Sutliff Chevrolet Company

Revdex.com Complaint ID *** *** visited the dealership looking to purchase a vehicleShe did share her concern that we only submit her financing to *** ** Credit UnionWe followed her request and submitted the application to *** * and also pulled a credit report, to understand
how to best assist her getting her application approved, which is our standard practice with all consumers.After the application was turned down by *** * our sales person and finance manager spoke with the Customer sharing that they were sure that we had other lenders who would approve her applicationThe customer agreed to have us send her application to additional lendersBoth lenders did approve the application; however the customer was not satisfied with the rate offered and declined to purchase the vehicle.We have spoken with the customer and explained that once we requested the lenders to review her application there is no way to have them remove the request from the credit bureauWe have requested that *** *** remove our inquiry.This is a copy of the consent and disclosure statement acknowledged by the customer on her application:I am applying for individual credit in my own name and relying on my own income or assets and not the income or assets of another person as the basis for repayment of the credit requestedIMPORTANT INFORMATIONABOUT PROCEDURES FOR OPENING A NEWACCOUNT To help the govemment fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an accountWhat this means for youWhen you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify youWe may also ask to see your driver's license or other identifying documents.By clicking the "Submit" button:| authorize dealer and any finance company, bank or other financial institution to which the dealer submits my application ("you") to investigate my credit and employment history verify my income, obtain credit reports, and release information about your credit experience with me as the law permits.I further authorize you to forward my application and all related information to other creditors for evaluation as a method of effectuating my request for credit.If an account is created, I authorize you to obtain credit reports for the purpose of reviewing or taking collection action on the account or for other legitimate purposes associated with the account.Monitoring, Recording, and Collection Communications By clicking the "Submit" button, I agree that you, your affiliates, agents and service providers may monitor and record telephone calls regarding my account to assure the quality of your service or for other reasonsI also expressly consent and agree to you, your affiliates, agents and service providers using Written, electronic or verbal means to contact me as the law allowsThis consent includes, but is not limited to, contact by manual calling methods, prerecorded or artificial voice messages, text messages, emails and/or automatic telephone dialing systemsI agree you, your affiliates, agents and service providers may do so using any e-mail address or any telephone number provide, now or in the future, including a number for a cellular phone or other wireless device, regardless of whether | incur charges as a result.I certify that I have read and agree to the terms of this application and that the information in it is complete and true

Review: I purchased a used vehicle from Sutliff Chevrolet in June 2013. During this process, I pursued auto loan financing through [redacted]. [redacted] is the preferred lender of GM vehicles. On 6/8/2013, I submitted a credit application online through [redacted]'s website. I received approval for my requested financing amount the afternoon of 6/8/2013. On the approval letter emailed to me by [redacted], it did not indicate anything about the interest rate, term, etc., simply the loan amount. I called [redacted] to find out what that information was. During that phone call with [redacted] customer service, I was instructed to call the dealer that I indicated on my application, which was Sutliff Chevrolet. Still in the afternoon of 6/8/2013, I called Sutliff and requested to speak with the credit department. On that phone call, I was told by that in order for Sutliff to even find my application or review my approval, I must submit my information directly through the Sutliff website and then they would be able to link my information with the approval. This certainly sounded odd because it was different than what I was told by [redacted] customer service. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon at the time of this call and the individual I spoke to explained that they were closing at 5. I said I would just wait until Monday because maybe it wasn't showing up in the cue yet.

I waited until 6/10/2013 and called in again. Addition[redacted], I emailed the salesperson. In both instances, I was told that I would need to submit my info on the Sutliff website. Resigned to the fact that they could only find my approval this way, I submitted my information through the Sutliff website. I was approved for the auto loan and purchased the vehicle that evening. I drove out to the dealership and they had all the paperwork prepared. I was handed a form showing the credit disclosure from my application. I signed this not knowing that this was for a whole different credit application than the one I submitted on 6/8/2013.

