legal gurus - I need some help with a car I'm trying to pay off - bank is corrupt

[landrun]

I bought a 2005 Chevy Equinox in 2010.

As is common practice, I provided proof of insurance at time of purchase. My contract says there is no early pay off penalty.

So, I got the pay off online and it is about $600 more that I expected.

So, I called to ask about it today and the bank says there is a $150 early payoff penalty. (when as mentioned above my agreement specifically says there is no early pay off penalty)
And, that they didn't have proof of insurance from the time I bought the car on May 30th 2010 to June 5th 2010. and they're basically charging me $500 for that 7 days. They say the inurance is $189 and there is a $299 charge for having to add insurance - which they can not remove from my account.

Now, I live in GA and we have a week to add new cars to our insurance policy.
I have the insurance cards in the contract packet I make when I buy a new card. I got really lucky because I have the actual cards from Geico that show this vehicle as being covered from April 2010 (before I bought the car on May 30th) to 10-2010. I guess when it is covered they just print the coverage date that matches all my vehicles.

Anyway, I have now spent about 2 hours on the phone, looking through my old Geico receipts (I've changed insurance companies) and it infuriates me because I fell like I have 3 options:
1) pay them the money they say I owe just because they asy I owe it.
2) become their slave and work for free for them doing THEIR paperwork on my account to prove I do not owe the money they say I owe
3) refuse to pay the money and get turned over to the credit bureau

2 Questions:
1) They're saying the sent me a letter that I didn't respond to and they can't remove the $299 charge now.
My first response
a) the dealership (which I have called) says they did provide proof of insurance at the time I purchased the car. (which is always the case in every experiene I've ever had. I don't even think you can buy a car without proof of insurance!)
b) I'm under no legal obligation (that I know of) to respond to anyones letter anyway.
I didn't agree to this charge and I'm not legally bound to pay it and you're not legally allowed to charge me anything just because you sent me a letter.
My question is, am I right? Or can they up and charge me this $299 just because the say so!???

2) Can I sue them in small claims court? This bank is in Tennesee and I live in GA.

I've never done anything like that before but every time I go through this sort of stuff and have to deal with an organization that I feel is intentionally corrupt I want to 1) make the stop behaving like this because I KNOW there are tons of customers who just pay what the bank says they owe 2) I value my time and don't like being forced to work for someone else for free to clear my name just because they're dirty!

[Turd_Ferguson]

Set the car on fire. Kill any witnesses. Let the insurance deal with it. YWIA.

[Breadburner]

Call the local news station and have them run a consumer story on you....That bank will **** down there legs trying to avoid that publicity......

[C&CDean]

First mistake? You bought a Chevy. Everything you got after that was well deserved for making such a poor decision in the first place.

Now quit complaining and take your lumps...

[landrun]

First mistake? You bought a Chevy.

Very true. I know... but what I got after that was because of the bank I'm dealing with... not the vehicle I bought.

[rock on sooner]

Call the local news station and have them run a consumer story on you....That bank will **** down there legs trying to avoid that publicity......

Either that or the local highest circulating newspaper's consumer
advocate!

[Midtowner]

Consult an attorney in the state of Georgia. Consumer protection laws are anything but uniform and in the South are often weighted heavily in favor of the banks/corporate interests.

[landrun]

Midtown, will the consutation cost me anything or would a lawyer look at my contract etc... for free to tell me if I have a case or not?

If I have to pay a few more hundred dollars to possibly hear "you're out of luck" I'd think it would be better to beg and gravel at the bank's feet and try to get them to reduce the fees they're wanting to charge me.

[StoopTroup]

Midtown, will the consutation cost me anything or would a lawyer look at my contract etc... for free to tell me if I have a case or not?

If I have to pay a few more hundred dollars to possibly hear "you're out of luck" I'd think it would be better to beg and gravel at the bank's feet and try to get them to reduce the fees they're wanting to charge me.

You seem to want things both ways. You signed a contract with these guys that either you or them haven't read. Why would an attorney want to take the time to read it if you didn't? It should be pretty clear somewhere in your contract that they can charge you. I don't know of any lenders that would let you borrow money on a vehicle without an insurance clause unless you had collateral tied to it to protect the lender.

If this is a Principle thing and you don't think you are being treated fairly...hire the attorney. If you think they have you by the short hairs but are just a$$ raping you then make sure your ducks are in a row and ask the local TV Consumer Advocate for help. I know that they usually will only get involved though if there is no legal suit or Attorney involved so you need to decide which avenue you are going to take.

This is just based on my personal experiences in buying vehicles the last 35 years so if any of the In-house Legal Beagles have better or different advice, I yield to their wisdom and experience.

[StoopTroup]

That letter they supposedly sent you....

Do you have a copy of that? Sometimes they send out changes to your agreement that state that unless you respond within 30 days they assume you agree to the new terms. Is that legal? No idea. Is it BS? IMHO it is but in life...there is the way we want things to be, the way things ought to be and the way it really is. Sounds like this is one of those moments.

[Midtowner]

Midtown, will the consutation cost me anything or would a lawyer look at my contract etc... for free to tell me if I have a case or not?

If I have to pay a few more hundred dollars to possibly hear "you're out of luck" I'd think it would be better to beg and gravel at the bank's feet and try to get them to reduce the fees they're wanting to charge me.

Find an attorney who offers a free initial consultation.

[olevetonahill]

Tell em to **** off dip ****
Other than that tell em to
Listen to Sleepy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl_XQVKe6So

[landrun]

You seem to want things both ways. You signed a contract with these guys that either you or them haven't read. Why would an attorney want to take the time to read it if you didn't? It should be pretty clear somewhere in your contract that they can charge you. I don't know of any lenders that would let you borrow money on a vehicle without an insurance clause unless you had collateral tied to it to protect the lender.

I have read it! And re-read it. And it explicitly says there is no early pay off penalty. It says this in both the front of the contract where it has a line of bullet points and simple statements applying to the loan and on the back in the more detailed section under a heading of Early Payoff (or something like that) - Which is why for the life of me I can't see how on earth they could claim I have an early pay off penalty!

There is a clause that says I have to have insurance. And I have. There is even a document in my contract packet I have for the vehicke that give a 'Verifiication Number' where my insurance was verified prior to getting the loan. No where on the loan do I agree to respond to a letter that they send me. In addition, their insurance fee is for a week that is covered by GA law that states the consumer is covered by exisiting insurance for 7 days - the exact period they're tring to bill me $500 for.

I think the issue with contracts is a disagreement on how to interpret them. But I don't even see how anyone could read this contract and say that I owe them either an early payoff fee or an insurance fee.

I've made up my mind I'm calling a lawyer in the morning just to see what my options are.

[landrun]

Find an attorney who offers a free initial consultation.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it!

[Blue]

First mistake? You bought a Chevy. Everything you got after that was well deserved for making such a poor decision in the first place.

Now quit complaining and take your lumps...

My Tahoe....yes Im Bruce...has been the best vehicle Ive ever owned. Of course the others were a Land Rover and a Pathfinder. I will buy another Chevy.

[Breadburner]

Ford sucks...Especially there Trucks....

[Midtowner]

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it!

If you were in Oklahoma, my advice would be to write them a letter informing them of your position and including a copy of the contract you signed, stating that if you don't hear anything in 14 days, you'll file a lawsuit against them in small claims court, then do that. I'd also promise to make a complaint to the Attorney General (although Scott Pruitt's office is a freaking joke who would sooner defend an abusive bank than protect consumers from them).

I'd also spend some time figuring out whether you could make a case to pursue damages under the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act, which could award you up to $10,000 in damages and attorney's fees and as much as $2,000 in punitive damages. Just reading the statute, I think there's something there, but I'd want to research it more before going in a concrete direction.

