This all began with a simple call on 2/25 to request a skipped payment and extend the loan by 1 month. I had a financial hardship due to medical payments. I have been paying for 5 years without missing one payment or being even 5 seconds late. I paid directly out of my account, so it was always on time.
When I called, along with the skipped payment, I asked if the payment could be moved from the 27th of the month to the 5th of the month. I am a state worker and am paid on the 1st of the month. They said there was no problem because my payments were up to date and on time. They wanted a payment, and I said that I was calling to skip the payment, not make one, and to add the month on to the loan. They became very aggressive and rude. I became angry and finally asked to talk to someone who spoke English and lived in this country and was a supervisor. I finally ended up in the Texas office (I think). Things were straightened out, and I was told the next payment was due on 4/5 and a month was added to the loan.
What they did not tell me then was that I was supposed to put a stop on the 2/27 payment, and they processed the $543 payment through my account. The bank called and told me this on Friday, 3/19, and that my account had accrued over $350 in bank fees because of the processed payment (along with my other automatic payments). I called and was transferred several times, each time having to give my security information over and over to someone in a third world country. Again, I became irritated and requested someone who could speak English and was a supervisor.
I was transferred to a Cathy Baxter, who said the payment would be refunded with the bank fees, but I had to have the bank fax the routing information, and the funds would be in my account in 3 working days (by Wednesday, 3/24). I had the bank fax the information to "Robin" at 866-459-5373. His contact phone number was 972-653-9237. The bank tried several times to reach him, and he never returned the calls.
The funds were not refunded, and on Friday, 3/26, I called again. I reached multiple rude foreign employees. They kept transferring me all over India and the Philippines, and each of them refused to talk to me without my giving security information each time (approximately 13 times). One even refused to let me talk to a supervisor or a manager, even though I was told by Cathy Baxter to always ask for one. This employee told me I was wasting the supervisor's time because he would just tell me what HE was telling me (I requested a supervisor 21 times). When I finally asked for HIS manager, he transferred me back to India from Texas, and I had to start all over again. One of them wouldn't even talk to me until I identified the make and model of the car the loan was for. This went on for 3 hours. I was so upset when it was over that I was literally sick. By now my account was $1,100 overdrawn, all because of the payment processed on 2/27.
Finally, the guy in the Philippines saved what thread there was to save (I thought) and set up an appointment time the next morning, Saturday, 3/27 at 10:00 am, for a manager to call me. He also provided me with the employee ID numbers of the employees who were so awful: NP99591, DO36527, and P790. He also gave me a phone number, 866-687-7967, that would bypass the foreign countries and put me directly into the Texas office.
Saturday morning rolled around, and at 10:00 there was no phone call. At 10:45 I called. I was told that if I spoke with a supervisor NOW it would delay my refund. I persisted in speaking with a supervisor and was finally put through to someone named Edwin. He told me I would have the funds in my account by Monday morning, 3/29, and he did not know why it had not been processed.
Monday rolled around, and there was no refunded money. I called again, and after multiple transfers all over the world, I was put through to a "team leader" whose name was Bill Right. Right away he wanted to know why I was deferring a payment. I told him that this had already been established and that I was tired of repeating myself. He asked me, "Do you want your money back or not?" I said, 'Read the notes from the last 10 days.' He said the refund was never processed, and at first he tried to tell me the information faxed by my bank had never been received. I asked him where that fax with all my account information on it was. Then, all of a sudden, the 'fax had been received' and again 'never processed.'
Then I was informed that when he processed it, I would be over 30 days in arrears. I explained that there had been a month extension put on the account on 2/25 and a new payment date established, from the 27th of the month to the 5th of the month, beginning with April 5th. He said that wasn't so and there were no notes in the system. He pretty much said it wasn't true. I argued with him and said there was another $35 charge for stopping the 3/27 payment from going through, another $37 charge for the bank paying my phone bill, and another $168 charge (at $8 a day) for the account remaining overdrawn. He said I had to send another fax of my bank statement that was up to date so that a check could be cut in 48 hours for the refund. I told him that it WAS up to date when this all began, and he said, 'Do you want the fees returned or not?' And again he reminded me that my account would be over 30 days in arrears after the refund.
I don't need to go into the discussion we had for the next 10 minutes, but we went round and round. I told him bottom line: his employees had dropped the ball and caused this whole thing back when a simple phone call was made on 2/25.
Again, I had the bank fax the information to Bill's attention at 'his' fax number, 866-748-4578. Bill's call back number was (OH SURPRISE!!!) 800-532-7230 (India) X: 43543. When I said something about it, he said, 'That's the number, you can use it or not. I'm not a supervisor.' He said, 'Just tell the bank the team leader is expecting their call.'
Well, I got home tonight and there was a message on my HOME phone from 'Robert' that they NEEDED PERMISSION TO TALK TO THE BANK! I called and left him a message, and his answering machine says something to the effect of: if you're having a delay in your refund, it's because there is missing information. He received the information on 3/19 (today is 3/29) AND STILL DIDN'T PROCESS THE REFUND. I am livid over this whole thing, and it appears that because of the '30 days in arrears' statement, after reading the other reports, I may be in line for a repossession.
ARE THERE ANY ATTORNEYS OUT THERE WILLING TO DO A CLASS ACTION AGAINST THESE PEOPLE TO HELP ALL OF US? Why are they allowed to continue after so many complaints? I thought the President had some sort of commission assigned to stopping business practices like this with banks, loan companies, and credit cards. Am I wrong? Open for comments.
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