Consumer complaint received 2017-10-27
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Struggling to pay your loan — Denied request to lower payments
Company: Bridgecrest Acceptance Corporation (FL)

My family and I were impacted by Hurricane Irma in the month of XX/XX/XXXX which brought on unexpected and undue stress. Until Tuesday, I 'd never been so humiliated by a company in all of my life. 

I called the company the day before ( XX/XX/XXXX ) my payment was due to find out if there was anyway to defer the existing payment because I was struggling to make ends meet after having to unexpectedly be away from home for 8 days. When I contacted the company, I was advised by the rep that there was a program in place that could defer the payment until my next due date. I was then asked by the rep if I would be able to make the payment by my next due date and I advised him at that time that I would need until XX/XX/XXXX because that 's when my husband receives his XXXX from the government and he would need to make the payment for me because I 'm not currently working. The rep said ok and he 'd submit the documentation for the deferment. 

I continued to receive calls daily ... sometimes twice per day from XX/XX/XXXX almost through the end of the month. One of the representatives told me that the deferment had been submitted and approved and I should n't be receiving any additional calls. That was before the end of the month. I ca n't recall the exact date. 

On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, I received an email from a rep by the name of XXXX stating that " we '' tried to get my account resolved. First of all, I do n't recall ever speaking with her and could n't understand why I was receiving an email about my account instead of a call ... since there was a so called " issue '' with a previous arrangement. I immediately responded to the rep by calling the telephone number she provided in the email. Once XXXX answered, I was rudely advised at that time that my account was 31 days past due and the deferment that was promised was declined on XX/XX/XXXX with NO notifications, NO correspondence via mail, NO emails, and NO phone calls. When I asked why my account was showing past due for 31 days, I was told the company was hit with so many request for hurricane deferments that they ran out of money and many of the deferments had to be declined. Lacking empathy for the fact that my family had to be uprooted for over a week, I was then given the option to make two payments to bring the account current. I was completely taken back by everything that was going on and baffled at the fact that the promise this same company made to ensure my account would be secured. I reminded XXXX of my conversation with the initial rep from XX/XX/XXXX ... stating that my husband has been making my payments for the past 4-5 months on the first of every month and funds would n't be available  until XX/XX/XXXX for my regular payment. I also told her that I was due to start a new position within the next couple of weeks and I would work towards bringing the account current ... even though it 's their fault why it 's past due for 2 payments. XXXX then offered me the option to postdate a payment for the XX/XX/XXXX for a regular payment and she would at that point submit a request for a deferment based on me making a payment on that date. She advised me to call my bank to find out if the payment would withdraw by the XX/XX/XXXX to ensure I do n't incur any overdraft fees. I told her that I was n't comfortable with that and it was unlawful and poor business practices to tell me to use funds that are clearly unavailable. She then began to ask, how was I able to make payments before the XX/XX/XXXX in prior months. I explained to her, if my husbands deposit is made early ... I make the payments early to ensure my commitment to them is fulfilled. I did n't realized me being responsible would be detrimental. I offered to postdate a payment for XX/XX/XXXX for a regular payment and XXXX declined. She told me to make the payment on XX/XX/XXXX on their website and she would continue to look for ways to assist me with my account. She also said hopefully additional hurricane assistance would be available at that time. That call lasted for 1hr. 

I continued to receive calls from that day until now. Today I received a call from XXXX at XXXX. She acted as if she did n't remember anything we previously discussed or if none of the information I requested to have documented in its entirety was before her. She proceeded to ask for a payment equivalent to 2 monthly payments. I declined ... reminded her that my husband gets paid on the XX/XX/XXXX and I 'd be willing to make a single payment at time and that their inability to process my deferment was due to their negligence. She continued to ask for the payment ( s ) and I continued to state what should 've already been documented based on our previous 1hr conversation. I could n't take anymore and requested to speak with a manager because I needed to get this issue resolve and was hoping to speak with someone willing to fix their error. 

I get a manager named XXXX. 

XXXX had to be the epitome of rude, belligerent, and obnoxious. He began by asking me when I could make a payment. Since he failed to read the notes and/or review my account ... I decided to educate him on what was going on with my account and why even receiving the call. XXXX NEVER acknowledged that the company " dropped the ball ''. XXXX NEVER apologized for the added frustration this company was causing. XXXX chose to mock me, be extremely rude, vindictive and dismissive of the fact that my credit and credibility is being ruined because his company did n't fulfill their promise. He continued to place the responsibility of making the payments on me. He continued to give me ultimatums ... '' If you do n't let me talk. I wo n't process your deferment. '' " If you do n't postdate the payment by XX/XX/XXXX, we wo n't submit the request for the deferment today and we ca n't help you. '' Appalled by all that was being said, I decided to ask for clarity on why the deferment was ever declined. He started by saying that it was n't because the company ran out of money and literally ended by saying the following " Due to the size of our market and based on the timeframe of your request ( XX/XX/XXXX ) we were unable to process the request before the end of the month. When the hurricanes occurred in Florida and Texas we had a variety of requests and deferments. Since the request was n't completed by the end of the month, it was declined by the XX/XX/XXXX. '' Without notice ( no calls or written correspondence regarding the hurricane deferment )!! 

So basically, because someone was unable to process my request by month end ... they decided to decline. NOT because a payment was n't made. NOT because I needed to submit paperwork and did n't, but because THEY did n't get to in time. 

I asked XXXX to fix my account and he continued to ask for PAYMENTS ( XX/XX/XXXX ... that should 've been deferred and XX/XX/XXXX that I 've said on numerous occasions would be paid by XX/XX/XXXX ). When XXXX looked at my payment history he said ( mocking ) " Well you made payments by the due date XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX ... then on the XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX of the following months, so why ca n't you do it now? '' I reiterated that if my husband gets paid from the government for his military XXXX early I pay it early. 

Realizing I was getting nowhere fast and my XXXX XXXX numbers were ... I decided to reach out this way.