Consumer complaint received 2019-02-04
Company: NISSAN MOTOR ACCEPTANCE COMPANY LLC
State: CA
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Lease
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Problem with fees charged

Complaint:
Below is a summary of events involving our account, detailing how Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation ( NMAC ) failed to timely invoice our account for amounts owed, resulting in avoidable late fees / charges from a third party, as well as duplicative and excess charges from NMAC. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, my wife and I drove our leased vehicle through Texas, incurring tolls of {$15.00}. The XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) subsequently mailed a bill for that amount to the XXXX. XXXX address of NMAC, on XX/XX/XXXX. Neither my wife nor I received a bill from NMAC, on our billing statements or separately, for this amount. On XX/XX/XXXX, the XXXX sent a Notice of Nonpayment to NMAC at the same XXXX XXXX address ; for the original amount owed of {$15.00} plus a {$10.00} administrative fee. The amount owed on this notice was invoiced to our account four months later, on our statement dated XX/XX/XXXX. NMAC added a {$2.00} administrative charge to that bill for a total of {$27.00}, which was promptly paid on XX/XX/XXXX. In addition to adding the amount to our statement, NMAC mailed us a letter notifying us of the reason for the charge and included a copy of the Notice of XXXX. 

In reference to case / reference # XXXX, I am disputing all amounts paid on the referenced account in relation to charges from the XXXX above {$15.00}, and request an immediate refund, on the following basis : The XXXX mailed to NMAC a billing statement for {$15.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. NMAC failed to take timely action to pay the bill in full prior to the due date. In addition, NMAC failed to notify me or my wife of the original charge, preventing us from settling the amount in a timely manner. When NMAC did notify us of the charge, they only did so after late fees had been imposed and well after the original due date. NMACs negligence not only resulted in late fees / charges and wasted time for me and my wife to resolve this matter, but also put us in legal limbo with the XXXX. An unpaid traffic citation could have resulted in additional fines / penalties if either of us had been in the state of Texas, as well as other legal ramifications. This is a matter that XXXX must take seriously not only for the financial protection of consumers, but also because of the legal implications. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, NMAC sent my wife and me a second letter notifying us of a traffic citation from the XXXX. The letter included a Third Notice of Nonpayment from the XXXX, with an amount due of {$50.00}, comprised of the original charge of {$15.00}, the {$10.00} fee from the original Notice of Nonpayment, and an additional {$25.00} fee. This amount has also been added to our account billing statements. Not only was this strange because I believed I had settled the matter when we paid {$27.00} in XX/XX/XXXX, but it was also strange that this was the third Notice of Nonpayment from the XXXX ; yet it was only the second piece of correspondence that had been forwarded to us by NMAC. 

On investigation, I found that the XXXX had mailed a Second Notice of Nonpayment, for an amount owed of {$50.00}, on XX/XX/XXXX, to NMAC at the same XXXX XXXX address as the previous two notices. This notice was never forwarded to my wife nor me by NMAC, nor was the amount owed added to our billing statements. I then found that the Third Notice of Nonpayment, which my wife and I were forwarded along with the letter from NMAC on XX/XX/XXXX, was actually provided by the XXXX to NMAC on XX/XX/XXXX, again four months before it was forwarded to me for payment. I found this information, as well as the information related to the original bill and the original Notice of Nonpayment, by contacting the XXXX directly on XX/XX/XXXX. I also learned, from contacting the XXXX, no further amounts are owed in relation to the toll or any associated citations / fees after XX/XX/XXXX, the date that NMAC sent a check to the XXXX for the amount of {$27.00}. 

In relation to reference / case # XXXX, I am disputing the full amount of {$50.00}, and for the record I will not be paying this amount as long as it shows as due on our account, for the following reasons : as the attachments A, B, D, and E clearly show, the charge of {$50.00} is in relation to the same charges referenced above which were paid promptly by me on XX/XX/XXXX, after I was notified of the charge by NMAC. NMACs failure to promptly notify me of the charges and take appropriate action to prevent late fees / additional charges prior to that date is not my responsibility, and stems back to NMACs egregious failure to notify me of the original amount owed of {$15.00} back in XX/XX/XXXX. In addition, the XXXX recognizes the amount of {$27.00} paid by check on XX/XX/XXXX and does not show any further amounts owed. For NMAC to collect an additional charge from me of {$50.00}, multiplying amounts already paid, for the supposed purpose of paying amounts that are in fact not owed, is plain thievery. 

It is needless to say that I am extremely disappointed in NMAC for the clear negligence and failure to act responsibly in this case. I contacted NMAC by telephone twice on XX/XX/XXXX in an attempt to dispute these charges and resolve the matter. In the first instance, the NMAC representative was combative and refused to assist in the situation other than a vague commitment to an investigation ; furthermore, the representative would not commit to taking the same steps that I took today in contacting the XXXX directly to determine the root cause of the charges and follow the trail of correspondence and payments. The second representative was helpful, providing me with the case numbers and assuring me that she was escalating a complaint on my behalf.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation