Consumer complaint received 2026-07-13 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — Billing problem
Company: CREDIT ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
I have taken XXXX loans with Credit Acceptance, XXXX initiated on XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX initiated on XX/XX/XXXX. I have two problems with the company and the way they conduct business. While their practices may be legal ( they claim they are ; I have no way of knowing ) they are definitely predatory and unfair. 

During periods of unemployment ( or under employment ) following a lay-off in XX/XX/XXXX, Credit Acceptance told me they would work with me regarding modified payments during my hardship period. They had agreed to accept reduced monthly payments to match what I could afford at the time. While there were some difficulties making the payments and we were subject to repossession on XXXX occassions, I was able to retrieve the vehicles and make the required payments moving forward. I have returned to Full-Time gainful employment XX/XX/XXXX, and since then, have been making full, on-time payments via auto pay. 

One problem I have with the company is that despite making these payment modifications for a reduced payment amount to maintain a good standing with the company, they left the unpaid portion of the regular payment on the front of the loan instead of putting it at the end. In so doing, they continuously report late payments to the credit bureaus and have continued to do to so to this day despite the full payments being made via autopay. For example, during the hardship period, the would accept {$100.00} in lieu of the regular XXXX XXXX  monthly payment. However, they would report it as a late payment to the credit bureaus. 

This practice of keeping the past due amount at the front of the loan created a second problem. One of our vehicles was destroyed in an accident in XX/XX/XXXX. By keeping the balance at the front of the loan, it was not covered by the gap insurance so they still show a past due balance and continue to report that vehicle as late payments to the credit bureaus. I advised them after the accident that with the loss of the vehicle we lost our second income and would not be able to make payments on a vehicle that no longer exists. 

I called Credit Acceptance approximately two weeks ago to complain about this practice of keeping the past due balance at the front of the loan and constantly reporting ( on time ) payments as late. They told me that are following the law and must report to the credit bureaus. I acknowledged that but asked why they had to keep the balance at the front of the loan rather than place it at the end so the customer would not be penalized because many other lenders do move those balances to the end of the loan so as not to further penalize the customer. They simply stated that is not how their business is set up. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I sent an email to the CEO of Credit Acceptance and he referred me their complaint department. I submitted a formal complaint and received a response on XX/XX/XXXX basically confirming their position that everything is in proper order. 

My second complaint is regarding the accrual of interest and application of payments. For the vehicle purchased XX/XX/XXXX, the original loan was for approximately {$15000.00}. As of XX/XX/XXXX I have repaid {$12000.00}. Not accounting for reasonable interest, that should leave a balance of approximately {$3000.00}. As of XX/XX/XXXX they show the remaining balance as {$13000.00}. So paying {$12000.00} has only reduced my loan amount by {$1800.00}. Paying {$12000.00} to reduce the principal {$1800.00} means I would ultimately pay {$100000.00} for a {$15000.00} loan. 

Their business practices are directly harming msyelf and my family by preventing me from improving my credit score which is making it impossible to refinance my vehicle and/or mortgage to obtain lower, more affordable rates and is also preventing me from accessing funding to make needed repairs on my home or to obtain funding to open our home business.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation