Advice/Help Removing (or correcting) an Ally Financial Charge Off

[allclear]

Hi all,

 

I was wondering if anyone had some advice regarding the following:

 

I recently pulled our credit and Ally Financial is showing a charge off (CO) in the amount of $997.77 for a Chevy Volt lease we had back in 2013. The amount was written off sometime in 2020 and we were sent a Form 1099-C. I spoke with Ally Financial today and was told the charges were for excess wear and tear - it was our understanding that when we returned the car this was being taken care of by the dealer - we turned the car in a month or two early with low miles and some equity in it and leased another Volt from the same dealer. The rep from Ally that I spoke with today said that even if I wanted to do a PFD I couldn't because our balance is showing as $0.00. 

 

Sooooo… based on the above and the below example of how the account is showing on our Experian CR, what do you guys suggest we do to clean this up???

Any help, advice, guidance would be greatly appreciated. 

 

THANK YOU in advance!

 

This is how it's showing on our Experian Report:

Account Name: ALLY FINANCIAL

Account Number: ######XXXXXX

Account Type: Auto Lease

Responsibility: Joint with XXXXX

Date Opened: 5/30/2013

Status: Paid in settlement. $998 written off.

Status Updated: Aug 2020

Balance: -

Balance Updated: -

Recent Payment: -

Monthly Payment: $0

Original Balance: $13,065

Highest Balance: $0 

Terms: 36 Months

On Record Until: May 2024

Payment History: Current on payments from August 2014 thru July 2017, then it shows CO (Charge-off) from August 2017 thru July 2020, and finally it shows CLS (Closed) August 2020.

[centex]

There is no pay for delete that could be done precisely because they wrote the balance off and zero'ed the account.  And since they did so, the front-line reps wouldn't be able to even entertain the offer.  You MIGHT get some modicum of relief by digging through the various investor relations documents and finding a responsible executive.  Alternately, go back to the same dealership and see if you can get face time with the GM so that they reach out to their contacts in an effort to resolve something for a prospective future purchaser of their wind-up product.

 

You don't indicate WHEN the 1099-C was sent.  If it was just received, for example, last week, it is a very different thing than if you got it last August and are just now trying to do something.  Timeliness counts when it comes to seeking hat-in-hand relief, which is what this would be unless you have documents from the time of the lease turn-in which corroborate an assertion that no damages were present for which costs would be due AND you had promptly responded to any efforts to collect such fees at the time of an initial contact. 

[hdporter]

I'm with @centex .  The burden of proof is on you to document that the assessed charges were inappropriate.  If not, has there been anything that transpired since the vehicle was returned in 2017 and the lessor initiated adverse credit reporting that serves as a mitigating factor? (e.g. any inappropriate or possibly impermissible behavior on their part?)

[cv91915]

18 hours ago, allclear said:

a charge off (CO) in the amount of $997.77 for a Chevy Volt lease

 

18 hours ago, allclear said:

we turned the car in a month or two early

 

I've read a couple of horror stories recently about lease agreements that included early termination/similar fees that weren't settled properly, even though the payoff for the actual remaining lease charges (mainly the sum of the remaining payments) was paid correctly.

 

Not sure if that's also a factor here.    

 

Sorry, I can't find the links back, but IIRC this was also with GM vehicles.

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by cv91915

[cv91915]

Too late to edit the thread above, but here's one of the posts I was reading.

 

I know I'm not helping you resolve the problem you came here to fix, but I'm trying to help you understand where the charges may have come from, which may (or may not) help.

 

https://forum.leasehackr.com/t/turning-in-a-chevy-onepay-lease-early/347691 

 

That example was a one-pay lease, but there are some GM lease contract excerpts and a picture of an invoice the consumer received after the lease was terminated.

[allclear]

On 4/14/2021 at 9:57 AM, centex said:

There is no pay for delete that could be done precisely because they wrote the balance off and zero'ed the account.  And since they did so, the front-line reps wouldn't be able to even entertain the offer.  You MIGHT get some modicum of relief by digging through the various investor relations documents and finding a responsible executive.  Alternately, go back to the same dealership and see if you can get face time with the GM so that they reach out to their contacts in an effort to resolve something for a prospective future purchaser of their wind-up product.

 

You don't indicate WHEN the 1099-C was sent.  If it was just received, for example, last week, it is a very different thing than if you got it last August and are just now trying to do something.  Timeliness counts when it comes to seeking hat-in-hand relief, which is what this would be unless you have documents from the time of the lease turn-in which corroborate an assertion that no damages were present for which costs would be due AND you had promptly responded to any efforts to collect such fees at the time of an initial contact. 

