Tesla lost bank check, then claimed it bounced, now threatening repo

[jkeyser14]

I picked up my car 3 weeks ago and gave Tesla two certified bank checks. I got a call 2 days later from the local service center claiming I never gave them one of the checks. I told them that I handed the checks directly to the sales advisor and we ended the conversation. I got a call a week later from Tesla corporate asking me to ACH them money for that 2nd check amount saying I never gave them the check. I repeated what I told the local store. While I was on the phone the corporate finance agent called my local store and confirmed that they found the check and had Fedex'd it to California the week before. Fast forward another week amd I got a call today from someone else at corporate saying the certified check bounced and he threatened to repo my car if I didn't ACH them funds.

I told him to go talk to the bank and that it's not my problem. I handed them a certified check and had funds removed from my account. He insisted that I need to call the bank and straighten it out. I declined and told him to call the bank and I would be happy to conference call with him if needed.

Am I wrong here in that this is all Tesla's issue? On my side everything is paid and I have only acted in good faith.

 

[sbizzle]

I picked up my car 3 weeks ago and gave Tesla two certified bank checks. I got a call 2 days later from the local service center claiming I never gave them one of the checks. I told them that I handed the checks directly to the sales advisor and we ended the conversation. I got a call a week later from Tesla corporate asking me to ACH them money for that 2nd check amount saying I never gave them the check. I repeated what I told the local store. While I was on the phone the corporate finance agent called my local store and confirmed that they found the check and had Fedex'd it to California the week before. Fast forward another week amd I got a call today from someone else at corporate saying the certified check bounced and he threatened to repo my car if I didn't ACH them funds.

I told him to go talk to the bank and that it's not my problem. I handed them a certified check and had funds removed from my account. He insisted that I need to call the bank and straighten it out. I declined and told him to call the bank and I would be happy to conference call with him if needed.

Am I wrong here in that this is all Tesla's issue? On my side everything is paid and I have only acted in good faith.

You may want to check with your bank to see if it was ever cashed, and see if they can re-issue the check, it may have gone past 30 days and then they could not cash it if there was a time limit.

 

[jkeyser14]

You may want to check with your bank to see if it was ever cashed, and see if they can re-issue the check, it may have gone past 30 days and then they could not cash it if there was a time limit.

If that's the case I will happily do it, but Tesla would just need to communicate that to me rather than threaten me over the phone.

If that is the case I would also hope they would compensate me for having to take 2.5 hours off of work to go get another check from the bank (it isn't evenly remotely close to where I work) due to their mistake in losing the check.

 

[Ken_Y]

Things like this makes me livid but not surprised. When I picked up my car, most of the Tesla employees were all on their phones. Only a small number were actually attending to the customers. Ridiculous.

 

[Tam]

...When I picked up my car, most of the Tesla employees were all on their phones....

Maybe they are busy collecting money from customers similar to what happens in this thread.

 

[jkeyser14]

Update: I talked to my bank today. They rejected the check because Tesla didn't fill out any of the required sales info/paperwork for my loan when they made the deposit.

Tesla incompetence pure and simple.

 

[CheezyNachos]

Tesla incompetence pure and simple.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Sounds like it came down to a bank process/policy.

Tesla wasn't required to send anything to my bank to finalize the loan/payment. If Tesla receives a certified check they are going to cash it. There should be no prerequisites attached to that. If anything, that should be sorted out before the bank issues a check.

In response to the original post, until Tesla is able to cash that check and receive the funds it is definitely a you problem.

 

[jkeyser14]

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Sounds like it came down to a bank process/policy.

Tesla wasn't required to send anything to my bank to finalize the loan/payment. If Tesla receives a certified check they are going to cash it. There should be no prerequisites attached to that. If anything, that should be sorted out before the bank issues a check.

In response to the original post, until Tesla is able to cash that check and receive the funds it is definitely a you problem.

It was a blank check auto loan. These are pretty standard in the auto industry and Tesla knows all about them. It isn't the first one they have gotten from me either. The check has fields with the price, VIN number, etc. that needed to be filled out in order to be valid. The fields were listed on the check and an instruction sheet was included in case it was needed.

 

[sbizzle]

It was a blank check auto loan. These are pretty standard in the auto industry and Tesla knows all about them. It isn't the first one they have gotten from me either. The check has fields with the price, VIN number, etc. that needed to be filled out in order to be valid. The fields were listed on the check and an instruction sheet was included in case it was needed.

yeah this was a mishap by the stupid person that lost the check, but then once it was realized they made that mistake you still do have to do your part and follow through on the payment, if I were a manager at tesla, i would send you 1000 miles for the trouble or something at least, just to make it a little more worth your time of having to deal with nonsense... stuff like this happens every day and people make mistakes though, this definitely isn't a tesla issue it's just 1 person making a mistake which in my mind means they owe you something for your time at least

 

[CoastieM3]

Things like this makes me livid but not surprised. When I picked up my car, most of the Tesla employees were all on their phones. Only a small number were actually attending to the customers. Ridiculous.

No one asked me for my check. I had to give it to them. Thought maybe I won a free car.

 

[ry-ballz]

Update: I talked to my bank today. They rejected the check because Tesla didn't fill out any of the required sales info/paperwork for my loan when they made the deposit.

Tesla incompetence pure and simple.

So in other words the check bounced.

Sounds like what Tesla told you was correct.

 

[jkeyser14]

It bounced because Tesla did the equivalent of not signing their deposited check...

 

[CheezyNachos]

It was a blank check auto loan. These are pretty standard in the auto industry and Tesla knows all about them. It isn't the first one they have gotten from me either. The check has fields with the price, VIN number, etc. that needed to be filled out in order to be valid. The fields were listed on the check and an instruction sheet was included in case it was needed.

Can I ask a silly question?

Obviously it sucks that they didn't fill out the necessary info, but why a blank check auto loan in the first place? It makes sense if you are shopping around and there is a possibility you might decide on the spot to purchases something, but I don't really get the point if you were buying a Tesla. You pretty much know well in advance what the final payment will be.

 

[jkeyser14]

Can I ask a silly question?

Obviously it sucks that they didn't fill out the necessary info, but why a blank check auto loan in the first place? It makes sense if you are shopping around and there is a possibility you might decide on the spot to purchases something, but I don't really get the point if you were buying a Tesla. You pretty much know well in advance what the final payment will be.

I was liquidating stocks for my down payment and with them being volatile I wasn't sure of the exact amount. So it makes things far easier.

 

[next_levelz27]

Crazy I am having a similar situation now and they have my transaction with a trouble ticket

 

[bro1999]

This is one reason I decided to finance through Tesla's lenders even though my local credit union was offering the same rate/term.

 

[jkeyser14]

Crazy I am having a similar situation now and they have my transaction with a trouble ticket

Good luck. Tesla still hasn't redeposited my check yet. It is now over 30 days so the check will probably bounce because of it when they do. I texted the person handling my account at Tesla corporate HQ today and reminded them.

 

[Paoay168]

Update: I talked to my bank today. They rejected the check because Tesla didn't fill out any of the required sales info/paperwork for my loan when they made the deposit.

Tesla incompetence pure and simple.

Will you let me know the Tesla Center by Private Message? I have an issue with their other Center somewhere in Moco and I'm curious about how you will proceed in your case.

 

[jkeyser14]

Will you let me know the Tesla Center by Private Message? I have an issue with their other Center somewhere in Moco and I'm curious about how you will proceed in your case.

PM sent

 

[1LE McQueen]

I just had them take the amount straight from my bank account via plaid. Bing boom done. Too many worries about shipping a check, regardless of method.