Honda Finance Co

I recently purchased a Honda thru a dealer (Jim McNatt Honda in Denton, Tx), and was persuaded to finance the car thru Honda Finance. We purchased the car at the end of December 06, and the first payment was paid at the end of January for $379.00.

The second payment was sent out at the end of February, and was made out for $400.00. Today, I was checking on my bank account over the phone, and the check for Honda Finance cleared my bank for $900.00. I immediately called my bank to have them look at the check. They didn’t have a copy of the check, they said Honda Finance deducted the payment electronically. I insisted to my bank, that I was to get a copy of all checks with my statement- but was still told they didn’t have a copy of this check.

I then had to call home, get the account number for my car loan thru Honda Finance, and call them. Again I was told there was not a check, they scan it and then destroy it. The customer service rep told me the check was written out for $400.00, but the amount in the box looked like $900.00. I pointed out that the payment was only supposed to be $379.00, and that was a lot closer to $400.00. I work in a credit dept, and the bank is supposed to go with the written amount versus the numbered amount in the box- if there is a discrepancy. I was told that it may take a couple of days for the $500.00 to get credited to my account.

I then called the finance guy at Jim McNatt Honda where I purchased the car, and was told that Honda Finance was a separate company. I said yes, but you’re the dealer that pushed that financing on me, and it is still Honda. He said there wasn’t anything he could do about. He would watch, and see if there were more complaints.

I was told that there is no penalty for paying off this loan early, so we are looking into another company to finance this car. Apparently, customer service is not an issue at this level as much as at the dealer.

Gail Kennedy, Carrollton, TX

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