Complaint Review: Americredit Financial Services

I bought a car through a dealer a couple of years ago and it was financed through Americredit. In August of 2001 I had a minor accident which left the passenger side with a long scrape on the car. The insurance company sent me a check for $1500 made out to both me and Americredit. I called customer service and asked them if it was ok for me to endorse the back of the check and forward it to them to pay off my loan.

I was given a figure of around $1000 as a pay off balance. The customer service rep said she had to check with a supervisor to see if that would be acceptable, and after a short wait she came back on the line and said it was ok.

I asked if I should send the check to the attention of anyone, and she responded that it was not necessary because she had marked my account with a note as to the agreement and however posted it would see her note when accessing my account information.

She also told me it would probably take 10 - 14 business days before a check would be issued to me for the approximate overpayment of $500. I then proceeded to mail the endorsed check for $1500 along with a letter confirming the verbal agreement I had just made over the phone.

Over a month later, having not received any response I attempted to call customer service. During the next two weeks I tried over a dozen times and on two occasions I waited while listening to their recordings for over two hours before hanging up. I then wrote a letter to them explaining that I was not able to contact them through their customer service phone number, and inquired as to the status of my account and the check I had sent to them. I also enclosed a copy of the first letter which I had sent along with the check. Two months later still no response !

About the 1st of March this year I again sent them a letter along with copies of everything else I had communicated to them, inquiring not only what the status of my account was but also that I was expecting to receive a check for approximately $500, the release of the owners' certificate for my car, and a statement that the account had been paid in full and closed.

Finally, on April 4th I received from them a copy of my loan certificate stamped "PAID" and the owners' certificate for my car properly signed and released by them. NO CHECK ! NO EXPLANATION ! NOT EVEN A CLOSING STATEMENT SHOWING THE BALANCE ON MY ACCOUNT HAD BEEN PAID ! ( by the way I stopped receiving any statement from them immediately after I submitted the $1500 check ).

THEY HAVE STOLEN MY $500 AND CONTINUE TO IGNORE ME !

Even with all the aggrivation I have gone through with Americredit, at least I now have the owners' certificate to my car. There are a couple more things I will attempt do to get my money back, before I pursue the legal court system. I WILL EVENTUALLY GET MY $500.

Murray
Canyon Country, California