Consumer complaint received 2025-01-14 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Getting a loan or lease — Loan opened without my consent or knowledge
Company: Exeter Finance, LLC.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I visited the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX dealership, at XXXX XXXX # XXXX, XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX where I executed a retail installment contract for the purchase of a XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX. The dealership advertised the vehicle for {$17000.00}, but subsequently informed me that I was required to purchase a mandatory warranty, which was priced at {$3400.00}. After signing the paperwork, I agreed to the terms of a XXXX financing period with a monthly payment of {$610.00}. I then took possession of the vehicle. 

Upon receiving the welcome letter and email XX/XX/XXXX, I logged into the account provided by Exeter Financial and discovered that the monthly payment listed was different from what I had agreed to. Further examination of my retail installment agreement revealed that the new payment terms had been altered to {$610.00}, and that the signatures and initials on each of the contract pages differed from my original signatures. 
I immediately contacted Exeter Financial, who confirmed that the contract they had received contained the modified terms and further clarified that no mandatory down payment, contrary to what the dealer had told me, was required by the lender. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I returned to the dealership to verify whether they possessed my original contract and to inquire whether I had signed any documentation authorizing them to alter the terms of the contract without my consent. The finance manager denied any such authorization. Upon confronting him with the issue of potential fraud, he offered to correct the matter by having me sign new paperwork, along with an offer to reduce the price of the vehicle by an additional {$1200.00} as compensation for the inconvenience. 
However, the underlying issue remains that the dealership altered the terms of the contract without my consent. 

They failed to provide a proper disclosure of the truth-in-lending terms in the revised contract. Additionally, they forged my signatures and initials on every page of the contract, denying me the opportunity to review the document to confirm my understanding, as required under the Notice to Buyer section, which states that I am entitled to an exact copy of the contract I signed. The contract sent to Exeter Financial does not reflect the version I executed, and I never had the opportunity to review, agree or sign the altered Retail Installment agreement.

Under this section of the UCC 3-404 : Forged Signature or Unauthorized Signature a signature is considered unauthorized if it is forged or if it was obtained by fraud. Since my signature and initials were altered or forged on the contract, the dealership violated this section as they did not have my consent to modify the terms of the contract or forge my signature. 

Under this section of the UCC 2-106 : Breach of Contract a contract is formed when there is mutual agreement, offer, and acceptance. The dealership altered the terms of the contract after I signed it without my consent, which is a breach of the original agreement. 
Under this section of the UCC 5-109, Fraud and Forgery. The dealership presented a contract to Exeter Financial that contained forged signatures and altered terms, which can be considered " forged or materially fraudulent '' documents under subsection ( a ). The altered contract is a material deviation from the original agreement I signed, and by submitting a forged version, the dealership committed material fraud, violating the conditions outlined in 5-109.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation