- Report: #85784
Complaint Review: CIT Lease Finance Group - Chicago Illinois
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CIT Lease Finance Group
233 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, 60601 Illinois, U.S.A.
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312-980-5715
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CIT Lease Finance Group Deceptive Lease Agreement Chicago Illinois
*Author of original report: A Buy Out Agreement!
*Consumer Comment: Misdirected Discontent
*Author of original report: In Response To Cory, Truth is, yes I am unhappy with my CIT Lease and still feel that their leases are gouging businesses across this country.
*Consumer Suggestion: File your Report with FTC
*Consumer Suggestion: File your Report with FTC
*Consumer Suggestion: File your Report with FTC
Back in Sept. 1999, I switched to a new Credit Card Processing System. They informed me that my equipment was outdated and I needed to upgrade to a Tranz 460. The sales rep., JUDITH GAYNOR, informed us that we could lease the equipment, that would cost us about $1500.00, for only $52.99 a month over a 4 year period.
It sounded like a good - so after all the other paper work was filled out she gave us the lease agreement that would allow the lease company to withdraw $61.00 a month from our bank account. Her exact words were "Here - this is just your lease agreement - (as she points to the amount) saying you pay $52.99 a month (and then points to the terms) for 48 months."
In March of 2004, we closed our old bank account after we noticed $61.00 being drawn from it monthly. Immediately, we got a phone call from CIT Lease Finance Group - stating we owe them money. This in turn caused us to do some research. Here is where I have a problem.
First. The equipment is not worth $1500.00. You can buy it at merchantwarehouse(dot)com for $369.00.
Second. The term of the lease will have you pay $2928.00, thus netting the lease company a profit of $2559.00 (You pay for the machine 8 times.)
Third. THE LEASE DOES NOT END AFTER 48 MONTHS! You lease a car, the dealership notifies you about the termination of the lease.
You lease an apartment - the landlord notifies you when the lease is to expire. You get a lease from CIT - it is your responsibility to notify them, within 30 days, to agree on a buy out price for the equipment (remember you paid for it 8 times already). If you fail to notify them, they will continue to rent you the equipment for the $61.00 a month. THEY KNOWINGLY PUT THIS CLAUSE IN THE LEASE SINCE MOST PEOPLE WILL FORGET ABOUT THE LEASE!
Fourth. When the CIT Collection Specialist contacts you, their goal is to make sure you keep the equipment and the lease in tact.
They are very confrontational, which I did not expect from a large corporation. When I asked why I was not contacted about the lease expiration, they replied - "Did you read the lease?". I told them I would gladly continue to pay their $61.00 a month, if I could get a statement in writing that I was robbed, ripped-off, and taken full advantage of by them. Once again, knowing they legally got me, he replied - "Sir why did you sign the lease?" As you can see we have paid an additional 6 months beyond the terms of the lease (now making it paid for 9 times). Since most equipment leases have a $1.00 buy out at the end of the lease, it would be safe to assume - we have purchased our equipment with a rebate due of $365.00!
I'm sure there are thousands of people out there who signed the same lease not knowing the implications and I wish I could inform everybody of their intent to deceive all potential customers.
I also disagree with David - Mishawaka, Indiana rebuttal to Anissa's letter. One, CIT words the lease we signed not the person selling the processing system. It is their terms that we sign to agree too. Second our issue is with the lease company, since more times than note the rep. only works for the company no more than a year or two. I do agree that you should read everything before you sign it, which is why CIT has this lease written the way it is. THEY KNOW 95% OF THE PEOPLE WHO SIGN IT WILL NOT READ THE FINE PRINT NOR WILL THEY COMPREHEND WHAT IT ACTUALLY CONTAINS NOR DO THEY HAVE TIME TO HAVE A LAWYER REVIEW EVERY AGREEMENT THEY SIGN. CIT know that if the latter happened nobody would ever agree to sign such garbage.
Russell
Oakland, New Jersey
U.S.A.
It sounded like a good - so after all the other paper work was filled out she gave us the lease agreement that would allow the lease company to withdraw $61.00 a month from our bank account. Her exact words were "Here - this is just your lease agreement - (as she points to the amount) saying you pay $52.99 a month (and then points to the terms) for 48 months."
In March of 2004, we closed our old bank account after we noticed $61.00 being drawn from it monthly. Immediately, we got a phone call from CIT Lease Finance Group - stating we owe them money. This in turn caused us to do some research. Here is where I have a problem.
First. The equipment is not worth $1500.00. You can buy it at merchantwarehouse(dot)com for $369.00.
Second. The term of the lease will have you pay $2928.00, thus netting the lease company a profit of $2559.00 (You pay for the machine 8 times.)
Third. THE LEASE DOES NOT END AFTER 48 MONTHS! You lease a car, the dealership notifies you about the termination of the lease.
