Ally Bank Auto Division - Foreign CS Call Center Makes My Blood Boil

My experience with ALLY Bank Auto Loan division has NOT been a very good one. I liked it better when GMAC called all the shots, but then they sold off the auto loan division to Ally and I've had nothing but problems since the conversation. I've tweeted, FB status updates, and even called complaining numerous times. Why is it these American based companies feel the need to put their call centers overseas when this country is in such desperate need of jobs? I don't feel comfortable giving the last four of my social to someone sitting in a foreign county. I don't feel comfortable discussing my financial situation with someone who is probably 10,000 miles away and has no clue, idea, or knowledge of what goes on in the USA or how bad the economy is, was, and might get to again. I'm lucky that over the course of almost 4 years not working I was able to keep my $400 a month car and payments were paid around 30 days late. I don't deny that one bit. I knew that my threshold was 65 days before I would be in any type of serious jeopardy of losing my car. So I struggled a bit to make those payments, because this car has a sentimental value to me. This car, my white G6 GXP code named the "shuttle" or "rocket" was built on the very same day I put my horse Charity to sleep almost five years ago! SAME DAY! I didn't know this until after I bought the car and actually found the build date for it, but I had tried to order this very car a few times and every time I went to order it (because it is a rare car and not a lot were on dealer lots..ordering would have been easier to do) .. but, every time I went to order it for a year straight something would happen to my dear Charity and I'd have big thousands of dollar vet bills to pay, rather than buy myself a new car. She got hurt, she got sick, then she needed stitches to sew her eye lid back on one time, then the inevitable I had to put her to sleep($10,000 in vet bills from initial injury, local vet, Cornell Equine Hospital, putting her to sleep, and yes I then paid to have her cremated). So a few months after I lost my beloved Charity, whom I had almost 20 years, I found this car sitting in a show room at a local dealer and bought it on the spot. I HAD to have this particular white rocket for some reason, I looked at it at 11am, watched the dealer move 5 cars to get it out of their showroom, drove it home at 1pm that same day, and then I found out why I was drawn to THIS car.. knowing there was a candy apple red one on another dealer's lot too. 

So enough about why I struggled to keep this car, let me fill you on on the debacle with Ally Auto Loan division. It has been one ball drop after another for since I can remember, but the last few months (well since December) is what has lit my fire beyond belief. I literally get hot red ears when I have to even deal with these people overseas. Let me just mention that while I was not working my lease was going to expire and my Mom was nice enough to put herself as the main account holder and me as the secondary on the account in order to get the lease converted to a purchase just so I wouldn't have to turn in this car I am ever so attached to! This has been a constant argument with a guy in my life who kept saying get rid of that car, it's strapping you... drive the other car or I'll find you a car to drive. I never told him why I was so attached to this car.. but I can damn well bet he remembers the series of phone calls that week Charity got hurt, because it was him who talked me home on those long night rides trying to keep my composure because I knew this was the beginning of the end of my dear girl. Maybe he'll read this post and now understand WHY I struggled to keep this car. Though it may be superficial and materialistic to some.. it was fate and destiny for me to have. So if that makes me superficial so be it!

Moving on and back to ALLY Bank ....Once I knew I had this new job and what day I would get my first check on I started making arrangements with my bills for payments. I prioritized my car payments as top of the list. They had to be brought current. I called three times with the promise to pay for the back payment, not only did I promise to pay the back payment but I also said I would bring the payments totally current. Let me mention how not once, but FIVE times, a CS called here threatening to come get the car. YES a foreign CS no less. So on January 15th the long struggled stopped and the car was brought current to date. I have a 9 day grace period on my loan so being due on the 8th gave me until the 17th for it not to be late. But in the mean time I had call after call after call blowing up my house phone day in and day out from 8am until 8pm. It was obsessive harassment on behalf of Ally. To which I have filed paperwork with the New York State Attorney General for all the aggravations and harassment we were put through. It was post dated in their electronic system to process the payments on the 15th, this should have stopped the calls... but oh no it didn't.  Once the loan was brought current I moved onto the next task, getting the payment date moved to the 15th of each month because well that's when my check direct deposits into my account and I can just pay it before I go to work that day.

No problems... or so I thought. The customer service person NEVER processed the payment change forms. Here I sat waiting on this paperwork to show up, to sign off on, and mail back the partial payment to change the due date. 15th rolls around, I see my check in the bank, get on Ally's site and well and beyond it is telling me my payment is late! WHAT? LATE it should have been a partial payment to justify the adjustment in the due date change. YEP no date change. Maybe I should mention this was exactly a month ago I had called to change the due date. A MONTH!  The thought of having to come home on a Friday and deal with Ally overseas people who are rude, can't speak English  and just down right make my blood boil was not making me happy going into work.

I let it go thinking I'll deal with it Monday. The payment is made, I won't get charged a late fee because it was paid before the grace period was up. Today I get a nasty gram in the mail stating my payment is late to PAY IMMEDIATELY (in big bold caps), not only that but the next month payment coupon/bill/statement comes to my Mother and just my Mother. What happened to the two bills that used to come to us both? Seeing we are both listed on the note as holders? Why all the sudden is there just one bill? BUT, the nasty gram of late payment comes to me and me only? What the H E Double Hockey sticks is going on with this messed up foreign run auto loan place? 

What was my reaction? I picked the phone up today and started screaming at these people... I've expressed my hatred for talking to foreign customer service reps previously and was told I would ONLY get a USA rep IF the car was going into repo status? Well that will never happen so I guess I'll never get a representative in the states. I was under the impression there was some new law that stated if you ASK to be transferred to someone in the states they HAVE to give you someone in the states? Am I misunderstanding something, can someone please correct me if I am wrong?? Once again today I was promised the due date would get changed, some paperwork would come, and I'd have a pro rated bill to compensate for the new due date now being moved to the 15th. UGHHHH .. Oh let me mention I could hear them all cracking jokes and laughing in the background too. 

I am SICK AND TIRED of dealing with overseas customer service for anything. There should be a law if your main business is in the good old US of A you should have to have a call center HERE in these United States of America, not in some foreign land. I want to lay on the 1 key on my phone just so when I'm asked what I'm doing I can say I'm hitting 1 for English! My final thoughts on ALLY Bank Auto Loan (where I keep reading on their site they are #1 in Customer Service.. who votes in these polls to make them that because it sure as shit isn't the consumer) ... General Motors you should be ASHAMED of yourself to have sold that GMAC Auto Division off to Ally and let them manage your American customers buying YOUR American cars from overseas. My Mom is a GM Retiree who had 35 years in, I'm a contractor on site at a GM plant... I can't believe I have to deal with foreign people to pay for my AMERICAN made car? Bring the call centers back to the states! PLEASE because everyone I talk to is fed up with speaking to or should I say trying to understand to speak to these call center people overseas. My hard earned dollars for my GM built car is going to pay salaries to people overseas, this is NOT sitting well with me or anyone I know and I had to write this post to express my anger with Ally Bank and this whole foreign customer service reps BS. 

(gets off soap box now)

PS.. as soon as I get my credit fixed from being off so long I'm transferring said car loan to Capital One. As their Customer Service reps have just been absolutely phenomenal through my hardship and even after helping me with fees and payment date adjustments.