partner you choose for growth and expansion is key, because better is the ultimate goal instead of growth for growth’s sake.

Read More →
car with hood open, an arm holding a wrench, The most loyal generation text, Agent Entrepreneur logo
Industryby Lauren LawrenceApril 9, 2026

Service Drives Gen Z Loyalty

The dealership profit center plays an important role in customer retention, and generation Z customers are showing the highest loyalty rates, based on recent CDK Global data.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Photo of man with most of his face hidden as he types on a computer keyboard
Industryby Hannah MitchellApril 2, 2026

Fake Auto Dealer Websites Frauding Consumers

The Point Predictive study traced a pattern across more than 100 websites it believes are being developed by an international theft ring.

Read More →