Consumer complaint received 2020-09-01
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Getting a loan or lease
Sub-issue: Credit denial

Complaint:
USAA discriminated against me as a homemaker, and ruined my excellent credit in one day, by deceiving me and sweet talking me into applying not once, but twice for a small used car loan! 
I am a XXXX year old homemaker, mom and grandma. I have excellent credit. I have been married for years. My husband and I own our home. We have a good, solid income with little debt. 
I thought I could trust USAA, as our cars are insured through them. We've been customers with them for years. 
USAA kept information from me concerning " verifiable income '' for the small car loan I was applying for. 
You see, because I am a woman and a homemaker, I was discriminated against, when it came to getting approved for a car loan, because my income comes through my husband 's job. USAA treats me as if MY job as a homemaker means nothing. I had to research this information on my own, after being denied twice for the small car loan, as USAA didn't give me any indication during the loan process, that my " homemaker '' status may hurt me when applying for their loan.

In other words, USAA thinks my husband 's income is HIS money and NOT MINE. How much more sexist and biased can this get?

Because of USAA 's discrimination against me as a homemaker and failure to tell me about possible issues with " verifiable income, '' I now have two hard inquiries and two denials for a car loan on my  credit report. I'll be lucky if I can get credit for a grilled cheese sandwich now. 
I researched and found out hard inquiries stay on your credit report for TWO YEARS! My good credit is shot. 
I currently have a small car loan with USAA that's almost paid off. All payments have been made on time. I pay ALL my bills on time. 
USAA seemed very eager to take my loan information. They made me feel confident I'd be approved, NO problem. 
I was trying to buy my daughter a nice used SUV, as she recently had a baby. 
The employees at USAA made the loan process sound quick and easy. They told me " they could take my personal information and application over the phone. '' I found out later, from my own research, I could have done the entire loan process online, without sharing my highly personal information with a USAA employee who was working from her home computer. 
USAA never told me I could do the entire loan process online. 
Not once did any USAA employee tell me about any possible issues that may arise in getting a small car loan, because I am a homemaker. I got conned. 
I've been sick to my stomach all day. I couldn't sleep last night. All I could think of is that I am XXXX year old woman and my credit is now shot, thanks to the slick job USAA perpetrated against me. 
Why is it, I am treated by USAA as if MY life is not valuable? Why does my excellent credit mean nothing to USAA? My husband 's income and money is MY money too. Why does USAA discriminate against a homemaker like me? 
After denying my small used car loan not once, but twice, I was contacted by a man named XXXX. XXXX called himself a supervisor/ manager in the USAA loan department XXXX 
Here 's the kicker. I asked XXXX, the loan department manager at  USAA, if he knew how long " hard inquiries '' lasted on a credit report? He told me he had NO idea how long a hard inquiry lasted on a credit report. I had to educate XXXX how long hard inquiries affect a person 's credit. XXXX didn't seem to care. 
Why on earth would USAA hire a guy like XXXX to head up their car loan/ credit department , with such little knowledge of simple credit terminology such as " hard inquiries '' and how loans work? 
XXXX 's lacking loan knowledge, coupled with the other USAA employees lacking loan and credit knowledge, only added to my credit being destroyed. 
If USAA thinks for one minute I'd intentionally ruin my good credit by applying for a car loan twice in one day, once as a cosigner with my daughter and then again on my own, just so I could be DENIED both times, they've got rocks in their heads. 
I think my loan should have been approved. There is NO WAY I should have been denied this small car loan. And, it's almost criminal how USAA shredded my credit in a single day and now refuse to do anything to remove the two hard inquiries from my credit report.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation