Emergency help - how to stop a UCC lien that was filed incorrectly on my business

That sounds incredibly frustrating! First thing - gather all your payment documentation immediately. You'll need proof of full payment including bank statements, cancelled checks, or wire transfer confirmations. The debtor name discrepancy you mentioned could actually work in your favor since UCC filings need to match the exact legal entity name. If they filed against 'Premier Equipment Leasing LLC' but your business is legally 'Premier Equipment Leasing Services LLC', that's a serious filing error that could invalidate the whole lien.

You have a few options to stop this UCC lien. Since you paid the debt in full, the creditor should file a UCC-3 termination statement to release the lien. If they won't cooperate, you can dispute it directly with the Secretary of State office where it was filed. You can also demand they provide a UCC-3 termination under the loan agreement terms. If they refuse and you have clear proof of payment, you might need to get an attorney involved for wrongful filing. Document everything and send certified letters demanding termination.

Had something similar happen to me last year. Before you go through all the formal dispute processes, try uploading your loan documents and the UCC-1 filing to something like Certana.ai's document verification tool. It'll instantly cross-check whether the debtor names match and can spot other filing errors you might have missed. When I used it, it caught three different discrepancies between my original loan docs and the UCC filing that I never would have noticed. Saved me weeks of back-and-forth with the creditor because I had a clear analysis showing exactly what was wrong with their filing.

DOCUMENT EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW! Send a certified letter to the creditor demanding immediate termination and include copies of your payment proof. Give them 30 days to file the UCC-3 termination or you'll pursue legal action. Also send a copy to their legal department if it's a big company. Most creditors will cooperate once they realize you have solid documentation and aren't going away. The name mismatch gives you additional leverage.

I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation right now. Paid off a equipment loan in November 2024 but the UCC-1 is still showing active. It's been three months and they keep saying 'we'll look into it' but nothing happens. So frustrating when you've done everything right but they won't clean up their filing. Did you get any kind of lien release document when you paid off the loan?

The debtor name issue is huge here. UCC-1 filings are seriously name-sensitive and 'Premier Equipment Leasing LLC' vs 'Premier Equipment Leasing Services LLC' is definitely not the same entity. I'd focus on that angle first since it's black and white - either the name matches your legal business name or it doesn't. Pull your Articles of Incorporation or LLC formation docs to prove your exact legal name. That alone might invalidate the entire filing without having to prove payment.

Check if your state has a UCC information management system online where you can search filings by debtor name. Sometimes you can see exactly how they filed the lien and spot other errors beyond just the name issue. Also check if there are multiple filings - sometimes creditors file amendments or continuations that complicate the termination process.

If this creditor is being unresponsive, you might want to file a complaint with your state's banking or financial services regulator. Wrongful UCC filings can violate debt collection and fair credit reporting laws. Sometimes a regulatory complaint gets faster action than just demanding termination directly.

Just wanted to add - I used Certana.ai recently for a similar document verification issue and it was incredibly helpful. You can upload your original loan agreement, payment records, and the UCC-1 filing and it'll automatically flag inconsistencies between the documents. In my case, it caught that the collateral description in the UCC filing didn't match what was actually financed. Having that kind of detailed analysis really strengthened my position when demanding termination.

This whole situation is exactly why I always request written confirmation of UCC termination whenever I pay off any secured debt. These creditors act like filing the termination is some huge favor they're doing for you instead of a legal requirement. Stay on them and don't let them drag this out - every day that bogus filing stays active is potentially costing you business.