Jeremiah P.'s review of SMART Payment Plan

SMART Payment Plan

         
Customer Reviews & Ratings
Complaint Posted 12/25/2010
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Review 12/25/2010
This is a complete scam -- legal, but a scam!

It sounds great when they approach you. Pay off your loan 5 months faster!! What they don't help you figure out is the actual math of it all. That's where I'll help. I originally received a phone call about 3 weeks after I purchased a new Jeep from a rep with the Smart Payment Plan. She never mentioned anything about FEES! Before signing up and giving a soliciting stranger my bank account info to start the required auto-payments, I called Jeep to verify the validity of this. The finance guy at Jeep said it was legit and they sometimes offer this program while finalizing the details of an auto purchase.

They promised me I would pay off the loan 5 months earlier. Doing the quick math in my head I didn't understand why it would only be 5 months so I called the company to ask what was in it for them. That's when I first heard about the fees. They charge nearly $2 PER PAYMENT as a debit fee and there was an ENROLLMENT FEE of almost $400. Are you kidding me?

The way you will pay off your loan early is by making 26 half-payments instead of 12 full payments, billing you BI-WEEKLY!!! So, there is essentially on extra payment each year for five years and there's the 5 months early. The small amount of savings you would get from not paying as much interest they keep for themselves as "fees."

YOU CAN PAY YOUR CAR OFF EARLY WITHOUT THE HELP OF THESE SCAMMERS!! You can make as many payments on your own, without the help of these people. You can log into the loan holder's website and pay every other week if you want. You could even mail a check for a small amount every single day if you really wanted to. As long as the total sum of all the payments you made in a month equal at least your monthly payment, you can split up the payment all you want ON YOUR OWN!

STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!

Two HUGE (!!) reasons I can see staying away from this company is that

1. You lose your benefit of paying ahead and then skipping a payment later on if money is tight. If you have a required payment of $500 each month and you pay $600 instead (an extra $100/mo), you are essentially paying an extra payment every 5 months. If you need new tires and can't find the money in your budget, your loan company will let you skip a payment. You already paid it!

I use Ally for my auto loan. I have paid ahead about $1500 on my loan, and if I log on and view my account information, it says next payment is due in March 2011. I'm paid ahead for 3 months. If you use these scammers, they will require a half payment every two weeks whether you are paid ahead or not.

2. If you end up late or defaulting on your loan payment, you will then have TWO negatives on your credit report. One from the original lender and one from these scammers called Smart Payment Plan. ALL THEY DO IS CHARGE YOU A $2 FEE EVERY TWO WEEKS TO TAKE MONEY FROM YOUR ACCOUNT AND MAKE THE PAYMENT TO YOUR LENDER. They are a middleman, nothing more. You don't need some bozo to make a payment for you, especially for $2. Online, payments are free. In the mail it's about 50 cents, the cost of a stamp and envelope.

STAY AWAY FROM THESE SCAMMERS!
 
 
 
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Additional Business Information
Hours   Monday to Friday - 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM CST Saturday: 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM CST Sunday: Closed Phone   (800) 481-6863 Address   100 Congress Avenue, Suite 2000
Austin, TX 78701
Website   http://www.smartpaymentplan.com Email   jackson.bigham@smartpaymentplan.com
Contact   Jackson Bigham, General Counsel Other  
 
 
 
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