Consumer complaint received 2018-05-12
Company: TOYOTA MOTOR CREDIT CORPORATION
State: CA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account status incorrect

Complaint:
My account with Toyota Financial Services was paid in full in XX/XX/XXXX, without any late payments or charges. To date, I have not received the Title documents to my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Toyota Financial Services is illegally withholding the title to my vehicle.

On Saturday, XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX from Toyota Financial Services advising the following : Although all of the monthly installment payments have been made, please be advised that our records indicate you still owe the sum of {$210.00} due to possible late payments, accrued finance charges, or other fees and charges due on your account. ( Emphasis added. ) This was the first time I was ever notified by Toyota Financial Services of any of further charges they claimed were owed. As indicated in the letter, Toyota Financial Services did not provide a breakdown of the alleged payment due, only that it is possible. This is an outrage.

On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Toyota Financial Services by telephone to dispute the {$210.00} charge. I was on hold for over one hour before speaking with XXXX  who, after hearing my complaint, put me on hold to transfer me to someone else to handle my account. XXXX  disconnected me. I called back and was placed on hold for another several minutes before connecting with XXXX. I repeated my complaint to XXXX. XXXX placed me on hold and transferred me to a Resolution Specialist, XXXX. The explanation I received from all three of these representatives was different. Not one of them could explain the {$210.00} charges.

When pressed, XXXX advised me that it was a late fee from the XX/XX/XXXX payment, but acknowledged that all payments were automatic electronic payments and, therefore paid on time. XXXX confirmed all payments had been made within the thirty-day timeframe they were due over the course of the six-year contract. XXXX  stated that if there had been a late fee charge, because all payments were automatic electronic payments, I would not have been notified of any late charges.

XXXX  further advised that he didnt understand the {$210.00} amount. He stated that he only had authorization to waive {$100.00} which he would do. XXXX also stated that he would put in a request to waive all of the fees and call me back with the answer within 2-3 days. The entirety of this XX/XX/XXXX waiting period and conversation was 1 hour, 12 minutes. I believe all conversations were recorded.

On Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, I received notification that Toyota Financial Services had notified all credit reporting agencies that my account was delinquent. As of this date, XXXX  had not called me back with an answer on the total waiver by Toyota Financial of all illegal charges they were accruing on my account. The reported late charge was {$10.00}.

That same day, I again called Toyota Financial Services and spoke with XXXX. She advised the account had a late fee of {$110.00}, not {$210.00}. She couldnt explain the charge and discrepancy in the amount set forth in the XX/XX/XXXX letter. I insisted that I speak to a supervisor. XXXX   placed me on hold and after 10 minutes, another agent, XXXX, got on the line. XXXX could not explain my account and the differing charges.

XXXX placed me on hold and after waiting 30 minutes, I spoke with XXXX, the lead agent. Yet, again, XXXX, had no explanation for the charges on my account. I asked to speak with XXXX. XXXX  wrote down my phone number and told me she would contact XXXX  and have him call me as she should have done previously. At XXXX XXXX. EST, I received a call from XXXX. Toyota Financial Services closes at XXXX XXXX. EST.

XXXX advised that he had waived {$100.00} of the illegal charges but needed to speak with his supervisor to obtain authorization to waive all of the illegal charges. XXXX placed me on hold for hour before telling me he was still waiting to hear from his supervisor. By this time, it was XXXX XXXX. EST. I asked XXXX  to confirm a call back telephone number in case he and I were disconnected, yet again. XXXX   confirmed the call back telephone number of ( XXXX ) XXXX.

Sure enough, I was disconnected by XXXX. When I called the number back he had given me, I was unable to get through to a live person without an extension number. XXXX  had not given me his extension number. The recording stated that without an extension number, I would not be able to speak with anyone. I believe XXXX  intentionally provided me with incomplete contact information.

On Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, I again called Toyota Financial Services, placed on hold, and then hung up on.

I called back and spoke with XXXX. Finally, someone who had answers. XXXX explained the fee was an accrued late charge from the very first XX/XX/XXXX payment. I told him that was not possible since the account was set up for automatic payments. I also told him that I had never received notice in six years of any late charges. The monies Toyota Financial Services were attempting to collect were illegally accruing over a six-year period without notification to the consumer, me!

Like the previous six representatives before him who I had spoken with, XXXX could not understand where the {$210.00} amount came from that was identified in the XX/XX/XXXX letter.

XXXX acknowledged I would not have been notified of any late charges because of the automatic payments. He confirmed that {$100.00} had been waived by XXXX  and stated there was an additional {$16.00} late charge that had just been added to the account since my first contact on XX/XX/XXXX. Rather than continue the fight that was costing me hundreds of dollars in lost income disputing this account, XXXX agreed to waive the {$16.00} late charge if I would pay {$10.00}. I immediately paid the dispute {$10.00} that day to Toyota Financial Services.

XXXX  also stated he would put in a request that Toyota Financial Services withdraw any adverse complaint to all credit reporting agencies.

On Saturday, XX/XX/XXXX, I received further notifications that Toyota Financial Services had reported delinquent payments to all credit reporting agencies.

On Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, I received a XX/XX/XXXX letter from Toyota Financial Services that stated it would not withdraw its adverse credit reporting to all credit reporting agencies.

As you can see from my timeline, Toyota Financial Services made illegal, accrued late charges that it never notified me about over the course of our six-year installment contract. They improperly reported delinquent payments to all credit reporting agencies and have refused to reverse their actions.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief