Consumer complaint received 2015-12-13
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: NY
Product: Consumer Loan
Sub-product: Vehicle lease
Issue: Taking out the loan or lease

Complaint:
As part of a new lease agreement that I made through my dealership, I agreed to pay the remainder of my lease payments on my existing lease to the dealer. I signed the documents, furnished a lump sum for the remaining payments, and took delivery of the new vehicle and returned my old vehicle the next day. 

At the end of that week, I received a notification that my payment on the previous lease had been taken out of my bank account. I called Ally Financial, explained to a customer service representative that I had returned the vehicle under that lease to the dealer at the beginning of he week, and that I had paid the remaining lease payments as part of my new agreement. After belittling me and telling me that I still owed the payment as well as the remaining lease payments as if I had n't just explained the situation XXXX different ways, the customer service representative told me that I might want to call my dealer because they have no info showing that my lease had been terminated. 

I spoke with the salesman that I had dealt with throughout the lease process, and he told me that the processing might take some time. Now there are XXXX parties pointing fingers at one another. I called back Ally a week later, and spoke to another customer service representative who told me that they had received the remaining lease payments and notification that the lease had been terminated. Good, so how about refunding my extra lease payment? Ally refused to do that. They told me that they would evaluate the situation after the car was sold at auction and decide then whether to refund me the EXTRA payment. Again, they told me to talk to my dealer. 

I left my salesperson a more somber correspondence because at the point I had become more than frustrated. I missed a package delivery from Ally financial later that week, which I expected to be my refund check. I went to the post office today to get the package, and of course it was n't a refund check. Rather, it was a notice of intent to sell my vehicle advising that I order a XXXX party appraisal on the vehicle in case there is a dispute over the value. I see where this is headed. I returned my car with no scratches, dents, or issues with under XXXX miles less than the lease agreement allowed. And I have not been in possession of the vehicle for almost a month so I have no clue how they would expect me to obtain an appraisal at this point. 

Refusing to return an over-payment is n't only unfair, deceptive, and abusive, it 's consumer theft. I have paid every single payment for almost three years on-time and took wonderful care of the vehicle for the duration of the lease. I had considered purchasing the car at the end for the initially agreed on price, because it is probably worth much more than that number given the condition and the lack of miles. Unfortunately I made a grave misstep and now I 'm stuck being given the runaround by a predatory financial institution.

Company public response: Company chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation