Consumer complaint received 2023-05-30
Company: NISSAN MOTOR ACCEPTANCE COMPANY LLC
State: NY
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Lease
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Billing problem

Complaint:
I am writing to bring to your attention a concerning and frustrating situation that I have been experiencing with Nissan regarding a disputed payment. I believe that Nissan 's handling of this matter has been unreasonable and unjust, and I am seeking your assistance in resolving this issue. 

XX/XX/XXXX : A payment of {$1500.00} from my XXXX XXXX account was sent to Nissan to cover my XXXX balance of {$500.00}, XXXX balance of {$500.00}, and miscellaneous fees. 

XX/XX/XXXX : The payment was returned due to insufficient funds in my account. 

XX/XX/XXXX : The payment was retried and successful. This payment should have zeroed out my account balance. Although this payment cleared, it left my account with a negative balance. 

XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX XXXX  transitioned to XXXX XXXX. Despite the transition, my account/routing number remained unchanged My negative balance carried over to XXXX XXXX  XXXX 

XX/XX/XXXX : A direct deposit from Airbnb was credited to my account, effectively covering the negative balance resulting from the payment to Nissan. Upon being informed by Nissan that they had not received the payment that was sent XX/XX/XXXX, I cooperated fully and engaged in their payment investigation process. They requested that I submit my XXXX bank statement as proof of payment. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I promptly provided the XXXX bank statement. 
To my surprise, I did not receive any communication regarding the status of the investigation. To show good faith I made a payment for my XXXX balance of {$500.00} on XX/XX/XXXX and inquired about the status of my payment investigation and was told to call back. I received an email receipt for my payment of {$500.00} for XXXX, then the next day received another email receipt for a payment of {$480.00}, a payment I did not initiate or authorize. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I inquired about the status of the payment investigation and was informed the payment investigation was opened incorrectly. To correct this, they offered to open a second payment investigation and required me to resubmit my XXXX bank statement along with my XXXX bank statement, despite the payment being made in XXXX. 
I questioned the rationale behind this request, to which Nissan claimed it was necessary in case the payment was returned to my account. I explained that I would have to wait until the end of XXXX for my XXXX bank statements to be ready. In an attempt to provide some evidence, I resubmitted my XXXX bank statement along with a screenshot of my account balance from the mobile app. 

Throughout this ordeal, I have been subjected to persistent harassment from Nissan, urging me to make the payment while they continued to search for the missing funds. In desperation, I consulted my bank to explore the possibility of a reversal claim. Unfortunately, my bank clarified that they could not facilitate a reversal since the payment was authorized, and their policy only allows for reversals in cases of fraudulent payments. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I followed up with Nissan in regard to the payment investigation. I was told they completed the investigation and could not locate the funds. In addition, the agent mentioned there was not enough activity on my XXXX bank statement and insinuated that my documents were incredulous. I explained that the lack of activity was due to the payment being made from my secondary bank account, not my primary. I suggested to arranging a call with Nissan and XXXX Bank, but their response was dismissive, suggesting that even if my bank confirmed the payment, they simply did not have it and insisted that I make the payment again. Despite the agent 's comment, I visited XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX, NY and arranged a call between the bank manager, XXXX XXXX, and Nissan. XXXX XXXX reviewed my account and confirmed to Nissan that the payment was made and not returned. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Nissan did not take action after my bank confirmed the payment. 
I re-visited XXXX XXXX  in XXXX XXXX and spoke with banker, XXXX XXXX and arranged a second call with Nissan with my bank on the line. During the call, the agent from Nissan offered to re-open a third payment investigation and required us to send over XXXX bank statement and XXXX bank statement to the fax number he provided. XXXX XXXX and I requested to have my case escalated to a supervisor at Nissan prior to submitting the fax. My case escalated to a supervisor named, XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX said once we submit the bank statements, Nissan will be able to confirm the payment. XXXX XXXX confirmed the fax number with XXXX then proceeded to send the documents along with the cover letter. During this, I informed my supervisor about the recurring errors made by Nissan concerning my account throughout this year. I highlighted the occurrence of receiving two payment confirmation emails from them in XXXX. The first email indicated a payment of {$500.00}, followed by a second email stating a payment of {$480.00}. Upon investigating this matter, Nissan determined that I was not charged the {$480.00} payment and the payment had been erroneously credited to my account instead of being allocated to another customer as intended. XXXX promptly prioritized this situation over my ongoing matter since XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX : On this day, I received a call from XXXX XXXX, the Nissan supervisor, informing me that the payment of {$480.00} had been reversed and correctly credited to the appropriate account. During our conversation, XXXX also mentioned that this adjustment might impact my account balance and asked for my preferred course of action in handling this matter. Later, I received a mail confirmation of the {$480.00} reversal, yet never received mail communication in regard to the status of my investigations. Expressing my disappointment, I mentioned that I felt offended by the prioritization of this issue over my ongoing one, and I emphasized that it was unfair for Nissan to take two days to resolve the former while neglecting my own. Furthermore, I requested an update regarding the status of my account. Surprisingly, XXXX disclosed that she had not received the fax related to my account. I mentioned that I have a transmission log with proof that the fax was sent. XXXX explained the number she initially provided belonged to the agent we spoke with prior and it needs to be sent to her directly. I questioned why she had confirmed the number with XXXX if it was incorrect. I did not receive a reasonable answer, but was told to send the documents to her email address. I quickly sent over my XXXX and XXXX bank statements via email. After reviewing my XXXX and XXXX bank statements, XXXX called me back and said she cant accept the documents because it is not a full bank statement. Not sure what she meant, I went back to XXXX XXXX to request " full bank statements ''. I sat down with XXXX XXXX, and we confirmed that page XXXX of my XXXX XXXX XXXX statement was missing. Page XXXX was a blank page which is why I initially removed it. Upon us sharing this with Nissan XXXX, XXXX, she confirmed that this could be what caused my documents to be rejected and to resend the bank statements along with the blank page ( page XXXX ). We faxed over the documents promptly and included all pages. XXXX also questioned why there was not enough activity on my bank statement and XXXX confirmed that I simply did not make any transactions after the Nissan payment. I also added that I did not make any transactions because I had a negative balance and needed to wait until I received a deposit to continue using my account. In addition, they went through each page on my bank statement together to make sure there was clarity on what happened between the initial payment, reversal payment, retried payment, transition from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX bank, and when my payment effectively cleared. 

After XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX called me and said that my documents were rejected once again. I asked why they were rejected and her comment remained the same, indicating that the documents provided were not full bank statements. I asked her if she can provide me more information on what they are not insinuating by suggesting that official bank statements are not full bank statements. 