You lease an apartment - the landlord notifies you when the lease is to expire. You get a lease from CIT - it is your responsibility to notify them, within 30 days, to agree on a buy out price for the equipment (remember you paid for it 8 times already). If you fail to notify them, they will continue to rent you the equipment for the $61.00 a month. THEY KNOWINGLY PUT THIS CLAUSE IN THE LEASE SINCE MOST PEOPLE WILL FORGET ABOUT THE LEASE!
Fourth. When the CIT Collection Specialist contacts you, their goal is to make sure you keep the equipment and the lease in tact.
They are very confrontational, which I did not expect from a large corporation. When I asked why I was not contacted about the lease expiration, they replied - "Did you read the lease?". I told them I would gladly continue to pay their $61.00 a month, if I could get a statement in writing that I was robbed, ripped-off, and taken full advantage of by them. Once again, knowing they legally got me, he replied - "Sir why did you sign the lease?" As you can see we have paid an additional 6 months beyond the terms of the lease (now making it paid for 9 times). Since most equipment leases have a $1.00 buy out at the end of the lease, it would be safe to assume - we have purchased our equipment with a rebate due of $365.00!
I'm sure there are thousands of people out there who signed the same lease not knowing the implications and I wish I could inform everybody of their intent to deceive all potential customers.
I also disagree with David - Mishawaka, Indiana rebuttal to Anissa's letter. One, CIT words the lease we signed not the person selling the processing system. It is their terms that we sign to agree too. Second our issue is with the lease company, since more times than note the rep. only works for the company no more than a year or two. I do agree that you should read everything before you sign it, which is why CIT has this lease written the way it is. THEY KNOW 95% OF THE PEOPLE WHO SIGN IT WILL NOT READ THE FINE PRINT NOR WILL THEY COMPREHEND WHAT IT ACTUALLY CONTAINS NOR DO THEY HAVE TIME TO HAVE A LAWYER REVIEW EVERY AGREEMENT THEY SIGN. CIT know that if the latter happened nobody would ever agree to sign such garbage.
Russell
Oakland, New Jersey
U.S.A.
6 Updates & Rebuttals
Gloria
Cottonwood,California,
U.S.A.
File your Report with FTC
#2Consumer Suggestion
Tue, June 29, 2004
Hi, You may want to sent a complaint to FTC (Federal Trade Commission) . I did and received a response saying they don't do individual cases. However, if they log enough complaints, they will start an investigation and possibly legal action. So here is the link: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01 to the FTC complaint form. I've told many people about it, so you may want to do the same. Make sure you give specific examples or even let them know you have documentation of deceptive or misleading information. Also, if possible, please scan & send copies of these documents to me at [DELETED]. I haven't given up, but it does take a while for the squeaky wheel to be heard. As far as CIT, here is their main site: http://www.cit.com/main/default.htm . Also, within this site, I found e-mails and have sent copies of my rip-off report, including a copy of all the complaints listed under Lease Finance Group in the Rip-Off site. Here are some e-mail addresses, you may want to send your concerns to: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], I did get the Rip-Off Report Do-It-Yourself Guide and it did have some good steps to follow. However, it was a little lacking in the cyberspace rip-offs. I've been paralleling the thoughts or ideas in this Guide to try to apply them to the internet. For example, instead of sending faxes, send e-mails. So every web site I am interested in, I look for e-mails and make up a group listing & start bombarding them with e-mails and include my rip-off report, plus any other rip-off concerns. I hope this helps. Thanks, G for California
Gloria
Cottonwood,California,
U.S.A.
File your Report with FTC
#3Consumer Suggestion
Tue, June 29, 2004
Hi, You may want to sent a complaint to FTC (Federal Trade Commission) . I did and received a response saying they don't do individual cases. However, if they log enough complaints, they will start an investigation and possibly legal action. So here is the link: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01 to the FTC complaint form. I've told many people about it, so you may want to do the same. Make sure you give specific examples or even let them know you have documentation of deceptive or misleading information. Also, if possible, please scan & send copies of these documents to me at [DELETED]. I haven't given up, but it does take a while for the squeaky wheel to be heard. As far as CIT, here is their main site: http://www.cit.com/main/default.htm . Also, within this site, I found e-mails and have sent copies of my rip-off report, including a copy of all the complaints listed under Lease Finance Group in the Rip-Off site. Here are some e-mail addresses, you may want to send your concerns to: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], I did get the Rip-Off Report Do-It-Yourself Guide and it did have some good steps to follow. However, it was a little lacking in the cyberspace rip-offs. I've been paralleling the thoughts or ideas in this Guide to try to apply them to the internet. For example, instead of sending faxes, send e-mails. So every web site I am interested in, I look for e-mails and make up a group listing & start bombarding them with e-mails and include my rip-off report, plus any other rip-off concerns. I hope this helps. Thanks, G for California
Gloria
Cottonwood,California,
U.S.A.
