Consumer complaint received 2022-10-17
Company: Mercedes Benz Financial Services
State: FL
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Lease
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Problem with additional products or services purchased with the loan

Complaint:
I am filing this claim with the hope that you can help me end a very stressful, egregious, and fraudulent run around that I have been enduring for over four XXXX XXXX XXXX months from Mercedes Benz Financial ( MBF ), Mercedes Benz USA ( XXXX ), Mercedes Benz XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 

A car that I purchased from XXXX  on XXXX XX/XX/2022 broke down on me on XXXX XX/XX/2022 ( less than a month after having it ) while I was in XXXX XXXX with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  children in the car with me. The dashboard went dark and the top would not go back up. It was over 90 degrees and we were stuck sitting in the hot XXXX Florida sun with no protection/covering for hours. 

Mercedes has now had the car for over 4 months, has not repaired it, and has not provided me with a loaner car or any alternative transportation. YET, they continue to charge me for the car that I have not had for over 4 months. And to make matters even worse, THEY HAVE REPORTED ME DELINQUENT TO THE CREDIT AGENCIES FOR PAYMENTS ON A CAR THAT THEY HAVE HAD IN THEIR POSSESSION FOR OVER 4 MONTHS. IN ADDITION, THEY HAVE NEVER SENT ME A SINGLE BILL, DESPITE ME GIVING THEM MY CORRECT ADDRESS MORE THAN FOUR ( 4 ) TIMES SINCE MAY WHEN I GOT THE CAR. Apparently, the XXXX sales representative had not put my apartment number on the paperwork even though I gave it to him at the time of the sale. I have called XXXX several times over the past 4 months and given them my full address, including my apartment number. I have documented each time I called. YET, THEY DID NOT SEND ME A BILL FROM XXXX TO XXXX. So, even if I wanted to pay for a car that they have had in their possession, I had not received a single bill to know where and when payment should be sent. THIS IS IN VIOLATION OF THE FAIR CREDIT AND REPORTING ACT. 

The first statement XXXX finally sent me was in XX/XX/2022. At that point, they had reported me as delinquent to the credit agencies for a couple of months. Mind you, I spoke to XXXX and XXXX in XXXX ( and XXXX ), informing them that the dealership had the vehicle since XXXX XXXX. They told me that they would not report anything to the credit agencies while the car was being repaired and in the possession of the dealership. 

Despite having called all of these Mercedes organizations several times and even going back to the XXXX  dealership, escalating to the general manager, filing a complaint with XXXX and the XXXX XXXX XXXX and informing XXXX  that I have not had the car for over 4 months, no one at Mercedes has resolved the problem that I am being charged for a vehicle that I do not have. They hide behind the corporate veil, stating that they are all separate entities and can not control what the other entity does or does not do. They acknowledge that I have not had the car or services that I contracted to but insist that I have to pay for a car that I have not had and that has been in their possession for over 4 months. At this rate, they could just hold on to the car indefinitely and force me to pay for something I do not have. This is egregious! 

FROM THE DAY THE CAR BROKE DOWN ( XXXX XX/XX/2022 ), I HAVE REPEATEDLY REQUESTED THAT THE CONTRACT BE CANCELED, MY DEPOSIT BE RETURNED, AND THE CAR NOTE BE REMOVED FROM MY CREDIT REPORT because the car should not have broken down less than a month after having it. Moreover, the service manager at XXXX told me that the car has a defect and that XXXX  knew this at the time they sold the car to me and that XXXX should have fixed the defect prior to selling the car to me. I have this conversation recorded. 

When the car broke down, I called the sales rep at XXXX who sold the car to me and he said to me : What do you want me to do? Go to mechanic school? I am not a mechanic. Naturally, I was quite taken aback by his response, but needed to stay focused on getting assistance for the kids and me. So, I asked him who I should call and he said XXXX XXXX Assistance XXXX I asked for the number. He said he did it have it ; that I should hit the SOS button in the car. Mind you, I told him several times that I had two children with me and we were stranded in the hot sun. 

I hit the SOS button to reach XXXX XXXX assistance and waited over an hour on the phone before a representative came on. He transferred me to Customer Care and hangs up before a person came on. A message comes on that says Customer Care is closed. So, I called back again and I had to wait another 45 minutes before someone finally came on the phone. During this time, the heat was so extreme that I started to faint, and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX had to come to attend to me. I am obtaining the report of this incident from XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

Once the tow truck came, I was told that my car needed to be brought to XXXX since the top would not go up and XXXX  does not have a covering, but XXXX does. 

No one from XXXX called me for days after the car was towed. I had to reach out to them, and when I did, they said they did not know where the vehicle was. Finally, four days later, the service person at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX reached out to me and told me about the defect and that it was not under warranty, and that they were having difficulty getting XXXX XXXX to take the car back. 

The XXXX XXXX dealership has also lied several times to the XXXX XXXX XXXX  and me, saying they had not heard from me in weeks. I called them and XXXX XXXX numerous times after the car was towed. I even went to the XXXX XXXX dealership on Saturday, XXXX of XXXX to get my purchase paperwork because when I looked in the folder that the sales representative had given to me, I did not find my purchase documents. Instead, I found the recall papers that show the car had been recalled less than two ( 2 ) months prior to them selling the car to me. The sales rep never told me about the recall and did not provide me with the car fax report or any proper paperwork. Also, when I went to the XXXX XXXX dealership on the XXXX of XXXX, they still did not have the car ; they said they had to locate the car, but believed it was still at the XXXX XXXX dealership. 

At this point, over four ( 4 ) months later, I do not want to deal with these XXXX XXXX dealerships, as they have been unprofessional, deceitful, and unethical. As you will see, there have been over 160 complaints about the XXXX XXXX dealership in one year and over 300 in three years with the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX. They engage in deceptive practices and should not be licensed to do business in Florida or anywhere. 

I do not want that vehicle because it should not have broken down on me less than a month of having it, and I also do not trust any so call repair that the dealer purports to make given the deceptive practices that they have engaged in.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation