Consumer complaint received 2018-08-14
Company: BRite Financial Services, Inc.
State: MI
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Lease
Issue: Problems at the end of the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Problem when attempting to purchase vehicle at the end of the lease

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I e-mailed Brite Financial requesting a payoff amount for me to purchase my vehicle at the end of my lease. They quoted me a payoff in the amount of {$5100.00}, minus the {$1000.00} security deposit, i.e., {$4100.00}. According to Brite, this payoff amount was good for 10 calendar days. 

Prior to the XXXX, I had called Brite for a payoff and could not reach anyone because their customer service line was down. I also went in person to a Carite location ( Carite being the dealership that I went to to lease the vehicle, which dealership finances via Brite ) to ask for the payoff. They then e-mailed Brite to inform them I was trying to finalize the end of my lease. They also told me they were unable to reach Brite on  the phone due to the same phone issues I had already faced. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( the credit union I am using to purchase the vehicle ) e-mailed me to advise they had received the title and payoff from Brite. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke to XXXX XXXX ( the credit union I am going through to purchase the vehicle ) on the phone, and they said Brite quoted them a payoff of {$4800.00}, not the {$4100.00} I had been quoted by Brite on the XXXX. I e-mailed Brite that day ( XX/XX/XXXX ) asking them why they had added {$720.00} to the payoff they had quoted me on the XXXX. Brite responded to me that day advising that if XXXX will be the new lien holder, the payoff amount will be {$4800.00} minus the {$1000.00} security deposit, i.e. {$3800.00}. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX called Brite to try to confirm the actual payoff amount and the representative e-mailed me to tell me she was disconnected after waiting on hold for 10 minutes and was unable to confirm the amount. I called Brite around XXXX XXXX that day and left a message requesting they call me back as soon as possible. I then sent them an e-mail requesting the actual payoff amount, as I had been quoted several contradictory figures for the payoff by Brite.

I should note that I have been trying to resolve this issue and finalize the loan for two weeks and in that time the Brite customer service phone system has been out of service. I have only been able to correspond via e-mail with a specific representative and she has consistently failed to respond in a timely fashion. Additionally, representatives from Brite have called me to tell me the end of the lease needs to be addressed as soon as possible. The payoff quote sent to me by Brite on XX/XX/XXXX ( with a payoff date of XX/XX/XXXX ) does not reflect the {$1000.00} security deposit the representative at Brite said would be subtracted from the payoff. The quote also included language suggesting late fees may be assessed for failure to complete the payoff by or on XX/XX/XXXX. Despite my timely and diligent efforts to clarify this issue, I am being threatened with late fees and Brite is  refusing to resolve the issue in accordance with their own payoff deadline.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation