Complaint Review: Ugly Duckling Aka Drive Time - Mesa Arizona

I will not boreyou with the details of the begining. I bought a car, the transmission went out, I put in 1500 dollars to fix it. Sounds similar, huh? Well, this is where it gets interesting.

I moved to another state, bu kept my car in Arizona with some pepole. Right after the move, I fell behind a payment, cause I was still looking for a job. Well, that's when the phone calls started. Not just to me, but to my family and friends. What stuck me odd was that they were also calling friends that I did not give them numbers to. I started to wonder how they found out about my friends without my telling them. Well, it became a battle, adn since I could not pay the high price for the car (3 times what it was worth) I asked them to repo the car.

At first, they didn't want to do that. They kept harrassing me, but finally they told me they would repo the car. They did it about two weeks later. According to them, it was over. I had over a year left, but the sale of the car at auction woudl cover the balance. This is what I was told.

But it was far from the truth.

Fast forward to this year. I got a certified letter in the mail telling me that I owed over 4,500 dollars on the car. There was no exp[lanation for this. Just a threatening letter. Now, at the time, I had no idea that they were changing their name, and their management (at least in some cases, I'll get to that in a sec,)so I just thought it was a mistake.

It was my mistake.

They started calling me. Now, with Call ID, I can see if it's OUT OF AREA, so I usually don't answer. I started to get a lot of those, but they were always hang ups. They never left a message. Once or twice I picked up the phone, and then they would "talk", claiming to be from CREDITNEXT, collecting for Ugly Duckling. I looked up CREDITNEXT, and saw that it was not a collection agency. I thought about the hang-uos,and the fake, rough voices on the other end of the line. I became scared, just a little. I called Drive Time, and after much harrasssing, they said that I did indeed owe that money, but they had never heard of CREDITNEXT, and then proceeded to ask me my updated number and address. I hung up.

What happened next is not really believeable, but that shoud make it credible. I got calls at three in the morning. When I picked it up, they asked to speak to my girlfriend (not mentioning her by name). They said if I wouldn't pay the money, maybe she would. I hung up and unplugged the phone. They did call back, but they didn't leave a message. What was disturbing was that the CALL ID number that was left was from a payphone, in CHICAGO. They had come here to harass me. I had had enough.

But I didn't have enough to go after them. I had no proof. SO I called DRIVE TIME and settled my balance. It should be over. I do not like not so vague threats agianst me and my girlfriend. This is the problem I encounter. The calls that were made cannot be connected to U.G. or Drive time. I could never get any of the thugs who called on tape, becasue they would never leave a message. And, yes, the car was repo'd, so I have no way off saying that I didn't owe the money. What is more distressing is that the last thing the guy said before he hung up the last time was "Just pay what you owe, and quit calling around asking about us, or this could go to court or something." At three in the morning, this did not sound like an average conversation. I was too scared to even talk about this, but I see how so many of you are being screwed by them. So I hope this story helps. They have not called recently, and as of today, there is no record of me at Drive time. Probably better for them to get my name off of the books (at least that's what the lady said. I don't think the same people are running the place-at least not in the front office.) All I wasnt is for this to go away, and I think it has. If anybody wasnt to file a class action suit against them, I would be more than happy to join, but right now, I'm glad they're off of my back..

Lesson learned. Keep your nose clean, don't listen to "Bad credit, no problem" guys (the funny thing was, my credit was good. I was just young and dumb.) and, above all, STAY AWAY FROM THAT STUPID DUCK!!!

W.C.

Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.

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