Consumer complaint received 2016-06-12
Product: Consumer Loan — Vehicle lease
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — 
Company: NISSAN MOTOR ACCEPTANCE COMPANY LLC (CA)

Last XXXX XXXX, I traded in XXXX for a XXXX, CA. The lease was not mature yet, but the dealer said they would pay it off to make the deal work. I was trading the car in early because it had a low mileage range. This worked well for my previous commute but since I was being considered for a new job that would require a great deal more driving, I needed a car that I could drive further. That day, I drove off with a new car and left the old XXXX behind. 
A day or two later, the dealership called me back and asked me to come and get the old car. They told me that if they proceeded to the next level in the process it would trigger a {$400.00} penalty from the XXXX. This would happen because I turned the vehicle in early and it is an electric car that had a tax rebate associated with it at the time of sale. 
I did not want the old car so I asked why they could n't keep it at the dealership. I was told that they did n't have insurance to cover it so I went and got the car to avoid the penalty. I did not drive the car the entire time it was in my possession. I was also under the impression that there was no longer a lease contract because the dealer said they paid it off. None of this was done in writing and it struck me very odd. However, the dealership did not volunteer any information about the lease contract and I did n't know enough to ask the right questions. 
The next thing that happened was in XXXX of XXXX when I received a repossession letter from XXXX XXXX. This put me into a panic, so I took the car back to the dealer the next day. While I had always intended to take the car back, I did n't have a solid date and did n't understand that the lease was still in effect. I had been really busy learning a new job and traveling for business purposes in the previous months and was n't really thinking about the car. Apparently, I missed XXXX payments that I did n't realize were accruing. This is the point that I understood that the lease was still in effect. 
Right around the same time, I discovered that XXXX XXXX had sent derogatory information to the credit bureaus and several of my creditors reduced my limits and my credit score has dropped dramatically. 
When I returned the car, the Sales Manager XXXX at XXXX, assured me that returning the car would clear everything up. I thought that the dealership would explain what happened to the finance company and that the issue was resolved. 
In XXXX XXXX, I received a letter from Nissan stating that I owe them {$990.00}. This includes 2 months payments plus penalties and other charges. 
I called XXXX XXXX and told them the story. They insist that I owe the money. They said that I had to have been aware that there was a lease obligation to return the car in XXXX. I was not aware or I would have returned it. As I mentioned before, I thought the lease was satisfied by the final payment made by the dealership. They said the dealer was doing me a favor by trying to help me avoid the XXXX penalty, which they said was not the dealer 's obligation. They also said the derogatory mark will remain on my credit report until I pay. 

I called the dealership and was told by the General Manager XXXX XXXX XXXX, that he knows that I knew there was still a lease because they told me they paid off 6 months for me. Again, in my mind making payments to the end of the lease meant that the lease obligation was fulfilled, the same way making a final payment on the sale of something fulfills a sale. 
I would like for XXXX XXXX to erase the XXXX and restore my credit rating