[C&CDean]

My Tahoe....yes Im Bruce...has been the best vehicle Ive ever owned. Of course the others were a Land Rover and a Pathfinder. I will buy another Chevy.

But you're the town durnk of B-ham. WTF do you know about it? :texan:

[badger]

Good luck with the attorney. Let us know how it turns out.


ask the local TV Consumer Advocate for help. I know that they usually will only get involved though if there is no legal suit or Attorney involved so you need to decide which avenue you are going to take.
Pretty much. Media usually only gets involved if people have exhausted all other options as well. But, the attorney route seems to be the way you're heading.

[StoopTroup]

Yeah. Same here. Seems like you just haven't gotten to a person who has an American Passport and is empowered to make good decisions for the Company. That said....I know they hire these folks cheap to answer the phones and service their customers but IMHO, by doing that, they also deserve to take a hit every now and then when they fail one of their customers.

It sounds to me like they not only have failed you but they have upset you, wasted your time, threatened you and are close to damaging your good name. If they have caused you damage...I hope your Attorney is able to make things a little easier to swallow by obtaining a nice sum of an apology for you that is in the form of US Currency.

Good luck.

[diverdog]

I bought a 2005 Chevy Equinox in 2010.

As is common practice, I provided proof of insurance at time of purchase. My contract says there is no early pay off penalty.

So, I got the pay off online and it is about $600 more that I expected.

So, I called to ask about it today and the bank says there is a $150 early payoff penalty. (when as mentioned above my agreement specifically says there is no early pay off penalty)
And, that they didn't have proof of insurance from the time I bought the car on May 30th 2010 to June 5th 2010. and they're basically charging me $500 for that 7 days. They say the inurance is $189 and there is a $299 charge for having to add insurance - which they can not remove from my account.

Now, I live in GA and we have a week to add new cars to our insurance policy.
I have the insurance cards in the contract packet I make when I buy a new card. I got really lucky because I have the actual cards from Geico that show this vehicle as being covered from April 2010 (before I bought the car on May 30th) to 10-2010. I guess when it is covered they just print the coverage date that matches all my vehicles.

Anyway, I have now spent about 2 hours on the phone, looking through my old Geico receipts (I've changed insurance companies) and it infuriates me because I fell like I have 3 options:
1) pay them the money they say I owe just because they asy I owe it.
2) become their slave and work for free for them doing THEIR paperwork on my account to prove I do not owe the money they say I owe
3) refuse to pay the money and get turned over to the credit bureau

2 Questions:
1) They're saying the sent me a letter that I didn't respond to and they can't remove the $299 charge now.
My first response
a) the dealership (which I have called) says they did provide proof of insurance at the time I purchased the car. (which is always the case in every experiene I've ever had. I don't even think you can buy a car without proof of insurance!)
b) I'm under no legal obligation (that I know of) to respond to anyones letter anyway.
I didn't agree to this charge and I'm not legally bound to pay it and you're not legally allowed to charge me anything just because you sent me a letter.
My question is, am I right? Or can they up and charge me this $299 just because the say so!???

2) Can I sue them in small claims court? This bank is in Tennesee and I live in GA.

I've never done anything like that before but every time I go through this sort of stuff and have to deal with an organization that I feel is intentionally corrupt I want to 1) make the stop behaving like this because I KNOW there are tons of customers who just pay what the bank says they owe 2) I value my time and don't like being forced to work for someone else for free to clear my name just because they're dirty!

is the bank local?

[landrun]

No. It isn't local. I'm in Georgia and the bank is in Tennessee.

They're reviewing the contract right now... :) I'm going to call them again tomorrow.

[landrun]

Update...

It took me about 12 hours on the phone etc... but the bank has finally removed all the extra fees for insurance and the early payment penalty.

They never really got back with me after they said they were going to 'order a copy of the contract' to review, but when I log into my account and look at the payoff, it has been updated as of yesterday - and the fees no longer appear.

I'm paying this thing off on Thursday! :)