Consumer complaint received 2018-01-18
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: VA
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Investigation took more than 30 days

Complaint:
In XXXX 2017, I purchased a new vehicle which required a loan balance payoff from the dealership to the current finance company, Ally, on the vehicle I was trading in. When obtaining the payoff amount via phone, the representative was made aware of the new purchase, and it was agreed, of course, if the deal did not go through to completion, regular loan payments would resume ( there are no late payments recorded during my Ally auto loan ). The only correspondence received from Ally after that phone call was the letter stating the payoff of the loan was complete. 

When applying for a mortgage in XXXX, it was noted that the last payment on the Ally auto loan was recorded as late. I contacted the finance company, I believe on XXXX XXXX, to inquire about it. At that time I was told the payoff from the dealership came later than the original 10 day turnaround, which made the last payment late. At no time did I receive notification of the late process by either the new car dealership or from Ally. 

I then asked if Ally could remove the late payment, as they were notified of the payoff yet did not inform me of any tardiness in payment, especially with my good payment history. Additionally, they were aware a payoff was in route. I was told the request would be escalated to their credit review department. The reference number for that call is XXXX. I did not receive any written notification of their decision. 

When I started the underwriting process of my mortgage in XXXX XXXX, the late payment was still noted on my credit report. I made multiple attempts via phone to Ally to obtain a resolution. Each time I received the same answer of we will escalate it to the credit department. When I asked for written verification of the XXXX decision, no agent could find any such notifications on my account. 

During my first call on XXXX XXXX, I was told to expect a faxed letter in 48 hours ( call reference number XXXX ). When the letter did not come by XXXX XXXX, I called again. That was when I was told that not only could the reference number not be found, but that the information given to me on the XXXX was incorrect, as any letters could only be mailed ( in 3 to 5 business days ). At that point, I asked to speak with a supervisor with a promised call back that day ( call reference number XXXX ). I did not receive a returned phone call. 

Since the returned call did not come as expected, I called yet again on the next business day, XXXX XXXX. This is when I was told a supervisor phone call request was placed on my account, but would take 48 hours from the time of request ( no reference number required as no new action was needed per the agent ). While the agent had no new or different news to give me, that day I received a fax of a Credit Reference Letter ( also dated XXXX XXXX ) which indeed showed the last payment recorded as late. I decided to wait for my call from a supervisor. 

On XXXX XXXX, I received a faxed cover sheet ( just the cover ) with no other information attached. I attempted to contact the listed agents number as provided on the cover ; however the telephone extension was only 5 digits, and it required 7. ( Apparently Ally updated the phone system but did not update the listed contact information yet ). Since there was also an email address, I used that instead. While waiting for a reply, the Ally supervisor finally called. It was only then that I was told my original request ( in XXXX ) was denied, and the late payment removal would not be reconsidered. Additionally, he accused me of having this information already, which he states another agent told me verbally as evidenced by notations in their system, and he admitted Ally did not have any letters on file notifying me of the late payment while waiting for the payoff from the dealership. 

On that same day, while I did not receive a reply via email from the email I drafted, I did receive another fax. It was a letter dated XXXX XXXX, which was the result of the investigation in which my original late payment request was denied. 

The bottom line is I am requesting Ally remove the negative remark of a late last payment ( XXXX XXXX ) of my auto loan account with them. Not only was the company aware of the pending payoff from the dealership, but it did not alert me to the late payment status by writing, and instead chose to place a derogatory status on my credit report. Additionally, once Ally was notified of the error, it did not follow through by ease of customer service or proper investigation and reporting. 

Thank you for your assistance in the positive resolution of this matter.

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 non-monetary relief