XXXX added that my transactions stopped after the XXXX, concluding this is not a full bank statement. I explained to her that it was because I simply did not make any transactions after the XXXX, giving my negative balance, and the top right corner of the document shows the statement period. XXXX also questioned why there are XXXX bank statements for XXXX. I explained to her that XXXX XXXX was acquired by XXXX. This is indicated on the bank statement. The statements also demonstrate that my negative balance from XXXX carried over to XXXX. In addition to my balance carrying over, my account number/routing number remained unchanged. XXXX asked if she could receive a complete list of my transactions since XXXX XXXX had also sent her a transaction history from my previous account with XXXX XXXX. I explained to her again that my bank transitioned, so I will only be able to provide two transaction histories, one from XXXX XXXX and one from XXXX XXXX. XXXX said she wants to see transactions after the XXXX from XXXX single document, not two. I re-stated my point and said that even if that were possible, which it is not, there would be no transactions between XXXX XXXX XXXX because I did not make any. XXXX asked me to have my banker, XXXX XXXX call her. I called XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX, though helpful seemed exhausted by this point in regard to this situation and suggested for me to file a complaint. XXXX XXXX XXXX said she will also not speak to XXXX without me being on the line because it is important that I know what is said in regard to my account. We initiated a three-way, but XXXX did not pick up. XXXX XXXX XXXX needed to attend to a client and told me to call her on a three-way after XXXX if I get a hold of XXXX XXXX. XXXX called me back a half-hour later and mentioned she was busy and asked for XXXX number. I mentioned XXXX requested for me to be on the call too. XXXX re-iterated that she needed XXXX number and seemed as though she did not want me on the call. I gave XXXX XXXX 's number and did not hear back after. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I called XXXX, but her number went straight to voicemail. 
Then I called customer service instead and was informed that my investigation was closed and I need to send a payment now before they repossess my vehicle. They also asked me why I have yet to make a payment for XXXX and XXXX and I explained that there is a mistrust now because of the missing payment made in XXXX and the in-correct payment applied to my account in XXXX. I mentioned that I would respectfully like for Nissan to handle my XXXX payment prior requesting more payments from me. I also asked why my balance was approximately {$3000.00}. Once, my payment is recovered ( {$1500.00} ), I should only owe for XXXX and XXXX ( {$1000.00} ). Which means my account balance should be {$2500.00}. The agent said I am being charged a {$450.00} repossession fee from when my car was acquired in XXXX, plus two {$10.00} late fees from XXXX and XXXX. I mentioned I paid had paid that the repossession fee in XXXX. The agent looked at my payment history and re-corrected the answer and said I am actually being charged an advanced repossession fee because they are planning on repossessing my vehicle, plus a {$10.00} additional repossession fee from when car was repossessed in XXXX. After receiving two different answers, I requested to receive a statement in the mail since Nissan blocked me from viewing this online. The agent then re-corrected their answer for the third time said I am being charged a {$10.00} additional fee from my vehicle being repossessed in XXXX and a {$940.00} fee for sales tax since I moved and it was applied to my account in XX/XX/XXXX. The agent also mentioned any statements I received in the mail prior to the call were probably incorrect and I will receive a new statement showing these charges. I mentioned I moved to New York from California XX/XX/XXXX and informed Nissan. I asked why am I only now being charged sales tax and Nissan said the DMV charged them and after they settled the payment they charged me. Knowing this could be false, since my plates are still registered in California I promptly called my local DMV. The DMV confirmed they would only charge sales tax if I decide to register my vehicle in New York and change my plates. I also ask if they would charge Nissan if I moved and they reiterated they do not charge sales tax for out-of-state purchases unless I transfer my plates and register my car in NY which did not happen. 

This ongoing situation has caused significant distress and inconvenience for me. I have made multiple attempts to resolve this matter in good faith, providing all the requested documents and cooperating fully with Nissan 's investigation process. However, I feel that Nissan has not acted in a fair and reasonable manner, and their lack of responsiveness and dismissive attitude towards my concerns is unacceptable. 

I am turning to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for assistance and intervention in this matter. I believe that Nissan should be held accountable for their mishandling of the disputed payment and the subsequent harassment I have experienced. I request that you investigate this issue thoroughly and ensure that Nissan complies with their obligations under consumer protection laws. 

Specifically, I am seeking the following actions to be taken : 1. A thorough investigation into Nissan 's handling of my disputed payment, including their failure to locate the funds and the harassment I have endured throughout this process.

2. A resolve to apply the {$1500.00} payment, taking into consideration the evidence I have provided and any additional information that may be required.

3. Clear communication, by mail, from Nissan regarding the status of the payment investigation and a prompt resolution to this matter. 

XXXX. Removal of the {$940.00} sales tax with the same speed demonstrated in the removal of the {$480.00} payment. 

5.Compensation or credit for the amount of time it took Nissan to resolve this given the inconvenience, stress, and expenses I have incurred as a result of Nissan 's mishandling of this situation. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I eagerly await your response and trust that you will take appropriate action to rectify this situation. 
Sincerely,

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation