Consumer complaint received 2024-06-18
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — Problem with fees charged
Company: Mercedes Benz Financial Services (PR)

Recently, I have purchased a completely new, electric vehicle for the first time. Unfortunately, a situation has arisen caused by an action on the part of the company, which I want to detail below : XX/XX/year> XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Interest was signed. 
o Approval Code : XXXXXXXX XXXX Deal # XXXX XXXX CUST # XXXX XXXX Account Number : XXXX. 
o Client enrolled in Auto Payment authorizing Mercedes Benz Financial to debit clients account monthly in the amount of {$1300.00}. 

XX/XX/year> First Auto payment made successfully. 
o Payment breakdown was {$230.00} to Interest and {$1100.00} to Principal. 

XX/XX/year> Mercedes Benz Financial paid-off the auto loan. The paid off amount was {$86000.00}. 
o Payment breakdown was {$150.00} to Interest and {$85000.00} to Principal. 
From this point forward, the client had no obligation to make monthly payments nor was Mercedes Benz Financial authorized to debit the clients account, as the account was paid for in full by Mercedes Benz. Payment in full relieves the client of his obligation to make payments as it is considered a full payment of the obligation. 

XX/XX/year>- Mercedes Benz Financial did not exercise the authorization given by the client to debit the account ( auto payment ) in the amount of {$1300.00} on the established day. 
XX/XX/year> Mercedes Benz Financial issued a check in the amount of {$1200.00} and send it to the client, who cashed the check on XX/XX/year> ( XXXX weeks later, enough time to place a stop payment on the check issued, if the check was issued by mistake ). The beneficiary of the check was the client. The client related the check issued as part of a transaction where the client traded-in a vehicle to purchase the new vehicle. 

XX/XX/year>- Mercedes Benz Financial did not exercise the authorization given by the client to debit the account ( auto payment ) in the amount of {$1300.00} on the established day. 

XX/XX/year> A reallocation entry ( REALLOCATION_OUT ) was made to the account in the amount of {$87000.00}. Reallocation breakdown is as follows : o {$85000.00} = Principal Amount o $ {$1200.00} = Check issued to client as beneficiary. 
o {$150.00} = Interest portion of the pay-off transaction that occurred in XX/XX/year>. 

XX/XX/year> The client calls Mercedes Benz Financial to verify what is happening to the account, which appeared to be past due. The service representative indicated to the client that there was an error on the part of XXXX XXXX ( not from the client ) where Mercedes Benz Financial incorrectly received the clients account number with an authorization to pay in full the clients account. The representative indicated that he would help me receive full payment to bring the account current, that is, pay 3 months, including late payment fees. The client did not receive any call before he called Mercedes Benz Financial where they could explain the situation that had occurred. The representative offered the client a one-month deferral if the client made XXXX payments. The client asked to talk with a XXXX, because the client wanted to have transparency on the situation in terms of late fees, past due impact on credit report, other fees charged to the clients account and other related topics. No XXXX was available at that moment. The client waited for a XXXX to call him back. 

XX/XX/year> XXXX received a call from a XXXX. The client explained the situation and that since an error occurred, not from the client, the client should not be responsible or penalized for anything because of the error that occurred. This includes late payments, accrued interest, impact on credit, including refunds related to the check issued. The XXXX offered a two-months deferral if the client made XXXX payment along with a payment in the amount of {$1200.00} ( other fees ). The XXXX made the client uncomfortable because of the way she talked with the client, not allowing him to express himself or say full sentences. The XXXX kept interrupting the client. The client was not satisfied with the clarity of the situation and requested an explanatory letter of the situation along with an amortization schedule. The client also said that a clear solution would be to amend the contract, since it was altered with a paid-off event and months had passed. The client asked for a solution and provided a way, which was to make an amendment to the contract with the following terms : o Amount : {$84000.00} ( This is the original amount less principal amortization from the first and second payment ) o Term : 70 months o XXXX rate : 3.49 % o Payment : {$1300.00} o The account must not reflect overdue payments, late fees, accrued interest or other charges. 
The XXXX said that XXXX can not make amendments to the contract. The client requested an explanatory letter along with a repayment schedule because they want transparency and clarification on what will happen after this mistake was made and the consequences were already impacting the client. The client asked to talk with a higher XXXX and was instructed to wait for that XXXX to call him back. 
XX/XX/year>, XX/XX/year> - The dates the client attempted to reach a XXXX to get a solution on this matter. No XXXX is available at the moment of the calls. 

XX/XX/year> XXXX XXXX was successfully made. The client has concerns about the payment breakdown. Payment breakdown showed as follows : o {$580.00} to Principal ( principal amount is less than the amount that should be, less principal amortization ) o {$750.00} to XXXX ( this amount is XXXX times the interest amount that should be charged ) o XXXX payment in the second month should be around ~ {$240.00}. 
This is the reason why the client asked for an explanation letter XX/XX/year>, XX/XX/year> The dates the client attempted to reach a XXXX to get a solution on this matter. No XXXX is available at the moment of the calls. 

XX/XX/year> XXXX received a call from a XXXX of Mercedes Benz Financial. The client explained the situation, the XXXX also explained the situation from Mercedes Benz Financial perspective. The XXXX mentioned that the error was not from Mercedes Benz Financial, but from an insurance company who apparently provide the clients account number and XXXX proceed to paid-off the loan and with that procedure, all the other process that follows, including the issuance of the check. The XXXX also referred to an error that the client made when the client cashed the check, which the client doesnt agree with, since the checks name was the clients name. The XXXX mentioned that the clients account is XXXX months past due and remains past due until the client pays, which includes fees and also the amount of {$1200.00} that is related to the check Mercedes Benz Financial issued to the client. The client asked to receive an explanation letter of all the situation along with an amortization schedule, because the client needs transparency in this situation, understanding that the client did not make any errors. The client, after Mercedes Benz Financial paid-off the loan balance, is XXXX good faith reaching Mercedes Benz Financial XXXX XXXX a solution which was expressed earlier, an amendment to the contract with the terms mentioned above. No late fees, no additional interest payments, no other fees, no past due payments. 
At this point, I feel that Mercedes Benz Financial is not providing a liability-free solution for an error that I did not make. Mercedes Benz Financial, through the XXXX in the last call, expresses that they did not make a mistake either. Therefore, whoever made the mistake must come forward and take responsibility.