My ex husband and I bought a new 2008 Honda Civic in May. Unfortunately, we were separated in April and divorced shortly after. He was awarded the vehicle and the legal responsibility of paying for it. He lost his job in August. I agreed to help out as long as I could. I notified Honda immediately upon our separation of the situation and we were given a payment extension for a small fee. The payments were never more than 30 days late until the fall of 2009 when my husband lost his job and couldn't pay on time. I spoke with Honda on many occasions to ask if they have any program in place to help hardhsip cases. I was told that Honda Finance isn't a mortgage and they have nothing available. The lady was very, very rude and almost too happy to tell us there was nothing we could do.
We tried to refinance with a few banks, credit unions and even Capital One. No one would do it because the car was over Blue Book. So, we again let Honda know that he was struggling. They agreed to change the pay date so that I could pitch in on my pay schedule. Before long, it was too much for me to pay all the bills, the house and two cars and we fell behind again. My ex makes payments as timely as he can but it runs 30 days. Still, he shows the effort to pay. Honda stopped contacting me after the divorce when the car was awarded to my husband. That is, until today. I received a very short, urgent message from Mike (no company) for my ex and it said I had to call immediately. So, I did. I found out it was Honda and it routed me to someone other than Mike, even though I dialed his extension. Tim answered the call and took my information.
I let him know that he had the wrong contact information and needed to call my ex husband's number. He said it was me they needed to contact. (The VM message said Ken). I told him we are divorced and he was awarded the car. He said the contract I signed said both parties. I explained that I realize my credit is still impacted but that the legal responsiblity to pay is now with my ex husband - as per the judge ruling. He said he would note that as a refusal to pay and he would start repossession. I told him that he needed to contact my ex. He escalated the entire conversation from there asking many questions about the whereabouts of my husband and why I wouldn't pay it for him and so on. The more logical and calm I got and managed to get in a question of my own - are you bullying me? And threatening me? - and he just ran right over my words.
I explained to him once more that my husband is out of a job and barely making it and he's still trying to make these payments. He then said he'd note the account and let me go. It's absolutely amazing that a company can treat their customers this way when they are genuinely trying to do what they can in this economy. No one wants to lose their job. No one would choose that over paying your bills and not receiving rude, upsetting, threatening phone calls. I will never again buy a Honda or deal with that company. I've already made sure I share that information to anyone I care about. As it was explained to me today, if you are 30 days late, they can reposess the car. There is no help, no program. If you lose your job, get divorced, get sick... That's too bad. Guess who doesn't care? Honda. All about the mighty dollar.
And when I asked why they couldn't give some assistance - they said they did their part. They extended a payment (not forgiven but thrown on the back of the loan with interest) and they waived some late fees. Also, they see changing the payment date as a big favor. Wow. Tremendous help. Thanks a lot.
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