01:37 PM EST, 01/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with response from Honda Motor ( HMC ) in the final paragraph.)

Honda Motor's ( HMC ) auto financing arm was ordered to pay $12.8 million by a US consumer watchdog for alleged credit-reporting failures.

American Honda Finance allegedly deferred certain vehicle loan payments during the COVID-19 pandemic and told credit reporting companies that borrowers were delinquent, even though they should have been reported as current, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday in a statement.

The action affected the credit reports of 300,000 people who drive Honda ( HMC ) and Acura vehicles, the bureau said.

The bureau is ordering the company to pay $10.3 million to harmed customers and a $2.5 million civil penalty.

"American Honda Finance Corporation has reached an agreement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to resolve an investigation into alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. AHFC has not admitted any wrongdoing but resolved this matter to better focus on its customers," a Honda ( HMC ) spokesperson told MT Newswires in an emailed response.

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