Finally, something good from Ford Credit!

[<<MONOCHROMOUS>>]

My mom had an expedition, and the lease ended in 2 months, but a dealer said that we could pay a fee to terminate the lease before the deadline, which she did, and leased a brand new Expedition Eddie Bauer. However, last week, ford credit called, and told us that we were past due on our last 2 payments, and that they were going to repossess the car. well that didnt seem to bad at first, they could have the old one for all we cared!! but it would ruin our credit! the guy at the dealership could have lost his job, and he was a good friend of ours, so we didnt want that to happen! we were facing $1300+ in payments and late fees! this morning, Ford Credit called, he said they understood our predicament, and after talking with the credit department, they decided to drop late fees and just have us pay the payments. whoopie, only $1000. then they called back again, and said after reviewing our history with Ford, they decided that we were good customers, and that they would waive the payments!! WOO HOO, thank you ford! (for once)

 

[Goober]

Lucky guys!...Ford says'Merry Christmas to you'. Glad to see you got out of that situation with your wallet still attached. Guess you won't be trading in that truck early?

 

[<<MONOCHROMOUS>>]

never again! in fact, i plan to buy my explorer when the lease runs out

 

[Peter Weber]

If anybody messed up, it was the dealer. He told your mother that paying the early termination fee would get her out of the lease 2 month early. It's up to him to get the rest straightened out with Ford Credit. He just wanted to sell the new Expedition and didn't follow up on the rest. It's quite normal to terminate a lease early (most of the time without a penalty) if you get another vehicle of the same make from the same dealer. My neighbor has done it 2 or 3 times with a Lexus. He once even went from an LS400 to a ES300 without any problems.

Ford Credit didn't do your mom a favor, they just verified that the fee was paid and followed their normal procedures. They first claimed you owed 2 month lease payments and a penalty. When you explained the deal to them, they realized somebody connected with Ford screwed up and they weren't weren't going to admit that. Heck no, they make it look like they are doing you guys a favor.

And the guy at the dealership was never really in danger of loosing his job, he sold a new Expedition. He might have gotten his wrist slapped for not following through with the required paper work.

One question though. Didn't you turn in the old vehicle when you got the new one? If you didn't, that again was a dealer screw up.

 

[<<MONOCHROMOUS>>]

we did turn the old one in, my guess is ford never knew about it! they threatened to repossess the old one LOL

 

[Peter Weber]

Like I said, your dealer screwed up. Big Time

 

[Stephen]

Yep, they screwed up big time. Sounds like they even tried to get away with pulling one over on Ford, but failed.

 

[PHOGJR]

I Work at Ford Motor Credit's main facility in Dearborn, Michigan. While I am not one of the people in Finance (I am an IT Profesional) I think <> and <> faimly is lucky.

Buy the way Ford Motor Credit is now "Ford Financial"! Read the Formal anouncement I received today!


Formal Announcement of Ford Financial

Today marks an important milestone for Ford Credit as we
officially announce the formal launch of Ford Financial -
our new brand.

During our more than 40-year history as Ford Credit, we have
continually added products and services - and even
subsidiaries - to meet the growing financial needs of our
customers. To better reflect the breadth of products and
services we offer today - and to position ourselves for
future product expansion - we now will be known as Ford
Financial.

Let me give you an overview of Ford Financial.

Ford Financial reflects the tradition and expertise that has
helped us become a world leader in automotive financial
services. I have stated before that tradition is the wisdom
of the past, meeting the conditions of the current moment
and drawing us into the future. And it is this tradition and
rich history that has brought us to where we are today -
poised to make a strong company even stronger.

Ford Financial is a gathering place for all our brands -
Volvo Finance, Mazda Credit, Jaguar Credit, Ford Credit,
Lincoln/Mercury, Land Rover And Primus. We will continue to
operate under our present vehicle line brands in the
dealerships.

Ford Financial is our trustmark. It unifies our brands with
a common purpose - providing outstanding quality and
excellent customer service.

Ford Financial acknowledges the breadth of products and
services we offer today, and it is a launching pad for the
products we will add in the future that will generate
additional revenue and enhance shareholder value. This
direction reflects what our vision says. Under the Ford
Financial brand, we clearly are "leveraging our customer
relationships with a broad range of products and services."

Ford Financial aligns with the Ford Motor goal of becoming
the world's leading consumer company for automotive products
and services. Our years of continued commitment to our
customers' financial services needs - built upon the Ford
brand of quality, performance and trust - gives us the
opportunity to launch additional products that will help us
generate more revenue and enhance shareholder value.

Expanding Our Product Portfolio. To capitalize on the
available revenue and customer growth in our industry, we
will begin rolling out financial services products under
Ford Financial. These products - such as home lending
programs and online tax services - will allow us to expand
our product portfolio and potential customer base and will
further exemplify our consumer focus by adding to the value
we offer our existing customers.

To support our expansion efforts, we will partner with some
of the leading companies in the financial services industry.
Their expertise, combined with our reputation for
outstanding quality, will help Ford Financial become a
recognized brand in the financial services marketplace.

Ford Financial is not a prelude to a restructuring of our
organization. In fact, for most employees, day-to-day job
functions and reporting structures will not change. We will
continue to rely on the skill and expertise of all of our
employees to help us maintain our position as a leader in
meeting customers' needs.

Learning More About Ford Financial. For the latest news
about Ford Financial, you can visit the Ford Financial
Intranet site at: http://www.ff.ford.com, beginning Monday, January
29, 2001. You will find additional information about new
brand, and new products and services, along with a list of
frequently asked questions and answers.
In addition to the intranet, our existing publications and
communication vehicles will carry important Ford Financial
news.

I thank each and every one of you for the role you have
played in helping us achieve the success that we have had
thus far. And, as we begin a new chapter in our history, we
are poised to pave the way to even greater success. Ford
Financial stands for what we have known and proven for
years: No one cares more about Ford customers, no one
understands more about them, and no one delivers more to
meet their financial services needs.

Welcome to Ford Financial!

Best regards,
Don Winkler

Donald A. Winkler

 

[Chief]

Whew!

Sounds like you got lucky there....good old Ford Credit (as if I had experience with them )

 

[<<MONOCHROMOUS>>]

thanks for all your response. i got some more info on what actually happened.

ford credit told us we could terminate the lease if we got another from the same dealer, which was crossroads ford, we told them no, because we had had some bad experience with crossroads, and we found a better deal at Bostrom Ford, (which was just recently purchased by crossroads... coincidence??) so ford credit told us no

A guy at Bostrom told us they talked to ford and it was ok, which apparently it wasnt

i dont think they purposefully tried to rip us off. the guy at Bostrom is a really good friend of ours, i think it was just a simple mistake.