Consumer complaint received 2023-07-07
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: TX
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Lease
Issue: Struggling to pay your loan
Sub-issue: Lender trying to repossess or disable the vehicle

Complaint:
I have been talking to people at Ally Financial, the Notice of Intent to Sell Vehicle letter came from Ally Bank, and there is a note at the bottom of that same letter stating that the account is being serviced by Ally Servicing LLC. This complaint is directed to all three plus any and all related Ally companies. 
On Sunday, XX/XX/XXXX, my XXXX XXXX was stolen from an XXXX XXXX parking lot while I was inside having lunch with my sister. ( Copy of the police report Available upon request ). On Monday XX/XX/XXXX, I called Ally Financial and informed them of the theft. I asked if I could get an idea of what the payoff was so I could share that information with my insurance company. The lady on the phone said she would pass me on to the payoff department. That message said it was at least a 45-minute wait so I hung up at that point, but did leave all the theft information with the lady I spoke with prior to the phone call transfer. On XX/XX/XXXX I got a voice mail from the XXXX XXXX police department that my truck had been recovered by the Texas XXXX border and towed to XXXX Texas. It was being held at the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. ( Transcription of the message Available upon request ). I shared that message with my adjuster at XXXX XXXX ( a XXXX XXXX ) and he sent a photo appraiser to the yard for an initial assessment. On XX/XX/XXXX, the photo appraiser sent me a few photos of the vehicle and my adjuster determined that the vehicle was repairable. 
I submitted the paperwork needed to get the truck out of the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX  and arrangements were made to have the truck towed to XXXX XXXX on XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX. We tried to set up an appointment for Friday the XXXX, but when I called XXXX XXXX, I was told the only lady who could release the truck would not be available that day. I shared that information with my insurance rep and the date of pick up was moved to the following week for Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX. 
I flew out to XXXX XXXX XXXX on Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX for my sons National Volleyball Tournament  thinking the truck was already in XXXX XXXX. On Thursday morning, XX/XX/XXXX I got a call from a lady with Ally Financial informing me that they picked up the truck for safety reasons since my insurance had not picked up the truck within a 10 day window. I was not aware of a 10 day window deadline, however, she assured me at least twice that it was not a repossession. All my payments are up to date. I have never been late, I paid the tax bill Ally sent me, and Ally was aware that my insurance and I were working on retrieving the vehicle. ( Payment history Available upon request ) There was no reason I could see for them to pick up the truck so I was a little apprehensive. I asked the lady on the phone where the truck was and she said she did not have that information, but she would transfer me to the Redemption department who could assist me further. This is where the treatment took a very ugly turn. The gentleman handling my case, XXXX XXXX, told me that this was in fact a repossession case. I got very upset and began to tell him that there was no way this was a repossession since I am current with all my financial obligations, I told him they had no business picking up the truck and that arrangements had already been made to get the truck to the shop for repairs, but rather than check my payment history, he took it upon himself to tell me to stop talking over him and kept that condescending tone throughout the call. He told me that I was in default on my lease, but when I asked him how he came to that conclusion, he would not give me an answer. He said I had to read my lease to determine that myself. Of course, I told him that was unacceptable and asked for clarification. He told me to call the lease department and they might be able to help me further but that they would likely route me back to him which I thought was odd, but it turned out to be exactly what happened. I called the lease department and spoke to a gentleman named XXXX. This person took the time to check my payment history and told me he was not sure why the tuck was picked up, but he couldnt help me because he only handles lease extensions and routed me back to the Redemption department. Then XXXX told me to call the Total Loss department, so I did that too. XXXX from that department told me my truck was in repossession and that the only people that could help me were in Redemption so I got routed back to XXXX again. This time he told me to call the Contract Lease department and ask for a manager, so I did. I called and spoke to XXXX and was again told that only the Redemption department could help me, but a message would be left for a manager to call me back the next day. By this time offices were about to close. I had missed most of my sons volleyball tournament and my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, so its probably a good thing the antics stopped for the day. 
The next morning, XXXX XXXX  Friday the XX/XX/XXXX, I got a call from XXXX, a manager with the Contract Leasing department. She was the first person to actually help me. She investigated my account, my payment history, and was also confused about why the truck was in repossession. She kept me on the phone while she sent a private message to XXXX, a manager with the Redemption department. She told me my truck was confiscated by the police. She said a truck being confiscated is different that repossession but admitted this was not her area of expertise. She asked XXXX to please call me with further information. I thanked her for efforts and concern, and we hung up. 
At XXXX, XXXX with the Redemption department called me to inform me that my truck was confiscated and not in repossession, but that I was still considered to be in default on my lease. When I asked him how I could be considered in default, he simply could not tell me. He told me I would get a letter explaining everything in 3 to 5 days. I asked him if I could get that letter emailed and the antics started up again. He asked me to call a different department to see if they could email it to me. I was not about to play this game anymore, so I called the county Sheriff myself. The county did confiscate the truck, but then released it to Ally since they were the lien holder. I asked if I was somehow part of the investigation and was told no. The criminal who stole the truck was in jail and I was not even mentioned in the case. The criminal who stole my truck is in custody. Hes a XXXX kid from XXXX who was caught XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. He ran from the police and wrecked the truck. Deputy Sheriff of XXXX XXXX emailed me a copy of the paperwork ( Available upon request ). I was informed that Ally had contracted XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX to pick up the truck. 
With this information I called the Redemption department again on Monday XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX and spoke to XXXX XXXX He told me he was forwarding my case to the Escalation department. XXXX with the Escalation department took my call. She could not tell me why my lease was in default either but did tell me that I could call XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX to get my personal items out of the truck and that the truck was scheduled to be auctioned on XX/XX/XXXX at the XXXX XXXX XXXX house in XXXX XXXX. She told me to make sure to call the Ally insurance department to add my insurance adjuster as someone they could speak to regarding my truck. She told me my insurance and I would be allowed to look over the truck once it arrives in XXXX XXXX, but no sooner. She then forwarded me to the insurance department where I spoke to XXXX. I added my adjuster and his supervisors names to the case as authorized to speak to them in regard to the truck. XXXX was not able to tell me why I was considered in default either. 
I relayed all this information to my insurance company and attorney. My insurance company asked me to call XXXX XXXX and ask them if I could get a cost associated with towing and storage so I could get my truck out and back to XXXX XXXX. My insurance adjuster was hoping that Ally was simply confused and that maybe we could just get the truck out and start repair work, but that was not the case. When I called XXXX XXXXXXXX, they told me that they could not release the truck to me at all. That their contract with Ally states that when a vehicle is used for human and substance smuggling a lessee can not get the vehicle back. The man on the phone empathized with me but told me all I could do was get my belongings. I explained what was happening and all he said was that he realizes its frustrating, but that I would have to get with Ally and get permission directly from them to release my truck. 
On Wednesday XX/XX/XXXX, I received the letter Ally said would explain how I was considered in default and what my next step should be. The letter does not explain how I am in default. It simply states Under the terms of your lease agreement, we have terminated your lease because you are in default No explanation. It then tells me the vehicle will be sold at a private sale. ( Copy of the Letter Available upon request ). I copy of this letter was sent addressed to my company and to me personally. Ally wants me to pay over {$45000.00} to get my truck back. 

