Consumer complaint received 2025-09-25 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Lease
Issue: Problems at the end of the loan or lease — Problem with paying off the loan
Company: AMERICAN HONDA FINANCE CORP
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
To whom it may concern ; I am filing a formal complaint on the way the payoff for my XXXX XXXX was handled by XXXX XXXX. 
I was in a car accident on XX/XX/XXXX which resulted in my car being totaled by XXXX XXXX. 
The total loss was approved, filed and payment sent by the XXXX XXXX XXXX, electronically, to XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. We also received a copy of the total loss packet on XX/XX/XXXX via email as proof it was completed. In the packet, it showed a residual amount that was going to be owed back to us for the value of the car. I was told by XXXX, that they pay the whole amount to XXXX and the residual is paid back to us by XXXX directly. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I checked our online banking to see if the payment from XXXX had been applied to our account, and as of that date it had not, and we were still showing an outstanding balance owed. 
I contacted XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX to find out if they could see the payment to XXXX being processed yet. Our XXXX XXXX confirmed that the payment had not only been received but they had cleared the payment on their end and XXXX was showing it as cashed and processed on their end. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX XXXX to find out why the payment had not been applied to our lease to pay it off. I was told on this date that the payment had been placed onto their suspense account because they were still waiting for the payoff confirmation. I was told that since I had a copy that I should send it in via email myself and instruct XXXX to call to confirm the payoff. Then I was told in the same conversation that they did have the paperwork, that they were just waiting on a phone call to confirm the total loss. When I called my XXXX adjustor, she explained that she sent everything electronically and should not have to make a phone call. She was going to investigate why XXXX was being so difficult. 
On XX/XX/XXXX She reached out to confirm that there was nothing more anyone need to do, that the total loss had been process and confirmed with XXXX. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX XXXX again to confirm that they had everything they needed from XXXX since my lease was still not paid off in the system. The XXXX XXXX told me that everything was on file, and the payoff will be sent to the supervisor team for review and approval. That process should take XXXX  days. Knowing that there was a residual amount coming back to us, I asked about that process more, he stated that after the payoff, the residual amount takes XXXX days to be sent to us. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I called again since the balance was still outstanding on our account after XXXX  days to make sure that there was nothing holding it up. I was hold by that XXXX that it could take another XXXX days to process without any reason why. At that point I asked to speak to a supervisor. They opened a ticket to a supervisor and was told they would call back in XXXX business days. I received a call back from a supervisor named XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. At first she tried to tell me that they just received my file for review and that it should be completed in XXXX days. When I asked about why I was told on XX/XX/XXXX that my file was under review and should have only taken XXXX days from that date, the supervisor admitted that the employee on XX/XX/XXXX failed to send the request to have the file reviewed like he stated he was going to do on that date. She stated that there was no way to expedite the process at this point, but she would commit to calling me back when it had been approved. 
On XX/XX/XXXX XXXX called to confirm that the file had been approved for payoff and that our account was now showing paid off ( which I was able to confirm online as well ). 
At this point XXXX XXXX had our XXXX Companys payment held in suspense for somewhere between XXXX days, including the residual amount owed back to us. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX XXXX again to check the status of our residual check since the lease had been paid off since XX/XX/XXXX. I was told by that rep that our overage could take up to XXXX  days to process since it was over their threshold for payout. Mind you, they have had this money in their possession since around XX/XX/XXXX and I was told that the process after payoff would take XXXX days. It was never explained that there could be a need for, again, additional supervisor approvals to process this residual due to the dollar amount when I asked on XX/XX/XXXX. The rep on XX/XX/XXXX put me on hold to confirm when that check would be sent. She came back on the line and stated that she was able to get confirmation that the residual would be reviewed and approved no later than XXXX  XX/XX/XXXX. I asked to have a supervisor to call me to confirm this information I was given. She told me she would open a ticket to a supervisor and that they would call me back between XXXX days. ( Mind you last time, it was XXXX days to speak to a supervisor. ). 
On XX/XX/XXXX was still had not received a check, so I called XXXX XXXX again to follow-up on the status of the check that was supposed to be approved on XX/XX/XXXX. I was told it was approved and sent on XX/XX/XXXX in the mail. Again, this was XXXX  days after I was told and at this point XXXX XXXX had been holding onto my portion of the overage since around XX/XX/XXXX when XXXX had stated XXXX had received the funds. There was never an explanation as to why XXXX needed to hold my portion of the payoff for almost a month. Or at least why did they need to hold it an additional XXXX business days after they paid off their lease and had their money. I also asked why I had not received a call back from a supervisor, she stated my case was still open and that I should receive that requested call still. 
On XX/XX/XXXX we received the check in the mail finally, somewhere around XXXX business days since the car was paid off by XXXX and XXXX had received the funds. 
This timeline seems excessive per the timeframes I was originally given by the XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. They stated that it would take XXXX business days to process the payoff and another XXXX to process the overage. That is only XXXX business days at the most, yet it took XXXX business days. That seems to be a very deceptive financial practice. 
XXXX also seems to have a practice where files need to have insurance adjustors and customers call to monitor. In the age of everything being done electronically, why was I told they had to speak to my XXXX XXXX and why did it seem like my file only moved along the chain of approvals after I called to request my file to be reviewed each time. 
This was our XXXX XXXX lease over the years and now knowing that their lending and payoff practices are not consistent with the information told as the consumer, we will be very hesitant to ever purchase and finance through XXXX XXXX again. 
We did not replace this totaled vehicle with any XXXX vehicle. Our trust in their practices has been put into question. 
As of todays date, XX/XX/XXXX, I also have not received a call back from a supervisor which was requested back on XX/XX/XXXX. 
I believe that XXXX XXXX does not have a fair and consumer centric process in place. 
Please investigate.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation