Product of the System

With the recent rash of harassing phone calls and general lack of organization on the part of the used car dealership where I bought my vehicle, I had a feeling things might not go as I had planned. And, sometimes that’s the case. The important thing is to roll with the punches and adapt accordingly.

By the way: My car dealership is DriveTime

I had everything going so smoothly, or at least it seemed so. I was told I could make partial payments during the time I could not afford to pay in full. There would be penalties but they would be appended to my loan once I was able to make full payments again (i.e. once my insurance reimburses me). Then, I found out that wasn’t true once the harassing phone calls came in.

Side Note: Never, never, never give anyone’s phone number or your main phone number out to a bill collector. You cannot give them the benefit of the doubt. They WILL blow up your phone with calls and end up costing you more when you have to change your number!

Now, I see that things won’t work that way and as I posted recently, I had to play a little word game with them and tell them what they wanted to hear –that the hardship was over. So, that was supposed to be that. They would go get approval to extend my loan and append the penalties. Ha… it was not so easy as that.

You see, I am the type of person that will forego certain things in order to pay my bills. I suppose that is my ethical side, but it has gotten me into a lot of trouble lately and has caused me nothing but headaches while none of the bill collectors will lend a sympathetic ear. So, because I had made my car payments on time for several months after the wreck that eventually plummeted me into this financial bind, DriveTime says that it must not have been that bad of a hardship -since I was able to make my payments.

Unfortunately, they do not know that I am not like most people they deal with from day to day. I actually save my money when possible and I do what I can when I can. So, I paid out of my “cushion fund” until it depleted. In any case, they refused to extend the loan and wanted me to pay right then or have them repossess the vehicle.

I was bordering on becoming irate at that point -as you can imagine. So, I began to complain again about their service, how I was forced into this situation, how they blatantly lied to me when they sold me the car and told me the 60,000 mile service had been completed when it had not, et cetera. That cost me $1,242 just a couple of months ago. The lady stopped me at that point and said she might be able to get an approval based on the recent repair bills. So, here we go down this road. Keep in mind this is all wasting time that I could be using to actually make money.

So, I faxed them the documents. Next day, they call and harass me and claim that I didn’t send the documents. I told them I would bring the documents in person along with the fax printout confirmation from Office Depot -along with the receipt. Surprisingly, they called back a few hours later and told me I had been approved but for only one month instead of two. What’s even more irritating is that it was for the month that I made the partial payment and not for this month we are in now. So, they will expect FULL payment in a few days -when I just made a partial payment a few weeks ago. I get no credit for that payment, however.

No matter. What choice do I have, right? So, the manager says I need to come to their office (45 minutes away) immediately. Umm… no, I don’t think so, buddy. I won’t be inconvenienced because they want to ensure they can continue to rip me off. I am only in this situation because I was the “victim” to begin with, so I have no choice but to drag them down with me –although, they have made several thousands in profit off of me, so they are definitely coming out ahead. I am not.

Anyway, we came to a compromise where I could go to a closer office and fill out the paperwork. We drove 25 minutes out of our way and then waited while some ladies in the back twiddled their thumbs. Then, magically, someone appeared with a clipboard. I signed the paperwork but she says they need phone numbers and references again. They already have that in their computer, why do they need it again? No, again, I don’t think so. She says that they won’t accept it without the references. “Why not? Because you all want to harass my friends and family too? Is that it? No, then, that’s fine”, I said. I cannot compromise; they cannot compromise. It’s seems to be a stalemate. It’s their move.

I have a feeling that tomorrow (or later on today, actually) I will get another harassing phone call and the manager will threaten me and tell me that I must give him phone numbers and references. I won’t do it. If this is how they are going to treat me, why would I do what they want? Why would I give them the benefit of the doubt? Why would I trust them? No, I don’t think so. They should just do what they agreed to do without continuously adding more into the mix. Instead, they try to guilt trip me into doing what they want. Sorry, but I’m stronger willed than that and I can smell bull—- a mile away.

In the end, we will see what happens. For now, it’s their move, and they feel that they have the upper hand. I suppose it would seem that way, but I never make my moves without a contingency plan and when it’s important like this, I always plan my moves at least ten steps in advance. I am a VERY good chess player, so I guess we’ll see just how good they really are.

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