Complaints About a Car Dealer or Auto Lender: Where to Go

Build your file before you complain

Agencies act on documents, not impressions. Before you file anywhere, gather what you have and put events in date order.

• The buyer's order, the retail installment contract and every form you signed, including any financing or delivery condition.
• Ads, window stickers, the FTC Buyers Guide from a used car's window, and texts or emails with the salesperson.
• Payment records, account statements and letters from the lender or servicer.
• Notes of each call or visit: the date, the person's name and what was said.
• Photos of the car, repair invoices and inspection reports if the dispute is about its condition.

Write a one-page timeline, then a short statement of what you want: a refund of a fee, cancellation of an add-on, a corrected payoff, your down payment back or a repair. A specific request is easier for a company to answer and for an agency to follow up.

Try the business first

1. 1 Find the right contact. On a used car, the Buyers Guide lists the dealer's contact for complaints. For a loan, use the servicer's address for disputes on your statement.
2. 2 Write, do not just call. Send a short letter or email with your timeline, copies of key documents and the fix you want.
3. 3 Set a reasonable deadline, such as two weeks, and say you will contact the regulators if you get no answer.
4. 4 Keep proof of sending. Save the email, or use mail with tracking, and keep a copy of everything you send.

A written record also helps with credit reporting. If a lender agreed to a payment change and later reports you late, the written agreement is your evidence in a dispute. Funditia explains how to dispute credit report errors.

Who handles which problem

Each state page names the agency that licenses sales finance companies and consumer lenders in that state. Dealers themselves are usually licensed by the motor vehicle department or a separate dealer board; your state's consumer protection office can point you to the right one. USA.gov keeps a list of state consumer protection offices, which help with complaints against businesses and investigate scams and fraud.

Filing with federal agencies

How to write a complaint that gets read

• Name the business exactly as it appears on your contract, plus the account or contract number. A dealer and the lender that bought the contract are often different companies.
• Describe events in date order, in plain sentences, with amounts. Leave out opinions about the salesperson.
• Say what rule you think was broken if you know it, such as a contract term, a disclosure or a state notice requirement. If you do not know, describe what you were promised and what happened.
• State the fix you want, with a dollar figure where there is one.
• Attach copies, never originals, and keep the confirmation number the agency gives you.

File the same facts with each agency that fits, and tell each one where else you have filed. Before your next purchase, the same offices are worth checking: the FTC suggests asking state and local consumer protection agencies whether a dealer has unresolved complaints, and searching online for the dealer's name with words like "complaint."

When a complaint is not enough

1. 1 Check your contract for an arbitration clause. If there is one, read what it says about small claims court and how to start a case.
2. 2 Consider small claims court for a refund or a fee dispute. Dollar limits and filing fees depend on your state.
3. 3 Talk to a legal aid office or consumer lawyer if you think the dealer or lender broke the law, for example by repossessing the car wrongly.
4. 4 Look for the Holder Rule notice in a dealer-arranged contract. It lets you raise claims against the seller with whoever holds the contract, and caps what you can recover at the amount you paid under it.

If the dispute is about a yo-yo deal or a repossession, our pages on yo-yo financing and repossession rights explain what the dealer or lender was allowed to do, and the page on the retail installment contract shows where the Holder Rule notice appears.

Questions people ask