Consumer complaint received 2021-06-17
Product: Debt collection — Auto debt
Issue: Communication tactics — Frequent or repeated calls
Company: AMERICAN HONDA FINANCE CORP (CA)

My brother unexpectedly passed away on XX/XX/XXXX. We did not have access to his financial records regarding his auto loan with Honda Financial Services as he was receiving statements and other correspondence electronically. No one in our family had access to his email or knows his email account password. We never received written notice in the mail from Honda Financial Services ( " Honda '' ) to attempt to settle the past due loan, which I found odd as lenders generally send written notice to the account address on record to collect a debt. I was trying to find the lender when the car registration was due, but the DMV could not disclose the information. His employer notified me on XX/XX/XXXX that Honda called their office, and gave me the number to call. I called Honda on XX/XX/XXXX, and forwarded the death certificate to two different Honda email addresses as requested. 

Honda mailed notices of the amount of the loan balance and our options. I requested for additional time as we were planning to sell the car but the prospective buyer needed time to secure financing. I explained that to Honda, but their debt collection department said that the account is past due and we had to make a payment. 

I requested for copies of statements to verify if the payment amount they were verbally giving me was reasonable. Honda refused to provide the information, because we did not have court documents. My brother 's estate does not qualify for probate under California law. As a result, Honda would not talk with our family, but instead demanded the car or pay the full amount of the loan. They gave us no other options. The CA DMV has a Reg 5 form to transfer title for small estates that do not qualify for probate. Why don't auto financing companies have such an option or solution for grieving families who could try to pay the loan provided they have proper documentation to make an educated financial decision? Why do families with small estates have to face discrimination and be treated as a financially undesirable consumer segment with lenders refusing to work with them? However, the lenders have no issue with imposing their will by preying on our grief over losing a loved one. Their tactics were akin to a cyberbully demanding a ransom payment in bitcoin, or a fraudulent phone caller demanding payment in gift cards. I never expected to be at the mercy of such severe bullying tactics from a multinational conglomerate that markets itself as Helpful. 

I was subjected to Honda 's aggressive and harassing debt collection tactics. They treated me as a deadbeat, even though I reminded them that I was NOT their customer. I did not sign a covenant with them. I did not default on the loan. I was trying to work with them, but they refused to provide the information our family needed to make an educated financial decision. 

One account manager, XXXX XXXX, was calling me every day at XXXX XXXX I told her I have no update, you just called me 24 hours ago. I asked her to mail statements to the account address on record so we can determine if the payment Honda was seeking was reasonable, but she said that Honda doesn't work that way. Honda does things this way, she said. Her words pretty much told me that they were not going to play fair. It was a stark example of a company 's hubris and arrogance to bully a consumer and put them at an unfair disadvantage by refusing to be transparent. 

XXXX XXXX harassing tactics left me in such distress, I demanded to speak to a manager or someone in legal who understands the complexity of estates, because I was getting nowhere with XXXX XXXX She treated me like I was a deadbeat customer who defaulted on the loan. According to XXXX XXXX, no managers exist at her company, and she is equivalent to the companys CEO. She left me with an impression that there is no hierarchy, no accountability, no recourse for a consumer at Honda.

I called Honda a few minutes later, and spoke to XXXX XXXX He was more understanding. He said that he also experienced a death and understood the difficulties of settling a loved one 's estate. He was able to send me the requested statements for my family to review. 

I spoke to XXXX, another account manager, on XX/XX/XXXX. At this point she said she was able to speak to me about the account based on information on the death certificate. I asked her why the change in treatment? I sent the death certificate on XX/XX/XXXX, and 8 out of 10 representatives I have spoken with since then have refused to work with me, but they had no issues with bullying and harassing me. Why didn't they follow the same protocol she did? She could not answer my question. Our family made a monthly payment on XX/XX/XXXX via XXXX XXXX, but we never received a written receipt of the payment from Honda. 

Our prospective buyer was able to secure financing, so I called Honda for a payoff quote on XX/XX/XXXX. I asked for XXXX, but she was unavailable so I spoke with XXXX. I asked him for a payoff quote, but he ignored my request. Instead, he decided to victimize me by giving me another round of Honda branded harassment. He kept asking me where the car was, even though we made a payment a few days ago. I told him to stop. I am asking for the amount to pay off the loan so we can get this matter over with, but he kept harassing. When I told him that I will be contacting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, he finally stopped his aggressive bullying tactics by saying that I don't have to threaten him. 

I spoke to XXXX XXXX, another account manager, later that day. I told her that I apologize if XXXX felt threatened that I was going to tattle to the regulator, but he should not have felt threatened if he were complying with rules and regulations of his industry. XXXX XXXX, provided me with the pay off amount, and the check for the full payment was sent on XX/XX/XXXX. 

We have not received any payment confirmations with dollar amounts so we can not account for every charge that was assessed and paid for after my brother died since the last and only statement we were only given was for XX/XX/XXXX. I asked if we would receive written payment confirmations with dollar amounts or a final statement so we can assess if there were any invalid charges, and Honda said no.