Consumer complaint received 2020-03-09
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Getting a loan or lease — Fraudulent loan
Company: PENTAGON FEDERAL CREDIT UNION (DC)

In XX/XX/XXXX I called and spoke to a representative at PENFED Credit Union to get quotes for an autoloan. I was planning to purchase my leased vehicle at the end of the lease, which was coming due on XX/XX/XXXX. I was starting earlier so that I could shop around for the best rate, to estimate the cost of the loan and various add-on products, etc. I informed the representative that I was not ready to do the loan because I was shopping rates and because I still had a couple of months left on the lease. She informed me that she had to pull my credit in order to give me a quote, so I agreed. I was immediately approved for the loan, but the quoted rate was slightly higher than a rate I had already received from XXXX XXXX XXXX. I informed her that I would continue to shop around. About a week later, another representative called me and asked if I was ready for PENFED to send out a check for my loan. I said no, and again explained that I had not yet decided to take the loan with PENFED. She then stated that she was required to call me weekly to check the status, and I asked her not to do that. I told her I would let them know if I decided to take the loan. Despite this, I received a loan package, which included a check and a promissory note. I was annoyed that they sent this to me despite my expressly declining to take the loan at that time ; however, I didn't think much about it since I did not intend to ( nor did I ) sign the promissory note or cash the check. On XX/XX/XXXX, I logged onto my PENFED account to pay my credit card bill and to my surprise and utter chagrin, I saw an account for a used auto-loan with a payment due on XX/XX/XXXX. I immediately reached out to PENFED via their online email portal to notify them that I did not authorize this loan nor receive funds for it. A representative called me back a few hours later stating that they automatically create an account for individuals who have applied for and were approved for a loan. This explanation was contrary to what the representative who called me a week after the inquiry told me - e.g., that they would check back with me weekly to see if I was ready to take the loan. The representative had no explanation as to why I received conflicting information. He asked if I wanted to cancel the loan, and I reiterated that I never never authorized it to begin with so yes, cancel it. He then said something about giving me instructions on getting it off of my credit report. That was another shocker for me. How can a company put a debt on my credit report that I never even agreed to nor received funds for, and thus negatively impact my ability to continue to shop for a competitive loan rate ( which they knew I was in the process of doing ). As of today XX/XX/XXXX, I checked the account and the loan has still not been removed. I would note that after sharing my story with a coworker, she told me that about a year ago, PENFED actually opened an account for her without her permission, and she had not even applied for a loan/credit with them. This tells me that this problem might be more pervasive than just a one-off, and I urge CFPB to pursue this matter on a broad scale.