Consumer complaint received 2021-04-09
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: VA
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Lease
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Problem with fees charged

Complaint:
I am an XXXX XXXX XXXX member domiciled in Louisiana, but assigned to a duty location in Virginia. I leased a new vehicle with Ally Auto in XX/XX/XXXX for 36 months. 

On or around XX/XX/XXXX, I received a bill from Ally Auto demanding payment in the amount of {$260.00} for unpaid personal property tax. As a military member living in Virginia only by virtue of military orders, I am exempt from paying personal property tax in Virginia. I immediately took two steps : I ( 1 ) contacted the local tax assessor 's office and provided a copy of military records to ensure that no further personal property taxes were billed ; and ( 2 ) contacted Ally Auto. After waiting for more than an hour, and after getting transferred to Ally 's XXXX department and then Ally 's personal property tax ( PPT ) department, I spoke with XXXX. What I learned is that, on leased vehicles, the city or county assessor 's office bills the lessee ( Ally ) and not the lessor ( me ) ; the lessee ( Ally ) pays the assessor and then passes the cost along to the lessor ( me ). In normal circumstances, this is reasonable ; however, it creates significant problems for military members who are exempt from assessed personal property taxes. XXXX asked me to e-mail a copy of my leave and earning statement ( LES ) to " XXXX. '' On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a copy of my LES to the provided e-mail address and to the attention of XXXX, as requested. 

In early XXXX, XXXX, I again spent an hour on the phone attempting to resolve this issue with Ally. The individual with whom I spoke in Ally 's PPT Department indicated that the {$260.00} charge remained pending because Ally had not yet received a refund from the City of XXXX tax office. In other words, despite the fact that I provided a copy of my LES to Ally and my entitlement to an exemption by virtue of military service, Ally would not zero out my account balance until the City of XXXX refunded the amount Ally paid. This effectively made me responsible for Ally 's error in paying the personal property tax assessment. 

I immediately communicated with a tax specialist at the City of XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, he confirmed that the lessor ( Ally ) would be refunded the amount paid based on my military exemption. He noted that this process could take 8-10 weeks, but that it would be refunded and that Ally could reach out to the City of XXXX 's Treasurer Department with any questions. 

On or around XX/XX/XXXX, and after grounding ( i.e., returning XXXX the leased vehicle before the lease expired, I received an " Account Settlement '' statement from Ally Auto. Ally Auto demanded a close-out payment of {$350.00} for " Other Charges ( Personal Property Tax ). '' Once again, I was forced to call Ally to address this still unaddressed error. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, and before contacting Ally ( yet again ), I contacted the tax specialist with the City of XXXX to confirm that the City had refunded Ally for the personal property taxes paid. On XX/XX/XXXX, he responded noting that {$260.00} " was the total XXXX refund '' provided to Ally. He noted that the City had not yet sent out bills for XXXX personal property taxes. 

That same day, I contacted Ally 's PPT Department and spoke with XXXX. XXXX confirmed that the additional {$93.00} represented " estimated '' ( by Ally ) personal property taxes on the leased vehicle for the first three months of XXXX. Oddly, even though I had sent Ally my LES, which would confirm my exemption from personal property taxes, Ally still saw fit to bill me an estimated amount for personal property taxes. After XXXX again XXXX detailing my military status and providing him with the background of this dispute since XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX indicated that he would need to " research '' the military exemption. I indicated that I would not pay the {$350.00} in personal property taxes ( because of my military exemption ) and demanded a zero-balance account settlement. At the same time, I also expressed concern that Ally would report my failure to pay this amount to the credit bureaus and/or refer this matter to collections. XXXX confirmed verbally that Ally would not report non-payment of the {$350.00} to the credit bureaus. XXXX said that he needed to " research '' the military exemption. I asked that he communicate with me by e-mail ; he refused ( he also denied having a direct extension, which I know is not true since XXXX provided hers ). He promised, however, to call me back within a few days with an answer. 

No surprise, XXXX did not call me within a few days. I did receive a call from another gentleman in Ally 's PPT department on XX/XX/XXXX or XX/XX/XXXX. He noted that he had " worked my issue '' and was surprised it wasn't resolved, but that they were looking into it. 

Having heard nothing from Ally, on XX/XX/XXXX, I again contacted Ally 's PPT department. After waiting approximately 45 minutes for someone in the department to answer, I again spoke with XXXX. I first asked for XXXX ; unfortunately, he was " on vacation. '' I again explained to XXXX the predicament. She reviewed their internal notes and asked if I sent an LES to the " XXXX '' address with attention to her ; I confirmed that I had. She asked for the date when I sent that LES ; I told her XX/XX/XXXX. She searched her e-mails but could not locate anything from XX/XX/XXXX. Accordingly, while on the phone, I sent XXXX my LES statements from XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX XXXX to cover tax years XXXX and XXXX ). She confirmed receipt of both LESs. 

According to XXXX, she sent the LESs to the " asset recovery '' department. She also reminded me that personal property tax refunds from city or county assessors offices could take 6-8 months. I told her that this was unacceptable and that it was unreasonable to ask me to continue to call back -- and wait on hold just to speak with someone for at least 45 minutes each time -- to address Ally 's error. She asked me to call her back on Friday XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ) to see where things stood with the " asset recovery '' department. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called XXXX. She told me that Ally had not yet received the refund from the XXXX of XXXX for the personal property taxes that Ally paid on the leased vehicle. She also confirmed that the {$93.00} represented Ally 's " estimate '' of the personal property taxes that would be assessed on the leased vehicle for XXXX. She recommended that I pay the {$350.00} to Ally now ( to avoid any hits on my credit for a delinquent debt ) and that, once Ally received the refund from the City of XXXX, then Ally would issue a refund to me. As one might expect, I have little faith in Ally 's ability to manage that shell game. 

I told XXXX this was unacceptable and demanded to speak with the " asset recovery '' department. She provided the phone number for that department. I also asked her for the phone number for Ally 's legal department ; she indicated that the " asset recovery '' team could provide that phone number. She offered to transfer me to the " asset recovery '' team and I agreed. Once again, though, my efforts were foiled. Although Ally 's PPT department opens at XXXX XXXX ET, the asset recovery team doesn't open until XXXX XXXX ET. She told me that I could call the number she provided at XXXX XXXX. I decided, instead, to file this complaint. 

I am happy to provide any additional detail necessary to remedy this issue.

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