Consumer complaint received 2023-04-19
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: TX
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Billing problem

Complaint:
This will be my third complaint about the ongoing issue with Ally Financial Auto Loan division. They have rejected payment now twice on my account by a third-party non-profit after formally promising to accept payment via final response to the complaint. They violated collections practices by contacting me after stating in the first complaint formal response letter that they would not resume collections activities until ten days after the date of the letter. See the second complaint for a timeline of dates for collections calls. In the second complaint, XXXX in Executive Relations states that they attempted to contact me because I was not communicating with Ally. That information was incorrect on her part; please see the attached timeline of consistent communication via phone and Ally 's secure messaging system available on their website and smartphone app. It's come to a point where the statements are defamation of character and ability to handle business dealings; stating that I was not communicating with Ally is a false and untrue statement. I've included copies in PDF format of all forms of communication and the XXXX tracker I have for the phone calls. XXXX also states that Ally is not a collection company and does not fall under the law in regards to following these standards. XXXX also misspoke in her response, stating that I asked or inquired why the payment was rejected. I did not ask, I informed her, and I completely comprehend that my account is setup presently only to accept certified forms of payment, however before this {$800.00} pledge payment from the nonprofit XXXX made payable to Ally on my behalf was flagged via their collections/recovery department associate XXXX XXXX via the phone call made on Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX took time to reach out to the payments processing department to advise them of the Check Number, Account Number, Routing Number, Dollar Amount, and the bank the check was issued on. XXXX was informed of the special assistance payment and was in contact with my case manager at Resource Center XXXX, XXXX XXXX. I have the PDFs of her emails confirming communication with XXXX at Ally. It would be in the best interest of Ally and myself as their client to consider how many times they have failed now to accept payment from me and do anything possible and within reason to make the situation right. The blame keeps being pushed back on me, and I'm communicating with Ally or was communicating with Ally until my bankruptcy filing on XX/XX/XXXX. 

The following are responses and questions that I have made as comments on the response letter issued by XXXX from Ally, Executive Customer Relations. Please see the attached PDF and review in its entirety the highlighted sections and my comments/questions. 

XXXX, please refrain from exaggeration or embellishment and answer yes or no to the questions I have asked for a yes or no answer. This will help provide me with a clear and concise understanding and hopefully help us all comprehend the constant issues I have endured. 

I consistently communicated with Ally via secure message monthly over the Ally App on XXXX and the Ally Website via computer. See attached PDFs of all communication and the time stamps. They will be labeled with an exhibit designation on the document and the associated XXXX file tracker. 

I, the customer, did not question. I informed them that the payment was not accepted as promised, as I had called in daily to verify the funds had been received. An attached PDF of an email confirmation notice stating that the promise to pay date was approaching as I spoke with XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, via phone call around XXXX to XXXX XXXX central time. He made notes on my account and opened a ticket notifying the processing department of the first check issued by the XXXX XXXX for assistance in giving payment of {$800.00}. This call was the best call that I have had, period, with Ally, and every other interaction has been quite draining and unhelpful. So while I know that only certified funds were being accepted on my account, there was clear communication with both collections, payment processing, and Executive Relations outlining my unique situation. Each department agreed to ensure that this unique form of assistance was documented as a pledged payment guaranteed by a Non-Profit Corporation with guaranteed allocated forms of assistance. 

This statement is unambiguous ; any additional payments sent into Ally on my behalf issued as a form of payment would be accepted from the Resource Center. Now a second check was issued by XXXX for XXXX at the Resource Center, and this payment was mailed to the address XXXX had communicated with XXXX via email. 

This second payment for the same dollar amount issued on the same checking account from the XXXX nonprofit was rejected, two payments for {$800.00} have now been rejected. 

A third check has been issued for {$800.00} and is being mailed again by XXXX from the Resource Center to the same address. Is this payment going to be rejected as well? The second check, number XXXX, was rejected and returned to XXXX, and now check XXXX has been issued to replace the second check. The first check number was XXXX. 

My questions are : will the third check be accepted, will it be applied to my account on the date it was received, and will late fees and the extra interest charges on the dollar amount be reversed? Will Ally be issuing another {$800.00} credit for not accepting the second check, applying that payment to the date it was received, and changing late fees and interest that should not have occurred? 

Are payments received via mail not supposed to be applied to the account via the post date of the envelope? If payments are to be applied via post date on the envelope, will Ally adjust all the manual payments that have been processed to reflect the posting date of payment on my account effective the Post Date on the mailing envelope? 

I believe Ally is not providing correct information on my account to the credit reporting agencies. Now that my account is under the XXXX  XXXX Bankruptcy Protection, and I represent myself XXXX XXXX XXXX Pro Se XXXX XXXX Bankruptcy case number : XXXX, I need to know how the account is going to be reported once an Reaffirmation Agreement is Executed on my account. 

Ally 's actions are not matching this statement, I'm a protected class USA citizen with a 100 % XXXX rating by the Social Security Administration and I have informed Ally that the payment assistance is based and linked directly to my XXXX rating and status and Ally keeps blatantly returning the payment assistance. 

How can Ally state that this is not a form of discrimination. It looks like a form of discrimination based on my health status and also I am a member of the XXXX community and identify as XXXX. 

How many XXXX identifying people has Ally rejected payments on? If a company Audit is performed I'm sure that there would be a variance in the numbers that show discrimination much like the previously settled class action lawsuit where Ally blatantly charged certain person of XXXX classification higher basis points on their new loans issued in comparison to XXXX XXXX customers. 

Ally follows the same collections protocols, and has announced on any call or chat message with direct customer interaction in real-time that this is attempt to collect a debt is what I have experienced with Ally. 

I have the following questions Did the first response letter state that all collections activities would be paused for ten days from the date of the issue of the final response letter ( s ) from XXXX in Executive Customer Relations? Yes or No response needed. 

XXXX did Ally 's collections department call me on the dates and times I provided after the date of your letter before a ten day period in your letter based on the date of your letter on Ally letter head? Yes or No response needed. 

XXXX on any communication from Ally 's collections department once the customer 's identity is verified and their account is past due is it required for the agent representing Ally on the recorded call or via chat to say " This is an attempt to collect a debt ''? Yes or No response needed. 

Why does Ally 's collections department inform the Ally Customer that they are attempting to collect a debt if they do not fall under Federal and State Fair Debt Collection Practices?

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