Consumer complaint received 2018-03-29
Company: FORD MOTOR CREDIT CO.
State: CA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Consumer Financial Protection Bureau XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, IA XXXX RE : Lease on XXXX Ford XXXX XXXX XXXX To whom it may concern, I am writing this letter as a formal complaint against Ford Motor Credit. It is my belief that Ford Motor Credit is knowingly providing negative and false information to the consumer credit reporting agencies and may be retaliating against me for a prior CFPB complaint submitted ( ID  XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ). This action has caused me damages, the least of them being a lower XXXXredit score.

This matter is about a lease agreement I had with Ford, I was a co-borrower for XXXX XXXX XXXX who filed for Bankruptcy during the lease. As I did not file bankruptcy, I continued to make the lease payments on time every month and even paid the lease off early as the attached evidence will prove. Despite this, Ford Motor Credit is reporting the lease as a paid charge off, which is completely untrue. A dispute was opened with all 3 credit reporting agencies which Ford responded as reporting correctly. Clearly, as my complaint will show, there was no research done as required by the FCRA, leading to my conclusion that Ford is acting willfully and unlawfully. 

The following is a timeline of the events that put me in my current position : XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX Ford in XXXX TX where the lease agreement was signed asking what I needed to do to trade in my lease early. I found a XXXX XXXX that was exactly what I wanted and wanted to get out of the lease due to the problems XXXX XXXX Bankruptcy was causing as it related to communication with Ford Motor Credit ( see prior complaint ). I was told that as long as the remaining lease payments were made, there would be no problem with turning the car in, I would be responsible for damage and excess miles, and I can turn it in at any Ford dealer in the United States. 

XX/XX/XXXX Traded in the leased XXXX Ford XXXX to XXXX XXXX Ford in  XXXX, CA Attached are Exhibits 1, 2, & 3.

Exhibit 1 Vehicle return notification indicating under general information that I am returning vehicle and paying the remaining payments due at the time of return. Line O indicates an amount due on the lease of {$1100.00}. The line immediately below that asks if the dealer collected money from me, Yes is checked. If yes, the amount. {$1100.00} is printed on the return form.

Exhibit 2 is the completed Odometer Disclosure Statement signed by me and the dealer I returned the car at. This form is signed and dated XX/XX/XXXX Exhibit 3 is the Vehicle inspection report ( 2 pages ) indicating that there is {$0.00} ( XXXX ) due for any excess wear and tear. The miles were approximately XXXX miles under the lease allowance. This car was in fantastic condition. 


XX/XX/XXXX I received the letter ( Exhibit 4 ) from Ford dated XX/XX/XXXX stating that the previously mentioned Odometer statement was not received. A second Odometer statement ( exhibit 5 ) and a notice of sale ( exhibit 6 ) was attached to the letter which I completed, again, and sent back into Ford. Exhibit 7 is the FAX confirmation of this. 

XXXX/XXXX/XXXX I received a billing statement from Ford ( Exhibit 8 ). The bill was for the {$1100.00} that I paid at the dealership. I immediately called Ford Motor Credit at XXXX XXXX and was told that because there is a Bankruptcy on the lease ( not my bankruptcy ) I would have to speak to the Bankruptcy department. Since I have been getting this run around for some time, I just called the Bankruptcy department and spoke with XXXX XXXX. He said that he had not been able to speak with the dealership. I faxed XXXX the proof that the {$1100.00} was paid and XXXX replied that You are responsible until Ford receives the {$1100.00} even though you clearly paid it. 

XX/XX/XXXX I called the Ford dealership that the lease was turned into to discover that the check had not been sent yet and was promised that the check was going to be overnighted to Ford Motor Credit. 

XX/XX/XXXX After several conversations with XXXX at Ford Motor Credits Bankruptcy department, I decided to write a letter to XXXX XXXX Ford to see about the {$1100.00} payoff that they promised to send on XX/XX/XXXX ( Exhibit 9 ). XXXX at Ford Motor Credit had reassured me that as long as the payment was received before XX/XX/XXXX I would not suffer any credit damage and that the payment would be posted as of the date of receipt. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX I received a call from XXXX at XXXX XXXX Ford , she stated that the payoff was indeed sent and she would have the sales XXXX call me as soon as he got in. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Ford called and said the tracking number for the {$1100.00} they set to Ford Motor Credit was showing delivered. The information is : XXXX tracking # XXXX. 
Signed for by XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX - I called XXXX but the Bankruptcy department was already closed for the day. I faxed the tracking information to XXXX XXXX so he could locate and post the payment. ( Exhibit 10 ). I also sent XXXX at Ford Motor Credit a copy of the fedex label ( Exhibit 11 ) and a delivery confirmation as well showing the item delivered at the date and time specified above. ( Exhibit 12 ). 

XX/XX/XXXX Also known as The due date. XXXX I called and spoke with XXXX XXXX at Ford Motor Credit who stated that he started research THAT DAY ( XX/XX/XXXX ) because the payment still had not posted. Again XXXX stated that the check will be backdated to the date it was received and stated that I might want to just pay the bill. I told XXXX that the proof of delivery was sent and it is ridiculous to ask me to pay an additional {$1100.00} when I sent him proof of delivery with date, Time and the person that signed for it. 
XX/XX/XXXX XXXX I called Ford Motor Credit and spoke with XXXX XXXX again. XXXX stated that he was able to get a copy of the check they received and was checking to see if it was cashed or not. XXXX said he goes home in 1 hour and asked me to call him before XXXX XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX PST I called Ford Motor Credit and was greeted by a message that the office is closed. Faxed XXXX XXXX to please call me! ( Exhibit 13 ) XX/XX/XXXX Confirmed payment was received and posted. Considered this completed as I fulfilled my obligations and resolved the matter with very little assistance from Ford Motor Credit. It is almost as if they were trying to jam me up by causing credit issues but the issue was seemingly resolved so I went on about my life. 

XX/XX/XXXX I received an alert from my credit watch program that there was potentially negative information on my Credit Report. I pulled my Annual Free Credit report to find that Ford Motor Credit is reporting this Lease as a Paid Charge Off. Since this is an obvious error, I disputed this with all 3 credit bureaus. I was under the impression that a full investigation was to take place and I was sure the negative mark would be removed as I made sure Ford was 100 % paid in full when the lease was still open and active. 

XX/XX/XXXX I received a message from XXXX that Ford Motor Credit verified the lease as a paid charge off.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief