Consumer Complaint

Danyce

West Palm Beach, FL 33407

May 22, 2008

To Whom This Matter Concerns:

I am writing today as more than a dissatisfied customer, I am enraged

with the recent interactions between myself and Independent Credit doing

business with Prime Autos located at 2008 Okeechobee Boulevard in the

city of West Palm Beach, Florida 33409.

Much like many car buyers in this economy, when I began shopping for a

vehicle in mid January, I wanted to spend my money on nothing short of a

good quality car. Much to my surprise, the 2000 Mercury Cougar that I

purchased from Prime Autos in mid January was not that quality car.

Less than two weeks after I drove my vehicle off of the lot, the car's

engine began jerking and stalling. At that point, I immediately called

Prime Autos to speak with a manager and was advised that "The car that

you purchased was sold with no warranty and you knew that when you drove

off of the lot". Well, unfortunately I don't take things lightly when

it comes to the money that I spend, especially on a big ticket item like

a car. I drove right up to the Prime Autos lot and proceeded to advise

my salesperson, Chuck, that I had just driven this car from their lot

less than two weeks ago and it was already having engine problems. I

was then referred to a Transmission Repair Shop located in West Palm

Beach. I dropped my car off to them for 3 days and was told that Prime

Autos would take care of the bill. At this point, I knew that I had

just purchased a piece of junk.

Around or about the beginning of April, my car's engine began doing the

exact same jerking and stalling as it had been doing back in early

February so it appeared that the Transmission Place did not repair the

issue, they only seemed to cover it up. I drove my car back up to the

Transmission Place and was advised by the manager, John, that "This was

not the same issue that the car was doing before" and that all I needed

was a tune up and some new spark plugs. Okay, by now I am realizing

that both Prime Autos and the Transmission Place are both crooked and

sell you junk then make you believe that they've repaired any issues

that arise. Still, I took my car to have a tune up done to repair this

jerking and stalling issue with my engine. I was not the least bit

surprised when the tune up mechanic advised me that the issue with my

car was not due to lack of a tune up and he also advised me that I did

not need new spark plugs, however I still had him change the spark plugs

anyway. So, I drove my car from the mechanic's shop and no less than a

mile down the road guess what happened? You guessed it correct. The

jerking and stalling from my engine was back.

Around this same time, I was also going through some personal family

issues so I did say that as soon as I got the opportunity to address

this issue, then I would definitely do so. I will admit that around

this same time, I fell behind on my car payments as well but was

communicating with Prime Autos to advise them of why I was late and when

to expect payment. So, it was such a surprise when I heard a knock on

my door at 3:00AM EST during the early morning hours of Wednesday May

21, 2008. I opened the door to a gentleman, Jim, who advised me that he

was picking up the car on behalf of Independent Credit and asked whether

I would give him the keys to the vehicle. I asked why they would take

the car for such a small amount of money owed. He apologized but stated

that he was just there to get the car. Of course I gave him my keys

because he was just doing his job and there was no reason to get upset

with him because he had been nothing but courteous with me. I had

decided that I would be calling Prime Autos bright and early though to

get some clarification on this matter.

I called Prime Autos around or about 9:45AM EST later that same day. I

asked to speak with Frank Hayden, the finance manager, and asked him

what was going on. His words to me during that conversation have made a

permanent imprint in my mind. He advised that "This is how we make our

money" to which I stated that the way they were making money was neither

fair nor just. The next few moments on the phone infuriated me. He

proceeded to advise that "You people are a trip, you fall behind on your

payments and when we come to get the car you call in upset, with your

sob stories" Of course I was upset after all the car problems that I'd

experienced with the car I'd purchased less than four months ago. I

inquired on what I'd need to do to get my car back and he advised me of

the fees that I would be responsible for paying, which included the past

due fee for my weekly car payment, a $300.00 fee payable to the

repossession company, a $75.00 inventory fee payable to the repossession

company, and a $120.00 payment for two payments to be made up front. He

also advised that "I would have twelve days to get my car back or else

they would resell it and continue making money on it". I advised Frank

Hayden that it would probably take me all of those twelve days to raise

that amount of money to get my car back however he was not the least bit

concerned with what happened to my car and his regard was made evident

when he advised me that he "could give a f*** what happens to my car"

and that he was "tired of hearing about it" and just like that the phone

line went dead. Yes, after spewing such disregarding words to one of

his customers, he slammed his phone down in my face. I immediately

called back but was put through to his voicemail.

Around or about 10:50AM EST that same morning, I went to pick up a

family friend to ride with me up to Prime Autos. I did this so that if

anything occurred, I would have someone who could attest to what had

taken place. When we arrived at Prime Autos, even though I was offended

by Frank Hayden's treatment of me during our telephone conversation, I

was nothing short of respectful. I advised him that I was also a

Customer Service professional and no matter how bad a day I have or how

low I may think of someone, I would never ever speak to one of my

customers or vendors in the manner that he'd spoken to me. I also

advised him that although I may have only been one of his customers,

word of mouth is a powerful advertising tool and that I intended to

inform all of my family, friends, co-workers and associates about this

experience. Again, he was unfazed and he finally walked over to the

window and shoved a piece of paper at me with a name and telephone

number on it. With that, he slammed the window shut. He did not advise

me of who this person was or why he gave me this telephone number. So I

knocked on the window once more and when he finally opened it, I

inquired on who this person was. He advised that "You can call this

number and pay $75.00 to get your stuff out of your car" and once again

he slammed the window shut.

Now, after all of this you would think he would have come back to the

window to apologize for his treatment of me but he didn't do that. I

knew then that I needed to do something. I immediately decided to file

a complaint on the Better Business Bureau's website as well as filing a

complaint on Rip Off Report dot Com. I also decided that I would be

getting this letter out to as many media outlets as I could possibly

reach.

My problem is not so much that Independent Credit had the car picked up

for non payment because that is something that will be taken care of, it

is more regarding their mistreatment of their customers. Prime Autos

and Independent Credit prey on the lower and middle class people who may

not have good enough credit to go to a larger Auto Dealership. They

bring you in and treat you with all of the respect and courtesy in the

world and then when they feel that they will be able to rid themselves

of you, they begin to treat you like you are trash, for lack of a better

word. I am disgusted by Frank Hayden's behavior and just want to rid

myself of him and his company's shady business practices. The only

reason that I will be getting my car back is because I really do not

wish to have a repossession on my credit report however I wish that I

had a few thousand dollars lying around so that I could pay my car off

and be done with Prime Autos, Independent Credit and Frank Hayden. I am

a law-abiding, tax paying citizen who works hard for my money and when I

make the decision to use my money for a large purchase such as buying a

car, I demand to be treated fairly and with the same respect that I give

to others.

Prime Autos, Independent Credit and Frank Hayden have showed me that

they are nothing short of deceiving and crooked salespeople and deserve

no more respect than common garbage themselves. I will be informing

everyone that I come into contact with about my horrid experience with

Prime Autos, Independent Credit and Frank Hayden and I sincerely hope

that one day their customer service will get better because any customer

service professional knows that it takes more than a product or service

to keep a business thriving, it also takes excellent customer service.

Prime Autos, Independent Credit and Frank Hayden have been nothing but a

huge and sad disappointment to me and I pray that they will realize it

soon enough. Thank you for your time in reading my letter and I do hope

that someone will be able to do something about this issue because I

won't stop sending this letter until this company and it's employees are

bought to the light concerning their conniving business practices.

These recent events have eroded my previous impressions and will

continue to do so.

Sincerely,

Danyce