Complaint Review: Credit Acceptance Corporation - Southfield Michigan

First of all in order for CAC to do a garnishment, it take about(2) years after numerous attempts to get you to pay the debt that is owed. You are advised every step of the way in reference to any legal action that we take. Your were notified more than once in reference to every procedure that was going to take place, but you chose to ignore them. Now you want America to feel sorry for something that you created by ignoring the phone calls, letters, notifications of suits to be filed and then the court appearances(I'm sure your employer would have allowed you your day in court had you advised them). You chose not to respond to any of this any now you're upset with CAC because you were not the responsible individual that you claimed to be when you signed the loan application. How in the world could it be CAC's fault that you didn't take care of business?

The first mistake was blowing off the summons and not going to court. Remember for the future - always respond to a court summons. Garnishments in NY can be up to 30% of gross income (from any sources) for up to 20 years. There can be more than one garnishment at a time. NY court will not allow garnishments to exceed %30 percent, HOWEVER, YOU MUST PETITION the courts and prove that the existing garnishments are exceeding the 30% limit. Once you prove the limit, the courts may perform any of the following. 1. Suspend a garnishment order. 2. Realign all existing garnishment orders so that the total of the garnishments do not exceed 30%. 3. Order the SALE of personal/real property to fulfill the money judgements. Each State sets the rules, so it may be different in Kentucky. You need to retain a lawyer - this can get more complicated as proceedings move on. Legal Aid might be an option.

The only reason anyone ends up with a sub-prime finance company is because they don't qualify for prime financing. They don't qualify because the buyers have made it a habit not to pay their bills. They always have the same excuse, usually blaming in on someone else. Companies like CAC give loans and fully expect the customer to default. Why would they pay this loan,. they haven't paid any one else? They have to charge high interest and the most retail they can as provided by black book or nada. They cannot charge more than that. They have to do it just to break even in 8 months, they expected time of default. You don't like the finance companies you are dealing with, prove you can pay the bills you sign for and you won't have to deal with them. Millions of people pay off their loans no matter what. Does not matter if the item in questions was worth it. You promised to pay the people who loaned you the money back on your word. you break that, you do not deserve the better rates, period. The companies cannot afford to give you a loan if your intent is to steal their money by not paying. I know this is harsh but it's reality. If people with bad credit would put themselves on the same plain as reality, most likely they would not have bad credit anymore. I know their are situations that cannot be helped, but I know thousand of people that are able to pull themselved out eventually. They do it by taking responsibility, not blaming it on everone else. Paul

It is illegal for anyone to debit your checking account without your consent unless it is the government. You need to go to the bank and explain the situation. They will give you forms to fill out stating what happened. This is fraud. The bank will go after them for the money and they will be prosecuted (Credit acceptance).

Milacent, The damage is already done. The OP has already lost the vehicle, been sued, lost by default, and had bank accounts siezed. And, the OP is already paying a garnishment, which means any further garnishment would exceed the max garnishment from someone's paycheck allowed by law. The OP needs to file for a hardship on the garnishment order and get it stopped. Furthermore, the finance co has already made their money as did the dealer. They sold a <$2000 car for $8000+. There is no reason for the OP to pay these scum. It will not do anything for the OP at this point. Credit is already ruined. So, with all of these facts known, WHY would it be beneficial for the OP to keep taking phone calls from these bottomfeeders? The answer is obvious, and simple. There is no reason to speak with them. Get an unlisted phone number and a new bank account at a different bank. Problems solved. You must be a debt collector, or just be extremely young and clueless. This is how it works in the real world.

