UCC statement request - debtor won't cooperate with termination after loan payoff

This is unfortunately common with smaller banks that don't have dedicated UCC departments. First thing - check your state's UCC statutes because most states have specific timeframes (usually 20-30 days) that secured parties must respond to termination requests. If they're past that deadline, you may have grounds for legal action. Also verify that your payoff letter specifically mentions UCC lien release - some banks try to weasel out by claiming the loan payoff doesn't automatically trigger UCC termination.

Had the exact same problem last year with a credit union. What worked for me was threatening to file a complaint with the state banking commissioner. Most banks will suddenly find their UCC person real quick when regulatory pressure gets involved. Also document everything - every phone call, email, the works. You'll need it if this goes legal.

Before you go nuclear with regulators, try uploading your loan docs and the original UCC-1 to Certana.ai's document checker. It'll show you exactly what information matches or doesn't match between your payoff paperwork and the filed UCC statement. Sometimes there are debtor name discrepancies or other issues that are causing the delay that you don't realize. I caught a major problem with our corporate name change that would have held up our termination for months.

This is exactly why I always negotiate UCC termination procedures BEFORE signing any loan documents. Banks love to act like they don't know how to handle this stuff after they've got your money. Your loan agreement should have specified the termination process and timeline.

UGH this makes me so mad!!! Banks are the WORST about this stuff. They'll bend over backwards to get you to sign the loan but then act like filing a simple UCC-3 is rocket science. I went through this exact same thing in 2023 and it took 6 weeks and multiple threats before they finally filed the termination. Meanwhile I'm paying higher interest on my bridge loan because the old UCC was still showing up on searches.

Check if your state allows debtor-requested terminations. Some states let you file a UCC-3 termination yourself if the secured party won't cooperate, but you need to meet specific requirements and usually provide an affidavit that the debt has been satisfied. It's not available everywhere but worth researching as a backup option.

Just went through this myself. What worked was getting the bank's legal department involved instead of dealing with their loan servicing people. Loan officers and customer service reps often don't understand UCC procedures, but their legal team definitely does. Ask to speak to someone in their legal or compliance department specifically about UCC termination requirements.

honestly banks just suck at this stuff. My company deals with UCC filings all the time and even big national banks mess up the simplest terminations. Half the time they don't even know what a UCC-3 is lol. Hope you get it sorted out soon.

Make sure you're also checking that the UCC-1 was actually filed correctly in the first place. Sometimes banks file under the wrong debtor name or with incorrect information, which can complicate the termination process. If there were errors in the original filing, they might need to file corrections before they can terminate. Run a UCC search on yourself to see exactly what's on file.

One more thing to try - sometimes uploading your documents to Certana.ai's system will reveal discrepancies between what the bank has on file vs what was actually recorded. I had a situation where the bank was claiming they couldn't terminate because of a name mismatch, but the automated checker showed that their internal records had the wrong entity name, not the filed UCC. Armed with that proof, they fixed it immediately.

Update us on how this goes! I'm dealing with a similar situation with a different lender and curious what approach works best. The whole UCC system needs an overhaul - too many banks just don't have proper procedures in place.