Consumer complaint received 2025-12-07 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Getting a loan or lease — Confusing or misleading advertising or marketing
Company: FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
FORMAL DISPUTE Unauthorized Conversion of Trade-In Equity, Fraudulent Optional Add-Ons ( {$1900.00} ), Billing Calculation Errors ( {$490.00} ), Vehicle Price Alteration & Tax Overcharge ( {$420.00} ), TILA Violations & Contract Fraud I . Unauthorized Use of My Trade-in Balance for Down Payment The agreed-upon quote never specified that the trade-in balance could be used as cashdown. The authorization for " for down payment '' was set to XXXX. I never agreed to pay any cashdown ; I chose a 0 % down payment. Legally, the dealership 's unauthorized use of my funds is only permissible with my explicit signed authorization. Without authorization, the dealership must provide me with an EFF refund check. 

This constitutes four violations : Misappropriation of my assets and unauthorized use of my cash for their credit settlement.

Financial Disclosure Fraud, TILA requires : Clear disclosure of all down payment sources Proof of the true source of funds for any reduction in principal Unfair Business Practices ( UDAP ) Georgia Fair Business Practices Act False inducement to sign a contract Concealing substantive transaction terms Contract Fraud My true intention in the transaction was " not to pay a down payment, '' but the dealership actually implemented : " forced deduction for the down payment, '' constituting a non-existent Meeting of Minds, rendering the material terms of the contract invalid. The signed sales worksheet made no disclosure that my trade-in equity would be used as cash down. I have never agreed to pay any down payment.

I was never informed or asked for consent to apply my trade-in proceeds toward the down payment.

However, the dealer unilaterally converted my trade-in equity into a down payment without my authorization.

Secondly, the optional add-ons priced at {$1900.00} in the quote were directly added to the final price without being marked as OPTIONA, without being informed that I could refuse, and without a separate confirmation/checkmark or signature, misleading me into believing that they were a " must-have '' standard item included in my quote. Their actions : 1. Fraud by Omission : Concealing key facts that could have been refused.

2. Deceptive Sales Practices : Violating the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act.

3. Unlawful Tied Selling.

4. Contract Invalid Add-On : The {$1900.00} add-on is invalid and unenforceable.

My demands : Full refund of {$1900.00} ; Removal of the item 's impact on the loan and recalculation of the loan principal ; Amendment of all financing disclosure documents ; Obtaining a revised agreement from the bank.

III. The quotation calculation was incorrect. The original total price was {$10000.00}, and the final balance was {$31000.00}. However, after repeated verification, the total price was found to be {$1000.00}, and the final balance should be {$31000.00}. This resulted in an overcharge of {$490.00} and an error in the contract loan calculation, infringing on my property rights.

The legal characterization of this matter is very clear : 1. Truth in Lending Act ( TILA ) violation TILA explicitly requires : All finance charges, amount financed, and total price must be accurate, verifiable, and free of falsification.

Your situation falls under : Inconsistent quote contract loan Inflated loan principal due to data errors 3. Material Contract Error ( Major Contract Error ) The amount is a core clause in the contract.

Proof : Calculation errors caused the amount to change, rendering certain contract clauses invalid.

My demands : Refund of the full {$490.00} Correction of the loan principal and monthly payments by the bank Issuance of a corrected credit disclosure document Inclusion of this error in the regulatory investigation Four : The quoted price and the contract price are inconsistent. The quoted price is {$29000.00}, and the contract price is {$32000.00}, but the final loan price remained unchanged, thus deceiving me into signing.

Unauthorized alteration of the train ticket price changed my tax base, increasing my tax from {$2800.00} to {$3300.00}, resulting in an overpayment of {$420.00}.

Price fraud + contract tampering + tax base misrepresentation + multiple TILA violations constitute serious illegal activities.

1. Contract Tampering : The price of a vehicle is altered without prior notice.

US legal status for contracts : Material alteration without consent. A serious legal violation, punishable by law enforcement.

2. Fraudulent Inducement : I thought I signed for : Price {$29000.00}.

The price actually injected into the contract was : Price {$32000.00}.

This is fraudulent inducementfraudulent contracting.

Tax base misrepresentation & illegal tax increase.

Tax calculation = Vehicle price Tax rate.

I did not agree to a higher tax base.

But the dealership : Used an inflated vehicle price Declared a higher tax base Forced me to pay more taxes.

3. Major TILA Violation : TILA Mandatory Disclosure Requirements : APR / Amount Financed/ Total Price must Be entirely based on the actual transaction price.

4. Intentionally " keeping the total loan amount unchanged '' to conceal fraudthis is the worst offense.

Increased the car price But simultaneously : Secretly used my Equity to offset the difference Or internally reversed the transaction To keep the final balance unchanged, with only one purpose : To make me " not notice the difference, '' and trick me into signing on the spot as soon as possible Misappropriated Trade-In Equity {$4500.00} Fraudulent Optional Add-Ons {$1900.00} Mathematical Billing Overcharge {$490.00} Sales Tax Overcharge Resulting from Unauthorized Price Alteration {$420.00}

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation