September-October 2005

Angry owners confront MetaBank prez over predatory car loans

URBANDALE, Iowa –Some 30 Dan Nelson Automotive Group customers and members of Des Moines Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) met with MetaBank Chief Operating Officer Troy Moore in early September. After multiple invitations to meet were met with no response, disgruntled customers and CCI members took the meeting to Moore’s office.

CCI members/Dan Nelson customers Rick Doerring, Don Shelley, Jessi Summy, Irene Ferguson, Joe Muniz, Melissa Clark, Ron Rankin, and Holly Harper told Moore about their experiences with Dan Nelson.

They asked company officials to meet with them to discuss what MetaBank could do to resolve their situations. Customers have high interest loans, some of which have been sold to companies outside the state. 

 “MetaBank has ignored us and thousands of other Dan Nelson customers, and it is time for them to be held accountable and make us whole,” CCI member and Nelson customer Don Shelley said.

Moore agreed to ask CEO Tyler Haahr to review CCI’s proposals for resolution and meet with them after reviewing the proposals.

MetaBank made nearly $30 million in loans to the now defunct Dan Nelson. In CCI’s opinion, MetaBank knew how Dan Nelson was making money and they could see his business model. It was obvious that Nelson was doing his own financing and charging inflated interest rates that were accompanied by high car repossession rates.

During the time Nelson was being loaned money by MetaBank, he was losing money and being investigated by the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. 

An agreement between the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and MetaBank provides some relief to about 1,400 Dan Nelson customers, but the agreement does not help CCI members that went to MetaBank’s office and thousands of others victimized by Nelson. More than 20 CCI members have suffered damages of at least $160,000 that are not covered by MetaBank’s agreement with the attorney general’s office. The attorney general's office has said it will ask third party finance companies to rework the loans.