GMAC / Ally lease end experience

[LagunaH1]

I thought I'd share my experience with GMAC / Ally regarding the end of lease of my 2008 H3.

I returned the truck, it was inspected and they determined that there was excess wear & tear. I managed to negotiate a settlement with Ally because their assessment of "excess wear & tear" seemed too anal retentive, and because I wasn't allowed to be present during the inspection of the vehicle. The settlement was basically just excess mileage and taxes. Naturally, I paid the settlement in full.

Recently, I got an alert from my credit monitoring service alerting me to a hard inquiry on my credit. In researching the credit inquiry, it turned out that Ally had sent my account to a collections agency to collect the "balance", or the difference between what they had originally claimed I owed, and what we settled for.

It has taken LOTS of angry phone calls to Ally and the collections agency to set this straight. So, just a heads up guys... keep a close eye on things when you go through the lease end process with Ally.

 

[M22KLARS]

That sucks but it's good that you monitor your credit. There are a lot of people that don't and **** like this can come back to bite you if you don't catch it right away.

On another note... I'll never lease. I enjoy driving far too much and put way too many miles on my cars to ever consider leasing.

 

[3Hummers]

I have never leased a vehicle. Seems like if you use your vehicle the only difference is when you pay, not how much. I know lots of people that have had to write big checks at the end of lease. To me the only positive about leasing a vehicle is the ability to turn it back in when the term is up and not have to sell it. After hearing this I don't think that is such a benefit anymore. I monitor my credit pretty closely also. In this age of rampant identity theft, hacking of retailers customer account files, laptops with millions of consumers data on it getting lost, etc you have to pay attention to what shows up on your credit report.

 

[ReconH3]

Same thing happened to my wife with Chrysler with her GC. Said sure on settled price, and then sent collection agency for a different amount. Wife nearly gave in worried about her credit rating. I told her hell no. After many phone calls it was solved. Last time we finance anything.


"Ex Umbris Venimus"

Sent from my iPhone

 

[LagunaH1]

Yep, my credit is hugely important to me. I remember all too clearly what it was like when I first had moved to the US back in 2001 and had no credit. I don't ever want to be in that position again. Leasing vs. no leasing... well, to me leasing is a different type of financing that works well if you are keenly aware of the possible pitfalls.

 

[Kurt]

I know a ton of SUV owners who got killed on lease turn ins for losing or selling the 3rd row seat. Getting charged anywhere from 1500-2000+ on top of whatever extra charges that may exist.

I'd lease a vehicle for a business but that's it. Personal vehicles? Not worth the hassle, especially for a off road vehicle.

 

[3Hummers]

I have had company vehicles that were leases in the past but never heard about any issues with turning them in. Personally I haven't ever done a lease. I can't imagine selling something off of a car I didn't own though.

 

[alrock]

Can't believe they pull those credit reporting tricks.

 

[f5moab]

I never had an issue in turning in a GMAC lease, but the last one I 'actually' turned in was back in 2003 and that was in TN. My current 08 was leased for two years, and my originating dealer did some creative stuff for me to purchase since GMAC does not like a dealer selling the vehicle to the lease customer for any amount other then the lease turn in price. And I got it a hell of a lot cheaper.

 

[HUMMER INVESTMENTS]

I never do like renting. Only time ive ever rented was when our upper radiator hose was leaking coolant and it took 1 day to fix and get back on the road.

 

[LagunaH1]

Bump.

I am still fighting with Ally and their collections agency. Ally admits that they should have never sent the amount to collections. The collections agency denies that they placed an inquiry on my credit file (which I obviously can prove they did) and Ally can't seem to tell their henchmen (collections agency) to remove that inquiry.

The fight continues.... At this point I am calling once a day, documenting everything.

 

[alrock]

Keep it up. Collections agencies revel in denial.

Get a letter from Ally stating the debt was not valid and should not have been sent to collections. Once you have that, send a copy of that letter and a copy of the credit report listing to the collections agency via certified mail. Let them know if it is not cleaned within thirty days you will file a complaint under the Fair Credit Reporting Act under section 611 regarding disputes.

In general. Subject to subsection (f), if the completeness or accuracy of any
item of information contained in a consumer's file at a consumer reporting
agency is disputed by the consumer and the consumer notifies the agency
directly, or indirectly through a reseller, of such dispute, the agency shall, free
of charge, conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to determine whether the
disputed information is inaccurate and record the current status of the disputed
information, or delete the item from the file in accordance with paragraph (5),
before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the
agency receives the notice of the dispute from the consumer or reseller.

Add that if this is not addressed in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act you will report this to the Federal Trade Commission for enforcement as well as the state Attorney General under sections 616 to 621 of the FCRA.