Consumer complaint received 2024-02-23
Product: Payday loan, title loan, personal loan, or advance loan — Installment loan
Issue: Problem with the payoff process at the end of the loan — 
Company: Tesla, Inc. (CA)

XX/XX/XXXX To : Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Subject : Tesla Financial Services Unfair Business Practices Hello, I am writing to file a complaint against Tesla Financial Services. I have included attachments to document and validate my concerns. Here is a list of exhibits : Exhibit 1 ) Retail Installment Contract ( Simple Interest ) I entered into a simple interest loan agreement with Tesla Finance for the purchase of a solar system on XX/XX/XXXX with a financed amount of {$48000.00}. The monthly payment of {$570.00} was to begin 35 days after I was granted permission to export excess energy to my utility company. The first payment became due on XX/XX/XXXX. The contract clearly states that they calculate finance charges on a daily basis at the annual percentage rate on the unpaid part of the amount financed. 

Exhibit 2 ) Email Correspondence stating no change to monthly payments allowed on website I wanted to set up automatic payments of $ XXXX to shorten my loan term by half, thus reducing the total amount of finance charges I would be responsible for. I was informed that their system was not capable of this and that I would need to phone-in any additional payments. This was not convenient for me, so I initiated a payoff request so that I could refinance the loan with my credit union. 

Exhibit 3 ) {$47000.00} Payoff quote issued on XX/XX/XXXX good until XX/XX/XXXX I had requested earlier payoff quotes, but due to the time necessary to secure a home equity loan to refinance the Tesla Finance loan, the previous quotes expired and this is the quote that my credit union used to pay Tesla on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX days before the good until date quoted. 

Exhibit 4 ) Email correspondence with Overnight Delivery Confirmation My credit union shipped an overnight FedEx envelope with a cashiers check to Teslas headquarters in XXXX XXXX, CA and the overnight envelope was signed for by a XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX. Unfortunately, I discovered that Tesla Finance does not accept checks and they did nothing to notify me that they could not process the payment at the address my credit union used. I only found out on XX/XX/XXXX, when Tesla Finance replied to my follow-up email from XX/XX/XXXX, that they did not post the payoff payment. 

Exhibit 5 ) {$47000.00} Payoff quote issued on XX/XX/XXXX good until XX/XX/XXXX Due to Tesla Finance not accepting the cashiers check that they received to pay-off the loan on XX/XX/XXXX, the original payoff quote expired and they issued a new payoff quote of {$47000.00} on XX/XX/XXXX that was good until XX/XX/XXXX. 

Exhibit 6 ) Tesla website payment history screenshot My credit union was not going to be able to wire funds before the payoff good until date of XX/XX/XXXX because they needed to confirm the original funds from the overnight check never cleared. My XXXX payment now became due so my credit union wired my XXXX payment of {$570.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. Please note that the {$47000.00} payoff quote good until XX/XX/XXXX was issued on XX/XX/XXXX, BEFORE the XXXX payment of {$570.00} was made on XX/XX/XXXX. The credit union then wired on XX/XX/XXXX, the same {$47000.00} amount they had paid before, for a total received by Tesla Finance of {$48000.00}. You can see the dates that the XXXX payment and payoff amount were wired on the website screenshot. Please note the various dates of the previous monthly payments that were paid and compare these dates to the monthly billing statements issued by Tesla ( Exhibits 7 & 8 ) Exhibits 7 & 8 ) Monthly Invoices These invoices show the monthly payments Tesla Finance received since the first payment that was due on XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX and XXXX XXXX ). Please note that there is no indication on the invoices of the dates that the payments were actually received or posted to my account. The Tesla Finance statements only show that the minimum monthly payment for that month was received. I have also never received an invoice or statement showing the payoff payment being posted to my account to reflect a zero balance. The invoices do not show a beginning or ending balance, or how much of the payments were applied to principle or interest. The screenshot of the Tesla website ( Exhibit 6 - and the only way to manage your account ) shows there is an expansion for Financing Terms that should show the terms and remaining balance, but it has never shown a remaining unpaid balance.

Exhibits 9 & 10 ) Email correspondence about overpayment refund due Please remember that the payoff quote of {$47000.00} that was good until XX/XX/XXXX was issued prior to the XXXX payment being made. XXXX received a total of {$48000.00} by XX/XX/XXXX when {$47000.00} would have paid the account in full on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On a simple interest loan, finance charges accrue on an average daily balance and the payoff XXXX XXXX quoted was good only until XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, the payoff would be {$47000.00} plus XXXX days interest. I overpaid by {$350.00}, less XXXX days interest. 

Exhibit XXXX ) {$47000.00} Payoff quote issued XX/XX/XXXX good until XX/XX/XXXX This is my primary complaint. 

Tesla Finance stated that because the total payoff was not received by XX/XX/XXXX, that the payoff was late and that a new payoff quote needed to be issued. Tesla Finance then issued a new payoff quote on XX/XX/XXXX good until XX/XX/XXXX. TESLA FINANCE ISSUED ANOTHER PAYOFF QUOTE ON XX/XX/XXXX WHEN THE ACCOUNT WAS PAID IN FUL L ON XX/XX/XXXX. 

Exhibit XXXX ) {$170.00} Loan Overpayment Check Tesla Finance is somehow using the payoff quote that they issued on XX/XX/XXXX ( that is good until XX/XX/XXXX ) that they issued 8 days after the account was paid off to calculate my overpayment refund. If you take the {$47000.00} quote good until XX/XX/XXXX and subtract the {$47000.00} payoff quote ( and the final amount they received on XX/XX/XXXX ) that was good until XX/XX/XXXX, you come out with {$170.00}, the amount that Tesla refunded me. HOW CAN THIS BE LEGAL? 

Exhibit XXXX ) Email Correspondence requesting Amortization table I had requested on XXXX separate occasions that Tesla Finance provide an amortization table to show how payments on my account were posted. I have yet to receive anything. 

Summary : Tesla Finance is not complying with truth-in-lending rules. They are intentionally making it difficult for customers to pay off their loans early. Their automatic payment system is set-up to accept only the minimum monthly payment due and no more. They do not accept mailed-in checks and do not notify you that a received check can not be processed.

Tesla Finance needs to be more transparent and compliant with their billing statements. They need to show when a payment was actually posted and how much of the payment was applied to principle and how much was applied to interest, and what the remaining balance is after a payment is made. They are not complying with simple interest rules if they only show the due date for when a payment was paid that month and not the date the payment was actually received. 

Tesla Finance is not calculating their payoffs using a simple interest per diem rule. They received my excess payoff amount on XX/XX/XXXX, one day after the good until date quoted, and instead of charging me one days interest, they illegally charged me interest out to XX/XX/XXXX, which is XXXX days after they were paid in full. 

Instead of the {$170.00} Tesla Finance refunded me, I am due the overpayment amount of {$350.00}, less one days interest of approximately {$10.00}. I have corresponded with the supervisors at Tesla Finance and they only see things their way, no matter how I try to rationalize with them. They stated that it is their A.I. that is calculating their loans and they cant override the system, so {$170.00} is all I was getting.

I believe the A.I. statement, as the Tesla website originally tried to collect a down payment of {$8600.00} from me when the down payment due was for only {$7500.00}. Tesla could not correct the website to reflect the correct down payment after almost 30 days of assuring me they would fix it. I ended up paying the {$7500.00} by phone so they would submit my P.T.O paperwork. Even after they received the down payment, I kept receiving text notifications that I was past due when I was not. They had to disconnect the automated messages so I wouldnt receive a text notification every other day. Tesla Finance needs to be investigated into their u
nfair business practices. This is more than just a complaint about the additional {$180.00} less one days interest that they owe me. Tesla needs to be held accountable for their questionable loan repayment accounting methods. 

Please let me know if this is the correct agency to file a complaint, or if I should contact the Federal Trade Commission instead, or as well. 

Thank you, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX, CA XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX Tesla Account XXXX