Thanks for your response @centex. I'll try digging around to see if I can get hold of someone beyond front-line. Funny enough the GM was the person we dealt with for both cars, he's a good guy, I'm going to ping him.

How did you know the 1099-C was sent in August of 2020  ? That is precisely when it was sent. You're absolutely right, I have to take responsibility for letting this go so long.  

[allclear]

22 hours ago, hdporter said:

I'm with @centex .  The burden of proof is on you to document that the assessed charges were inappropriate.  If not, has there been anything that transpired since the vehicle was returned in 2017 and the lessor initiated adverse credit reporting that serves as a mitigating factor? (e.g. any inappropriate or possibly impermissible behavior on their part?)

@hdporter @centex re. burden of proof agreed.

Forgive my lack of knowledge... what would be considered inappropriate or impermissible behavior?

Thanks again for your responses! 

 

[allclear]

11 hours ago, cv91915 said:

Too late to edit the thread above, but here's one of the posts I was reading.

 

I know I'm not helping you resolve the problem you came here to fix, but I'm trying to help you understand where the charges may have come from, which may (or may not) help.

 

https://forum.leasehackr.com/t/turning-in-a-chevy-onepay-lease-early/347691 

 

That example was a one-pay lease, but there are some GM lease contract excerpts and a picture of an invoice the consumer received after the lease was terminated.

Thanks @cv91915 this is helpful.

[hdporter]

3 hours ago, allclear said:

@hdporter @centex re. burden of proof agreed.

Forgive my lack of knowledge... what would be considered inappropriate or impermissible behavior?

Thanks again for your responses! 

 

 

Forgive the generalized wording (guess I was striving for some type of "catch all").  What I'm alluding to is any action that wasn't permissible under your lease agreement, or any action on their part that involved excessive fees or ran counter to any verbal promise. 

 

(e.g. Did they say anything explicitly upon return of the car that led you to believe that you would be off the hook financially?  Of course, even if they did, it would be hard to duck any charges that are explicitly set out in your lease agreement for an early return, unless you were told that those fees wouldn't be assessed.)

[legaleagle2012]

Could the $997 be two months' worth of payments?

[allclear]

On 4/14/2021 at 7:27 AM, allclear said:

Hi all,

 

I was wondering if anyone had some advice regarding the following:

 

I recently pulled our credit and Ally Financial is showing a charge off (CO) in the amount of $997.77 for a Chevy Volt lease we had back in 2013. The amount was written off sometime in 2020 and we were sent a Form 1099-C. I spoke with Ally Financial today and was told the charges were for excess wear and tear - it was our understanding that when we returned the car this was being taken care of by the dealer - we turned the car in a month or two early with low miles and some equity in it and leased another Volt from the same dealer. The rep from Ally that I spoke with today said that even if I wanted to do a PFD I couldn't because our balance is showing as $0.00. 

 

Sooooo… based on the above and the below example of how the account is showing on our Experian CR, what do you guys suggest we do to clean this up???

Any help, advice, guidance would be greatly appreciated. 

 

THANK YOU in advance!

 

This is how it's showing on our Experian Report:

Account Name: ALLY FINANCIAL

Account Number: ######XXXXXX

Account Type: Auto Lease

Responsibility: Joint with XXXXX

Date Opened: 5/30/2013

Status: Paid in settlement. $998 written off.

Status Updated: Aug 2020

Balance: -

Balance Updated: -

Recent Payment: -

Monthly Payment: $0

Original Balance: $13,065

Highest Balance: $0 

Terms: 36 Months

On Record Until: May 2024

Payment History: Current on payments from August 2014 thru July 2017, then it shows CO (Charge-off) from August 2017 thru July 2020, and finally it shows CLS (Closed) August 2020.

@Why Chat Sorry to keep leaning on you. Based on the above info, would there be anyway to have this removed from our credit reports using your process? We are located in California. Thanks in advance! 

[Why Chat]

Yes you can follow the guides;

https://whychat.me/GUIDEBOOK.html

https://whychat.me/SOL PROGRAM GUIDE.html

send the CRA(s) where this is reporting this;

https://whychat.me/initdispltrsol.html

Use the underlined phrase as this is being reported by an OC-like this

Here is the suggested text to insert:

Please advise me as to the correct name and current address of this creditor, the name of the account holder, and the reported date of first  delinquency, as any account I might have had at one time would be obsolete. If you can obtain this information, I also would need the name of the person providing this data, and the manner in which it was provided in order that I may pursue additional legal remedies.