Consumer complaint received 2024-07-19
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — Problem with the interest rate
Company: Lendmark Financial Services (FL)

I purchased a XXXX XXXX XXXX under exigent circumstances in XXXX, XXXX XXXXn XXXX, XXXX. I has just been conned by a local mechanic who charged me over {$1600.00} to repair my XXXX and then after being paid told me the car was not reparable, but I had to have a vehicle for transportation to and from work and to use on the job. The salesman at XXXX XXXX, " XXXX '', told me he had the deal " wired '' with Lendmark, and I XXXX XXXX  away in no time. The problem was, I had selected a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, which he said he had started the sales paperwork on, but when I got there, he told me that car was " gone '' ( that was only XXXX minutes after he told me it was being washed so I could drive it home ). He switched me to the XXXX and acted like it was an upgrade. He told me he would make a second " line of credit loan to me, but I had to agree not to tell Lendmark or " anyone else, including his boss ''. The " line of credit '' was just an accounting maneuver to charge me an extra {$1500.00}, and the salesman told me " you should go get the oil changed and the engine checked out ASAP '' - a harbinger of things to come. He told me a mechanic to use to check the car, which I did ( I am convinced that the mechanic knew the car had problems with the engine block and valves/valve covers. but said nothing as he did a lot of work for the dealership ( he admitted this while I was there ). 

I know all those complaints are about the seller ( they did not have any promissory note or other proper debt instrument but asked me to sign a slip of paper that just had numbers listed on it, and the signature was not acknowledging, authorizing or promising to pay anything, so I signed it, knowing the signature was not effective to create any obligation. 

The ultimate point is that this dealership and this salesman did regular ( like several deals a week ) with Lendmark 's XXXX office and I believe Lendmark 's involvement rises to active participation in a Deceptive Trade Practice. I think there also is a failure of consideration, as Lendmark knew or should have known that cars sold by this XXXX at XXXX XXXX were high mileage vehicles with many mechanical issues due to wear and abuse and as such were not worth near what they were being sold for and for which Lendmark was creating loan obligations. Ultimately, the car broke down on the highway in XXXX, and after I spent {$850.00} to replace the serpentine belt, I was told it has a cracked valve cover " that looked like it has been cracked for a very long time '', and also a worn and now essentially " blown '' head gasket. I reasonably believe and therefore allege that this damage was present when I purchased the vehicle, and that the seller concealed it unlawfully, and that Lendmark knew that the seller conducted business in this fashion on a regular basis. 

Given that the vehicle 's value in the best of condition was substantially less than the cost of repairs, I told Lendmark, in writing, where the vehicle was, and that I was surrendering it to them. Since that time, I have received XXXX to XXXX calls PER DAY from people attempting to collect Lendmark 's debt. Further, I advised them, in writing that they could not call me at work, as my employer prohibited personal calls of any type during work hours, and despite receiving such notice, they have continued to call my work multiple times per day.