Consumer complaint received 2022-06-07
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: DE
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Getting a loan or lease
Sub-issue: Fraudulent loan

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX, my husband and I bought a XXXX XXXX from XXXX XXXX XXXX in Maryland. It was financed through Ally Financial. They were the creditor the dealer used to approve me for the loan. In early XXXX I was doing some research and I learned more about the Truth in Lending Act ant Title 15 USC. I discovered that there were some discrepancies when I financed the vehicle. I felt like my husband and I were misinformed and taken advantage of by the dealer and the finance company. For example the dealer told us it was required by the finance company that we had to put money down in order to finance the vehicle however in the agreement it states : " You the Buyer, may buy the vehicle below for cash OR on credit. '' In 15 USC 1605 ( a ) Finance charge is defined as " The amount of the finance charge in connection with any consumer credit transaction shall be determined as the sum of all charges ... '' It also states that services or carrying charges should be included in the financed charge, however in the agreement it states that the down payment was a dealer processing service charge which they forced us to pay cash.

Also, the dealer told us that we couldn't finance the vehicle without insurance and we were forced to purchase insurance out of our pocket in order to receive the vehicle. It was not disclosed to us that the insurance was supposed to be covered in the finance charge by the creditor. 

15 USC 1605 ( b ) Life, accident, or health insurance premiums included in finance charge Charges or premiums for credit life, accident, or health insurance written in connection with any consumer credit transaction shall be included in the finance charges unless : ( 1 ) the coverage of the debtor by the insurance is not a factor in the approval by the creditor of the extension of credit, and this fact is clearly disclosed in writing to the person applying for or obtaining the extension of credit ; This fact was not disclosed to us at all.

After realizing these things and understanding the statute of limitation for fraud, I sent a letter of complaint on XX/XX/XXXX to Ally Financial disputing the debt and asking them to validate it and show the contract to be lawful. And if they can not validate the debt and prove the contract is lawful by providing : 1. The actual accounting 2. A copy of the contract 3. Full Disclosure 4. Lawful Terms and conditions 5. The signature of both parties Then I requested that the debt be discharged as well as other requests that can be found in the attached letter. I also requested that they send a response in writing within 15 days of receiving my first letter which I sent through Certified Mail ( see attached copies ). 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a call from Ally Financial and they left a voicemail ( attached ). The person claimed that they were investigating my dispute and that they will be in touch. After that I received no other phone calls from Ally Financial nor did they send anything else in writing like I requested. I waited several more days and on XX/XX/XXXX my husband and I decided to call them and speak to the representative who reached out to us. We received no answer and left and voicemail ( attached ). We called again a couple of days later and received no answer and left another voicemail. 

During this time while the debt is in dispute they still sent emails saying that I was late on my payments and it affected my credit score negatively. Under the Truth In Lending Act I read that when a debt is being disputed all debt collection practices ( including the furnishing of information to credit reporting agencies ) on that particular debt should cease for at least 30 days or until the debt is validated or discharged. - Title 15 USC 1692g. Validation of debts I recently did send a conditional payment on XX/XX/XXXX so that this can be resolved without any legal actions. 

I waited to see if they would send written response to my request for 30 days since I sent the first letter and I have yet to receive any written notification through the mail. My husband and I are emotionally and mentally exhausted trying to contact them about this and we would like help from the CFPB to assist us in this matter. Here is the information for the Account. 

Creditor : Ally Financial Name of Consumer at time of purchase : XXXX XXXX Account Number : 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