Consumer complaint received 2023-11-06
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — Billing problem
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC. (OH)

On XX/XX/XXXX, Ally Auto initiated an unauthorized ACH transfer against my personal checking account that I had been assured and reassured would not take place. I have multiple forms of written communication from Ally as well as verbal confirmation from a supervisor that the payment was canceled on Ally 's end, and they attempted to draft the funds anyway. I have been attempting, for almost two months, to get to the bottom of what has happened and what is happening with my account. The representatives I've spoken with, through both phone and chat, have been telling me since XX/XX/XXXX I needed to wait for a call back as they refused to escalate me. I have yet to receive communication from Ally Auto regarding this unauthorized transaction, as well as a host of other issues. 
Since the beginning of XXXX I've been given different amounts due at different times from different representatives. I've had representatives tell me to cancel and/or stop payment on payments I made, to have the next rep tell me that doing so caused issues with my account. One month, XXXX, I logged into my account and it was showing three different amounts due, and no one I spoke with could really figure it out. 

I'll be attaching multiple documents. They'll include my monthly statements and a payment history for XXXX, the dates of both phone calls and chats, emails/texts I've received from Ally regarding this, as well as snippets from chat conversations to corroborate what I'm saying. I do have the full, original chat thread saved, beginning XX/XX/XXXX through today, available. There will also be an extension agreement that began XX/XX/XXXX. 

When all of this began, I unfortunately didn't have the foresight to ensure that all conversations happened through chat where the conversation could be saved on my end, although a lot of the relevant information is available through those saved conversations. Each rep I've spoken with over the phone has refused to send me email confirmation of anything we spoke of at all, and assured me that 'there would be notes '. The next representative I would speak with would say there was either little or no notes about the prior conversation. 
I've asked for an employee number or anything to link the conversation to a specific rep, and was told they don't have employee codes/numbers/identifiers.

I have asked to be escalated up through management through both chat and phone and have been denied over and over, and told to wait for a call back.

While there were two different arrangements set up, both a catch up plan and an extension plan, that documentation can not be located in my account through Ally 's website. Thankfully, I do have chat records available that show what was discussed, as well as the payment schedule for the catch up plan, as well as the letter they sent regarding one of the extensions. I'm not sure why the documentation involving both of those agreements, and any others, isn't available for view. 


XX/XX/XXXX I entered a catch up plan with Ally, the terms being a payment of {$360.00} due on the XXXX of each month, XXXX, which would then bring my account current. I made the first payment that day, XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Ally initiated an ACH transaction for the amount of {$360.00}. I was unaware that the payment was going to be auto drafted- the payment schedule I received by email simply gives the date and amount due, there's no verbiage suggesting that the payments would be auto debited. On XX/XX/XXXX, I went into the site/app and scheduled a payment through my debit card for {$360.00}, then received emails from Ally confirming both payments. When I realized what had happened, on XX/XX/XXXX, I called Ally to explain what happened and ask what I should do so that both payments didn't clear. 

The representative told me that the best thing for me to do was to call my bank, which is XXXX, and have them put a stop payment on the payment I scheduled through my card, the {$360.00}, and then the ACH transaction of {$360.00} would clear, and everything would be fine moving forward.

However, the rep failed to disclose or didn't know that by stopping one payment, it would stop both payments, and also cancel the catch up plan. I received an email and a text message from Ally on XX/XX/XXXX, telling me that the catch up plan had been canceled, which was the first I had heard of that. 

I called Ally same day, XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX XXXX est and spoke with a woman. While she was helpful there was a language barrier, and I was asking questions to try and understand why I had received notice saying the catch up plan had been canceled. The call went nowhere, so I immediately initiated a chat conversation, with the chat time beginning at XXXXXXXX XXXX. 
The rep said that my total due was {$240.00}, which was {$120.00} from XXXX and {$110.00} in late charges. This was when I learned that doing a stop payment on one of the two XXXX payments also caused the other payment to reverse. I asked to re-start, and was told that my account was not eligible for a catch up plan. I explained to the rep that if I had been made aware that canceling a payment would have led to all of this I wouldn't have done it, and the rep simply apologized for the miscommunication. I expressed that I was struggling due to health issues, hence the catch up plan, and he then offered to create an extension. 

It began as a one month extension, beginning XX/XX/XXXX, and involved me paying XXXX by XX/XX/XXXX, and then XXXX, my normal payment, would resume XX/XX/XXXX. 
The rep then offered a two month extension. Beginning XX/XX/XXXX, 2 month extension. It required {$170.00} by XX/XX/XXXX, {$240.00} due by XX/XX/XXXX, and regular payments resuming on XX/XX/XXXX. 
Regarding the initial {$170.00}, the rep said that I had 10 days from that date to make the payment, but then advised that I make the payment before the XXXX, so that the extension would be processed within the next due date. I told him the bill cycle date should be irrelevant, because the terms of the extension override the initial contract in this instance, and the rep said that while it wouldn't affect the payments or due dates of the extension, it would affect my credit. 


The following day, XX/XX/XXXX, I had a chat conversation with a rep who confirmed the above, multiple times, that as long as a payment of {$170.00} was made by XX/XX/XXXX, my account would be current until XX/XX/XXXX. I brought up the payment of {$360.00} that had yet to leave my account. The rep recommended that I call my bank and put a stop alert on the payment. I repeatedly asked if that specific payment not clearing would affect the extension we were discussing, and the rep assured me that no, no matter what, the extension only required the payment of {$170.00} by XX/XX/XXXX to be current until XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, through chat, I was told that {$290.00} was due on XX/XX/XXXX. The rep said that since the XX/XX/XXXX payment was reversed, there was now a payment due in XXXX, although the rep 4 days prior had said otherwise. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I logged into my account and it showed 3 different payment amounts due. There was a past due amount from XXXX I had never seen of XXXX. The rep I chatted with that day told me I owed {$290.00}, and the auto snapshot through Ally 's website said the total due was {$430.00}, all with the due date of XX/XX/XXXX. That rep informed me that since a payment from XXXX was canceled, the extension covered months XXXX and XXXX instead - a payment that Ally told me to cancel, and a payment I had already clarified would not affect any future amounts/due dates. I also called that day to attempt to speak to a supervisor and was not able to. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called and spoke with a supervisor. During that conversation, the rep told me that if I paid {$350.00}, my account would then be current until XX/XX/XXXX when normal payments would resume. I made that payment on XX/XX/XXXX. 
During that conversation, I saw in the payment section of my account that was still a payment scheduled for XX/XX/XXXX- which would have been the final payment of the catch up plan that had been canceled. I verbally confirmed with the rep many, many times that the payment would not be drafted by Ally. I told the rep that I had XXXX forms of written documentation from Ally, not to mention all of the verbal and chat confirmation, that the catch up plan had been canceled and therefore the scheduled payment of {$360.00} on XX/XX/XXXX should not be scheduled. I repeatedly told him that if Ally drafted the funds from my account, it would be an unauthorized transaction, I did not authorize it, and I did not authorize it because it was for a plan that had been canceled by Ally. The rep verbally confirmed many times that the payment would be canceled before XX/XX/XXXX. 

I confirmed again that at that time, my account was current, with no payment due until XX/XX/XXXX, so there should be no reason Ally would need/want that payment on XXXX anyway. The rep confirmed. 

It was not canceled, and Ally initiated an ACH transaction on my checking account through XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX in the amount of {$360.00}. 

I called Ally on XX/XX/XXXX and wanted to speak to someone high up enough that they could tell me how and why this payment was drafted, because it was unauthorized, and Ally had known very clearly that it was not authorized. I've been waiting since XX/XX/XXXX for that return call, because they would/could not escalate me to that level. 

I called again on XX/XX/XXXX, was again told to wait for a call back. I did not receive it. 

I chatted on XX/XX/XXXX and asked to be routed to XXXX resolutions. I was told they would call me within XXXX business days. I have not received a call. 

I chatted on XX/XX/XXXX and was told the 'concern team ' would reach out within XXXX hours. That rep also told me that the ONLY call back request in my account was from XX/XX/XXXX, meaning all of the prior representatives were not notating my account that I was requesting a call back. I asked to be escalated, I was denied and told to wait for a call from the concern team. 

I called XX/XX/XXXX and was told for the first time that the settings in my account were such that Ally was unable to leave me voicemails or send text messages. I told the rep that I did not want the settings in such a way, she asked for authorization to change the setting, and I gave it. This rep told me that someone had called once on XX/XX/XXXX and as they weren't able to leave a message, they never tried again. Even if you can't leave a voicemail, there is a secure messaging service through Ally 's website they easily could have used. 

I also let the rep know that I'm not, not making payments for no reason- at this point I'm so confused about what's owed, when, how much, and from what time frame that I want and need clarification on what exactly has happened in my account. This rep informed me that my account is currently in collections. 
I asked to be escalated and the rep told me no supervisor was available, I needed to wait for a call back. 
This rep verbally confirmed that I would receive a call back by end of day, today, XX/XX/XXXX. As I'm typing this it's currently XXXXXXXX XXXX EST - I have not received a call, and I answered every one that came through, regardless of whether or not the area code was familiar. 

I've also had issues hammering out late fees. I've accrued late fees throughout this process, and I don't feel I should be responsible for any late fees/additional interest/etc due for the confusion done on Ally 's part - particularly when I was following the advice of an Ally representative regarding things like canceling or reversing payments. 

I've requested an audit of my account for the above purpose. I have been attempting to contact someone at Ally for months to get everything straightened out, and I'm repeatedly denied an escalation to a supervisor while being told I'll receive a call. As of right now, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXXXXXX XXXX  est, I have not received that call, a text, an email, a secure message through the company 's website, nothing. 

I appreciate the time you're taking to look into this. At this point, I no longer trust Ally to deal with me fairly or accurately.