In the meantime, I can not run my business as efficiently as before. My rental allowance does not cover another heavy-duty vehicle and I have trailers that I need to tow. I have wasted hours of my time on hold with Ally and been treated with disrespect and bad faith. I truly feel victimized twice in this situation. It is my belief that Ally orchestrated this to keep from having to get a diminished value vehicle at the end of the lease. I have held up my end of the lease, but with these antics they are pushing all the burden on me. Ive tried to do the right thing here. Ally has stood in the way and I feel may even punish me for something I had no control over. They can not be allowed to treat people this way. 

Here are the questions I would like answers from Ally on : 1. What prompted Ally to pick up the truck from the XXXX XXXX impound yard in the first place? I had informed them of the theft and even gave them my insurance information. They knew we were working on it.

2. How am I in default of my lease? Default is an ominous word. I am very particular about my credit and do not want to see it diminished. 
3. Will this somehow reflect negatively on my credit report?

4. Why am I not allowed to access the truck and begin repair work?

5. How is my insurance supposed to help me resolve this if we are not given access to the vehicle? 
6. The letter sent by Ally states If you have insurance or a service contract as part of your contract, we will cancel it. My GAP insurance was rolled into the loan. If Ally cancels it, how are they supposed to help me cover any shortages from the sale, again placing all the burden on me? 
7. If the XXXX XXXX Sheriffs office claims that the case on their end is closed, how can Ally keep me from accessing the truck by claiming it has been confiscated? This makes it sound as if the investigation is ongoing when its not.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation