Complaint Review: GMAC Smartlease

I had a very similar incident happen to me in 2007, also with a Saturn. I went over the mileage on my lease and bought the car outright, knowing that I wouldn't be charged for the extra mileage if I bought the car. The dealership confirmed this, and this really was the only reason I bought the car. The initial dealership I bought my car through closed, so I was working with another one. They slacked off in the paperwork and it took them three months past the end date of the loan to finally process the information and get the title from GMAC - in June, 2007.

September 2007, I get a bill from GMAC owing $1500 in excess mileage, which I then complained to the dealership about since I OWNED the car. The manager was involved, and he said he would take care of it for me and that I wouldn't have to worry. I get a letter from GMAC saying that everything was taken care of as of 9/25/2007. No problems.

And then... I got a letter in the mail recently from the IRS, saying I need to make an addendum to my 2007 tax return stating that I received a debt forgiveness from GMAC. I thought it was weird, so I called GMAC to ask them about it and was transferred to their Repo department (strange, because I never had my car repossessed). They gave me the number 800-241-0172, and they sucked with trying to help. The first guy said nobody could do anything about it - I had settled the account with them, therefore, I need to claim it. Initially, I accepted this, but then I remembered that Saturn was supposed to take care of it. So I called back and talked to another customer service rep, who was much more helpful (I wish I got her name and extension in hindsight, because she was the only GMAC rep to listen). She said a gentleman at Saturn settled the account on my behalf, therefore, Saturn made a "deal" on my debt forgiveness to "help me out." She gave me the name of the gentleman who handled it and I called them up, and lo and behold, that dealership closed, too.

I called customer service numbers at Saturn and they said they couldn't help me because it was a loan through GMAC and they did not have any records on their end of closed loans. More phone calls, more transfers, more rude and crass discussions from GMAC employees. In particular, Brenda, at 800-241-0172 ext. 1015, was INCREDIBLY rude to me, and stated that she couldn't get me a supervisor because they don't take phone calls, but I could leave a voicemail. I asked for the supervisor's direct number to follow up, and she said they don't have one. Ridiculous, right?

After doing some more work on it, I finally found out that the Saturn I bought the car through was owned by an auto group that was still in business, and the gentleman who "Settled" my debt was still employed. I called him and left a message, and then spoke with another manager about the issue. Here's how he said it boiled down, and hopefully, this helps you (and me):

GMAC owned the title on the car initially for the lease, and they should NOT give up the title without all debt being forgiven on the account first. Therefore, if I owed money on the car, they would not release the title until that is paid for. Because I received the title and plates in June 2007, all debt should have been cleared and wiped clean. However, GMAC's debt branch put in a claim that I still owed them money - which is impossible, because I owned the car at this point, and still do to this day. The manager was honest and advised that GMAC is probably trying to scam people out of money and trying to get any penny that they can.