Subsequently, I recently did a check of my own credit history just to make sure everything was in line only to discover a number of credit checks that were unfamiliar to me. I discovered that [redacted], Sutliff Chevrolet, [redacted], [redacted], and [redacted] all conducted credit checks on me on 6/10/2013. This was all after I was already approved for credit by [redacted] on 6/8/2013. By having me submit my information through the Sutliff website, it resulted in 5 separate credit checks the were completely unnecessary. As a component of credit score, these separate credit checks have damaged my credit score.

My speculation is that Sutliff wanted to shop out my loan application to several parties for the best deal, which for me was unnecessary because I had already decided I wanted to use [redacted]. I sent a letter describing the situation to Sutliff. I was told that they have my approval and would not do anything to remove the inquiry. I view this behavior as completely unethical as it is unclear and confusing and certainly does not benefit their customers. I have posed the question to them - why would I go through a whole new credit process only two days later after already having credit approval. It simply makes no sense. The result was damage to my credit report.Desired Settlement: I would simply like the credit inquiry removed from my credit report. I view the behavior as unclear and unethical in an effort to take advantage of me to benefit from potential dealer benefits if they use certain lenders. I don't believe I was told to submit the info through the Sutliff website because they actually needed it to find my approval. I believe I was told that so they could run my application through to their partner network. And since this was never made clear, I am simply requesting that the credit inquiry be removed from my credit report. This is not a difficult or challenging request.

Business

Response:

October 23, 2013

Dear **. [redacted]:

I am in receipt of your letter dated October 15, 2013 regarding the above-referenced matter. I have looked in to this matter and have spoken with members of my staff, including those who have spoken with **. [redacted] on multiple occasions.

I have read **. [redacted]’s complaint, and I understand his concern to some degree, but I disagree with his contention that Sutliff’s behavior was in any way unethical or even unnecessary. In fact, the course of the transaction with **. [redacted] was not out of the ordinary. It appears that his concern arises from a miscommunication between him and [redacted] and Sutliff and perhaps also from an understandable but from what I am told misplaced concern about the effect multiple credit inquiries might have on his personal credit score.

**. [redacted] believes that in receiving “approval for [his] requested financing amount” after submitting an application on [redacted]’s web site

that he should not have had to do anything further in order to have that approval used in the transaction to purchase a car. However, that is not how the process works. In fact, what **. [redacted] had on September 8th was merely “pre-approval”. This confirms to the customer that he has the credit capacity to purchase a car up to a certain amount; it is not approval for a loan on a specific vehicle. This

is evidenced by the fact (as **. [redacted] points out in his complaint) that the email from [redacted] “did not indicate anything about the interest rate, term, etc., simply the loan amount.” Such is the nature of a pre-approval.

In order for an actual loan approval to be obtained, **. [redacted] had to provide an application to include the specifics of the vehicle

which he intended to purchase and from whom. This allows the bank to agree to finance a specific transaction. This is what occurred here. (It is worth noting that as part of his submitting the application to us, **. [redacted] specifically authorized us to submit the information for credit approval). As is our practice (and the custom in the industry) we transmit the application information to multiple banks in the hope of getting the best rate possible for the customer. This occurs because the banks compete with each other for the loan.

Again, **. [redacted] feels this was unnecessary because he believed he already had a loan.

More importantly, **. [redacted] asserts that this somehow harmed his credit. Again, I understand his concern. However, it is misplaced. I have personally spoken with bank representatives regarding the facts of this case to confirm my understanding that although multiple credit inquiries can lower one’s credit score in the abstract, that does not occur when one completes a transaction soon after the inquiries. This is because the industry understands that people shop before making major purchases involving borrowed funds. This often means that multiple credit inquiries are made. Because of this, such inquiries are not counted “against” the buyer when the transaction occurs soon afterward.

In any event, we are not in a position to “remove” the credit inquiry as requested. The inquiries were legitimately made, as the loan obtained required specific information. The reporting agencies are not responsive to us; they might be more receptive to the consumer. We have apologized to **. [redacted] and explained the situation but he remains unsatisfied. It is my hope that this letter might serve to allay his concerns.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Very truly yours,

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. It is what it is at this point.

Regards,