File your Report with FTC
#4Consumer Suggestion
Tue, June 29, 2004
Hi, You may want to sent a complaint to FTC (Federal Trade Commission) . I did and received a response saying they don't do individual cases. However, if they log enough complaints, they will start an investigation and possibly legal action. So here is the link: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01 to the FTC complaint form. I've told many people about it, so you may want to do the same. Make sure you give specific examples or even let them know you have documentation of deceptive or misleading information. Also, if possible, please scan & send copies of these documents to me at [DELETED]. I haven't given up, but it does take a while for the squeaky wheel to be heard. As far as CIT, here is their main site: http://www.cit.com/main/default.htm . Also, within this site, I found e-mails and have sent copies of my rip-off report, including a copy of all the complaints listed under Lease Finance Group in the Rip-Off site. Here are some e-mail addresses, you may want to send your concerns to: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], I did get the Rip-Off Report Do-It-Yourself Guide and it did have some good steps to follow. However, it was a little lacking in the cyberspace rip-offs. I've been paralleling the thoughts or ideas in this Guide to try to apply them to the internet. For example, instead of sending faxes, send e-mails. So every web site I am interested in, I look for e-mails and make up a group listing & start bombarding them with e-mails and include my rip-off report, plus any other rip-off concerns. I hope this helps. Thanks, G for California
Russell
Oakland,New Jersey,
U.S.A.
In Response To Cory, Truth is, yes I am unhappy with my CIT Lease and still feel that their leases are gouging businesses across this country.
#5Author of original report
Thu, April 08, 2004
As a comparison, I leased a POS system in September 1996 for the purchase price of $22,205 from Lease Pro. My monthly payments were $527.85 over a 60 month term. Total cost to me was $31,671.00 or a APR of 14.9%. At the end of the lease, my buy out was $1.00. All the details were laid out and explained before we signed the lease. Now if I use the CIT Lease program for my POS system over the same 60 month term, here are the details: 1. Monthly payment: $3701.10 2. APR: 200% 3. Total paid after 60 months: $222,066.00 4. Profit to CIT: $199,861.00 5. After 60 months you continue to pay $3701.10 a month if you do not return the equipment or agree to their buy out price of $16,000. Now you use a car lease as a very poor example. Here are the major difference between a car lease and a equipment lease. 1. You generally know the purchase price of the car before going to the dealership. I did not know where to shop for CC equipment at the time of the agreement. 2. You know what your buy out price while be at the end of the car lease. I was never informed of the buy out price at the time of the agreement. 3. You are informed either by mail or phone about the car lease coming to an end. It is written in the equipment's original lease, in the fine print, "That it is my responsibility to terminate the lease, within 30 days, by writing." or continue to pay the same rate. You do not find out about this claus until after you fail to terminate the lease. Although you may cite Judith as one who might be responsible for the problem, it is CIT who wrote the lease, forwarded by Judith - you can download a copy of their lease at numerous web sites. My point is, CIT has a scam going, ripping off small business owners with legal jargon that binds them to a deceit ridden contract. As I previously stated - my lease with Lease Pro, was much more like an automobile lease that you stated, than that of CIT, which gouges the signer.
Cory
San Antonio,Texas,
U.S.A.
Misdirected Discontent
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, April 07, 2004
1999 was a terrible time regarding credit card machines. I had dozens of reps all telling me my Zon Jr was going to die at Y2K. Those reps were saying anything and everything to try and get me to purchase a new CC machine. Their prices were skyhigh. I told them I'd wait and see what happened, my Zon finally died March 2002 of old age after 12 years. I bough a 2 month old HYPERCOM for $250. which still works just fine. Now you seem to be unhappy with CIT Lease and that may be so but the truth is the company that sold you your new machine probably wasn't truthful in several ways. Outdated and needed to be upgraded ,they told me the same thing . ($1500)48x52.99=$2,543.52, Judith wasn't real honest there either. Many new companies don't want to lay out the cash for a machine and can deduct the lease so they choose that route. You pay out the nose for a lease. When these people get stuck with a horrible payment on a car very few complain about the finance co. it's always the car dealer who has screwed them, what's the difference here. The co. that sold you the machine probably made a huge profit and sold the paper to CIT. Sorry about the way things went.
Russell
Oakland,New Jersey,
U.S.A.
A Buy Out Agreement!
#7Author of original report
Tue, April 06, 2004
With an average of 1 phone call a day - we finally talked to someone about purchasing the equipment. After paying a total of $3347.46 for a $369.00 piece of equipment, CIT informed us that we can buy the equipment for $255.00.