Steve - Having had previous relations with this company (during my directed study; Finance Management) I had the opportunity to intern for one of its VP's in 1998-1999 and 2002. This company does not purchase bad debt portfolio's. They provide financing to the dealerships in return for a percentage of the sale up front. All of the accounts that Credit Acceptance collects are originally financed by Credit Acceptance and NO ONE ELSE. They don't collect on accounts financed by Ford/Chrysler/GMAC etc only Credit Acceptance (the same as finance subprime and/or prime) They don't "buy" accounts, they finance them through their participating dealers. Please feel free to verify this at yahoo/finance or any financial site (CACC). As far as Lonnie is concerned; while I don't make excuses for his/her avoiding the issue, I do understand that when a person is buried in debt and having financial strain, it can be difficult to face up to MORE financial responsibility. I am not going to belittle the person for having a job that may not make it easy for him/her to be clear of debt because in today's economy, just to be mearly employed is a blessing. What I will suggest; like before, is that this person takes responsibility for his/her financial future the right way. Debt Counseling (Bankruptcy, if necessary) just start facing and claiming the truth about their money and getting control of their life; not run and hide from it. Getting a new bank account/job/phone number won't fix the problem. People with this thought process often end up repeating the same poor financial habits and further destroying any stable opportunity that they have in life. If this person has children to feed; they also have children to set an example for, so why not start off with an improved financially responsible one?

Milacent, CAC does in fact buy huge portfolios of defaulted auto loans. Anyway, the problem here is that the OP decided to ignore the court date and go to work. If a court date is ignored, a default judgement is usually issued immediately. This is what happened. My advice to the OP is to close that bank account immediately and open one at a different bank. And, if possible, change jobs too. It appears that job is not that good anyway if you cannot afford to take a day off. I guess getting a default judgement was more affordable than taking a day, or a part of a day off work. This makes no sense.

Credit Acceptance is a subprime lending company in the same way that Capital One Auto, Drive Financial, and GMAC Auto are. They work with dealerships that can't offer prime/traditional financing to High-Risk customers by providing them with subprime lending sources for later modeled cars. (they are not junk debt buyers) What I would suggest for you (Lonnie) is to go to your local county courthouse and request a "Stay of Garnishment" form. With this, you will also have a chance to complete an "Answer" form necessary to explain why you did not appear in court during th original court date. Explain that you never received the Suit for Judgement from the finance company and that you had been in the process of negotiating your debt with them prior to the default judgement. You should receive a court date at that time. GO - TO - COURT - ON - YOUR - SCHEDULED - COURT DATE! Inform the judge that you have a limited income and that you are willing to set up payment arrangements with the company and its attorney's (this, I will leave up to your financial situation). In most cases, a judge will allow for a payment plan that is agreed upon by the debtor and the company. Also, look into seeing a debt counselor for financial managment so that you won't have to neglect phone calls, judgement notices or any outstanding debt. Best of luck to you; should you take this advice.

Lonnie, First of all, NO ONE can garnish your bank account without first suing you and getting a judgement. Then they need to get a court order to enforce the judgement and garnish your account. Your first mistake was speaking to them on the phone. NEVER call, or speak to any collector on the phone. Second, the mechanical condition of the car is totally irrelevant to the amount owed. That is a totally separate issue which you should have acted upon accordingly. Third, CAC are JUNK DEBT BUYERS. They buy these types of debts for pennies on the dollar. You should have demanded validation of the debt in writing the first time you were contacted. Fourth, Forget the BBB. They are absolutely useless and have absolutely no power at all to make anyone do anything. They are not a government agency or law enforcement, they are only a for profit business. Did you have any type of warranty on the said vehicle? Or was it sold AS-IS? If there was no warranty, you had no case at all against them and were liable to make the payments you agreed upon when you bought the car. You voluntarily gave up the car to them. This is a voluntary repossession and when they sell it, they legally obtain a deficiency judgement for the amount owed. They must provide you a record of the sale, showing amount paid. They do not have to tell you who bought it. These vehicles go to auction. They [CAC] have no way of knowing that you already have a garnishment coming out of your paycheck. How would they know this? You chose to not go to the court hearing. Did you approach your employer with the need to go to court? Most likely you could qualify for government assistance like food stamps, etc. Close that bank account immediately and open another one at a DIFFERENT bank. STAY OFF THE PHONE!!