Consumer complaint received 2021-10-07
Company: Exeter Finance Corp.
State: FL
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Billing problem

Complaint:
On the afternoon of XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Exeter Finance twice in regards to my loan contract with my vehicle ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ). I spoke with two separate individuals ( XXXX calls ) at XXXX separate times on recorded lines. During the first with the first representative, she stated some information I'd never been told by an Exeter Finance representative since I've been in contact with them regarding the maturity of my account, my hardships and payment options for the past few months. Among other things, she stated that unless I paid the full remaining balance left on my loan by XX/XX/XXXX, I would be penalized by the debt being posted on my credit and staying there for 10 years. I asked her why is this the first time I'm hearing of this ; when I've been in contact with Exeter Finance for the past few months regarding my account and maturity date. She did not give me a straight answer. The phone call ended with me being very upset and confused because I feel like I was toyed with and given misleading information. 
Due to a banking issue with my card and payment, I contacted Exeter Finance again and spoke with a representative by the name of XXXX XXXX ( employee id : XXXX ). After handling my initial request, I explained to XXXX what the other representative said during the previous phone call, regarding my maturity, remaining balance and credit report. After telling her, XXXX apologized multiple times for the incorrect and misleading information given to me. She was genuinely confused as to why another representative would give incorrect information and that Exeter Finance does not scare their customers into making payments. She also stated multiple times that they ( representatives ) " aren't trained '' to provide customers with that type information. She stated representatives aren't trained to coerce customers into making payments by stating incorrect and misleading information. She mentioned there's another department that handles the in-depth process on maturity accounts. So, the previous representative was incorrect and misleading in what she said. She also stated my account reaching it's maturity status is still pretty new and that she's seen multiple cases where maturity dates have long passed and status ' ran long after mine. And those customers did not receive or were not threatened with a credit debt would last 10 years on their credit reports. During the phone call I explained to XXXX what I discussed with other representatives in the past couple months regarding my remaining balance. Which was : Due to me not having $ XXXX to give Exeter Finance out right ( due to hardships during this pandemic ), I could still make payments until the balance is paid off. By law, Exeter Finance will continue to report to the credit bureau. And being that my maturity date has passed and the full balance is due, the reports will state my payments are late until the remaining balance is paid in full. That was the agreement made. There was nothing else stated to me in the past beyond the above. After telling XXXX this, I asked her what were my options now, since I'm being told different information by different representatives. She stated what's on my file is as is. Meaning I can still keep making the payments until the remaining balance is paid. Exeter Finance will still have to report payments to the credit bureau as late being that the maturity date has passed. XXXX apologized again for the incorrect and misleading information and assured me that I could still continue the agreement previously set in stone. Although XXXX helped subside some of the anxiety of this situation, I am still very upset and uneasy that this company will allow this type of behavior! The first representative used the information she said she had to try to coerce me into making full payment even after explaining my situation to her. This type of behavior is unethical and against the law! All calls are monitored and recorded every time I call Exeter Finance. This isn't the first time I've called Exeter Finance and received incorrect or misleading information by one of the phone representatives. It's not fair to me or other customers who trust these individuals to be ethical and integral in how they handles accounts and agreements.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation