Consumer complaint received 2023-07-11
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: FL
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Title loan
Issue: Problem with the payoff process at the end of the loan

Complaint:
Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to file a formal complaint against Sheffield Financial regarding a recent transaction and their negligent miscommunication and breach of duty of care. I kindly request your assistance in conducting an investigation into this matter and seeking a resolution that upholds consumer rights and protects against deceptive practices. 

I provide the following details related to my complaint : Background Information : Date of initial loan agreement with Sheffield Financial : XX/XX/XXXX Loan account number : XXXX Description of the transaction : I financed a motorcycle purchase through Sheffield Financial with the understanding that the loan would be paid in full upon receipt of an XXXX  transfer from the buyer. The buyer took possession of the motorcycle based on Sheffield Financials ' communication on XX/XX/XXXX that if I did not hear back from them by XX/XX/XXXX that the check had cleared and I was " good to go '', I was informed by the bank that " no news was good news '' and any reasonable person would have believed that they were telling me that I was safe to hand over the motorcycle to the buyer.

Timeline of Events : XX/XX/XXXX : Loan agreement signed with Sheffield Financial. 

XX/XX/XXXX : ACH transfer from the buyer was submitted and deposited. Sheffield Financial informed me directly on a recorded call that " no news was good news '' and that I would only hear from them if the check bounces, and that if I did not hear from them by XX/XX/XXXX then that means the check most likely cleared. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Based on my recorded discussions with Sheffield Financial and information they provided to me, I handed over the motorcycle to the buyer thinking everything was ok. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I logged onto my Sheffield Financial account and saw that the check had seemingly bounced, no one from the bank contacted me at all to notify what had happened, I had to call them to understand. This was after them telling me on XX/XX/XXXX that " no news was good news ''. The buyer committed fraud and neither sending or receiving bank has given me any information how they were both fooled by a scam artist that was either using fake or stolen information to submit a {$10000.00} ACH transfer to purchase this bike from me. There is an active investigation in process by the XXXX Police Department here in Florida. This is a case of Grand Theft Auto by Fraud and potential Identify Theft. Neither bank protected me, and my bank ( Sheffield Financial ) breached their duty of care and misled me into thinking I was ok to give the buyer the bike on XX/XX/XXXX. They have given me no indication as to what went wrong and instead are blaming me for giving the buyer the bike. Even the local police department admitted that the bank has to take some liability in this case, and they even advised me to sue Sheffield Financial in this instance. Sheffield Financial will not let me have any information from any of the recorded calls and are blaming the vicitim leaving me on the hook to pay back {$10000.00} for the remaining balance of the loan on a bike that was stolen. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Contacted by Sheffield Financial, stating that their internal investigation concluded that I am still responsible for the loan balance. They argued that they did not specifically tell me the check had cleared but instead said " at this point the check has not bounced ''. Ignoring the fact that on XX/XX/XXXX they told me " No news was good news '' and that I would only hear from them IF the check bounces, and that if I don't hear back by XX/XX/XXXX that means the check most likely cleared. They told me on a recorded call that it was safe to wait till that date to hand over the bike. They blamed me, took zero responsibility and have provided me with no information on what went wrong and how they and the sending bank were both fooled. 

I truly believe that this is a case of Negligent Misrepresentation and Breach of Duty of care. Any Reasonable Person would have taken what the bank told me and translated that as being safe to give the buyer the motorcycle on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Please let me know if any further information or documentation is required from my end to facilitate the investigation. I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to a prompt response. 

Thank you for your assistance in this regard. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation