Problems with Bank One Freedom Lease

CMNTMXR81 · October 7, 2002

Ok, As most of you know, I had a 97 Tahoe. I leased this vehicle as I planned on not wanting to keep it. Anywho, I am now having it out with Bank One. I turned the truck in on July 27th, 2002 (I think that was the date). About a month later I received a bill from them for $700. Half (or $350) was a "Disposition Fee" which I didn't have a problem with and subsequently submitted the $350 as payment. The other half, also $350, was a "late charge." This is what I'm disputing. As of Friday, they are sending my problem to collections because I did not agree with them. :angry:

Anyway, Over the 5 year lease, my payment was late 14 times (unbeknownst to me). I simply paid my monthly amount every month.

Here is the EXACT wording, bold facing, capitalization, punctuation, etc from the contract I signed. It is a closed end Bank One Freedom Lease;

LATE CHARGES
Unless prohibited by law, you agree to pay a Late Charge on any Monthly Lease Payment which is overdue for 10 days equal to 5% of the amount of the late payment or $25, whichever is less. If your delinquency requires additional collection costs or activity, we may also collect a charge based on the costs we incurred (and on any applicable state law), unless prohibited by law.

Hence, the 14 late payments x $25 = $350.

What's my dispute you ask? If you have an issue with me being late, let me know in a timely fashion. Some of those 14 late charges dated back to 1998. When I've been late on my Camaro which is due by the 15th of each month (which is also a Bank One LOAN and automatically deducted from my Checking account), I'd get a call from Bank One by the end of the month to let me know they were unable to deduct it. No problem, I'd manually make a payment.

On the Silverado, they bill me on a monthly basis, so the one time I was late, it was on the bill. No problem.

I called them originally on 8/22/02, spoke to a customer service rep (name and number withheld on purpose), who put my payment in lingo until the dispute was resolved. At the same time she requested a review on my account to find out where the late charges were. I was told to call back in a week or two while she got this info. I then called her back on 8/28/02. Once I got this info from her, she instructed me to send a letter to the Disputes Department stating my case. I composed and sent this letter on 9/3/02.

Shortly thereafter (about a week and a half), I received a letter from them with a statement of the 14 times I was late, WHICH I ALREADY knew! Nothing got accomplished with this letter! They essentially regurgitated info I had given them in my original letter to them.

At this time, I called the same customer service rep again (on 9/16/02) and stated what had happened. She suggested sending another letter. I also composed and sent this new letter on 9/16/02 telling them that their last correspondence with me basically amounted to nothing and to call me at a specific number and/or e-mail and let's get this resolved.

To which I get a call from them on Friday 10/4/02 from a general person (I don't know what department he was in), he stated that their ruling was their ruling regardless of whether I disagreed or not and that if I wasn't going to submit payment, that they will forward my account on to collections...I told him "go right ahead. Be sure to have them call this number (my lawyer's) and they can talk with him!"

My problem is this, before people jump all over me for being late 14 times, I'm human! If you are going to bill someone for late charges, do so in a timely fashion. I'd have been willing to pay some of the more recent 2001 and 2002 late payments, but what the heck is with me being nailed for 1998 and 1999 charges in July of 2002???? That's flat out B.S. and poor customer handling if you ask me. If you had me being late in 1998, perhaps one of your lazy a$$ customer service reps who are so intent on calling me NOW, should've called me THEN to let me know I was late. I had no clue I was late until I opened up that bill and saw $350 in late charges...I was thinking "WTF is this!!!!!!!!"

I have been seriously contemplating yanking all my business with Bank One as a whole due to this matter. I have two other loans with them, several CD's and other investment portfolio's with them on top of my savings and checking account. If this is a sign of how they treat customer's, perhaps they need to re-think a few things!

lovecars · October 7, 2002

Consider janking the business from them, but don't expect any onther bank to be any better.

Been there done that.

I'm going through this with my business and Bank of America right now. :angry:

I'm going to pull all my business from them and will never do anything with them ever again.

But my expectation are not going to be good with whoever the new bank is going to be.

hogger999 · October 8, 2002

I've had my go arounds with Bank one for the same thing.

I tried to help a very close friend of mine. I mean this girl and I were more than best friends we were about as close as too peaople can get. She needed a new car in a bad way but had no credit. Not bad credit. Just No credit. So we go shopping and she decideds to she wants a new '99 Cougar but can't afford it. So some slick MF in a polo shirt talks her into leasing. O.K. fine. He then tells me if I Co-sign for her and she is good on her payments for six months they can re-write the lease in her name only. The finance manager confirms this.

Six months later, She is even a payment ahead somehow :thumb: So I call Bank One and they tell me,.... Everyone...."You can't re-write a lease". My opinion is that when the Finance Mgr. writes a loan you he is a representative for the bank. To bad my opinions don't matter.

I'm sure you can guess how this all turned out. About 3 mos. later she starts missing payments. I never got a single call until she was three months late. This went on and on. Of course no attorney would help because I had nothing about what I was told in writing.

:angry:

Bank One didn't even bother to tell me the car would be repo-ed until the day they came to get it. By this time the car had a bent frame, bald tires, ruined interior, and was already over mileage with two years left on the lease.

They did however send me a statement demanding $12,000 for unpaid balance, overdue fees and late fees, which are two different things by the way.