Company forcing change to payment plan

[ethanl]

Hi,

Last year I was a member of Zipcar in NY. Under this membership, in June my brother who was not a member drove a car under my account & was involved in an accident.

I accepted full liability for this as he was not covered under the membership rules.

However, they wanted us to pay the full price of the car to which we couldn't afford to. They agreed to let us pay a low monthly amount with no interest until the car could be completely paid off.

Today I received an email saying that the original plan was not approved via proper channels, they have changed management & are now telling us that we need to pay the balance in a shorter duration or they will charge us interest.

My question is, can they change the terms of the payment plan after we have agreed to it?

Thanks,
Ethan L

 

[Darsha05]

In my experience, often a contract can be dissolved, traded or continue under the original agreement. Often times what you received is a feeler, companies wanting to amend the original agreement and sending in an effort to see who will bite and pay off quicker. Simply put, they want their money - yesterday. You are not obligated to accept their new payment request, UNLESS you defaulted on the original agreement. It doesn't sound like this is the case. If you feel obligated morally and legitimately to pay as agreed to the original offer and acceptance, than by all means, stay with the contract and do not miss any payments...even by a day!!!! This will allow any "new" rules/regs by the new "lender" to express default and go after "their" money under their own terms.

Request the new regs/rules/agreement in writing. Compare to what has been originally signed, inhale and relax. More often than not...they cannot implement and enforce a contract you didn't originally agree too...unless of course their is the dreaded fine print stating as such...

I am eager to read posts from the experts. If it were me, I would continue paying on time each month, same amount...there isn't anything they can do unless as stated, you default.

Good luck with this...

 

[mightymoose]

Unless you have the original agreement in writing you might have some trouble. What documentation of the original agreement do you have?

 

[ethanl]

There was no letter mailed to us or written agreement in place. I only have an email stating

"However, I'm still willing to work out a payment plan with you. We can schedule a very low, regular payment, which you may then increase or opt to pay out in full on a later date. Please let me know what would work best for you."

and the following email from them

"As per our conversation, I've scheduled a monthly paymentof $150 on the first of every month. These payments will continue until the full $14,500 is paid off.

Please confirm via email that you authorize this plan."

 

[Darsha05]

Something just doesn't "seem" right here. Why all of a sudden, in the middle of the night an email be sent to void a current contract? I would ask questions such as:

Has ownership changed?

What other than the obvious is the intent of the email?

Was there a contract stipulation explaining that any balance owed over a period of time becomes liable to interest and 3rd party collection?

I would seriously inquire until you run out of things to ask...continue on with your "normal' payments and do not agree to any new contract w/interest until you are fully comfortable with their responses to you. Make sure to make note how timely the responses are and so...keep everything in writing. I suspect after a certain amount of time the account gets forwarded to another "department" for additional collection.

If all was well until their email...it's def questionable!

good luck with this...keep us posted.

 

[ethanl]

Here is what I received in the email yesterday

"Dear xxxxx:

Partner's Claim Services is the third party claims administrator for Zipcar who has provided us with documents that validate your debt to Zipcar and payments you have made totalling $1,200.

Zipcar has had changes in ownership and management since your payment plan was set up and we have been hired to contact you to try and resolve this debt in a shorter amount of time. Under your current payment plan you will be making payments until 2021 which is a burden upon both you and Zipcar. We are hoping that we can work out a reasonable settlement that
does not continue for years as is this plan does. Zipcar charges 10% interest which would increase the amount due over 100% over the current extended plan, which was not approved via proper channels.

First I would like to make sure that neither you nor xxxxx had insurance available to protect you at the time. If either of you lived with a family member that had auto insurance, they might cover the claim for you, if you did not have personal insurance yourself that might provide coverage. You have probably already checked into that but I felt it worth mentioning since it
would remove the burden from you.

If there is no insurance, we need to discuss changing the plan. I would like to stay away from interest charges as this would extend your payments significantly. The best solution would involve you taking out a loan or significantly increasing payments, in return I will get Zipcar to consider reducing the debt so the matter can be closed in a reasonable amount of time. In reading the notes, it appears normal as Zipcar will usually allow payment plans across several months, not years. These are difficult times for everyone and Zipcar is auditing processes to ensure they are complying with company procedure; this is why your file caught their attention in
an audit.

Please contact me and let me know what you are able to do to resolve this. Generally, Zipcar will allow a larger discount as the payment period decreases, with the best deal being a one payment settlement.

I look forward to hearing from you soon; I may be reached at the phone number and email address below.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation"

 

[ethanl]

I emailed Zipcar to ask them about the validity of the email & they wrote back:

"As Mr. xxxx has posted in the letter, there has been a change in policy and Partners has been hired to resolve the debt. Mr. Betts will be your contact on this claim – please feel free to address him with any questions or concerns. Thank you"

Was my email agreeing to the low monthly terms enforceable?

 

[ethanl]

Zipcar confirms that they've hired a company to collect this payment. This is the letter that company sent me as an attachment in an email:

"Partner's Claim Services is the third party claims administrator for Zipcar who has provided us with documents that validate your debt to Zipcar and payments you have made totalling $1,200.

Zipcar has had changes in ownership and management since your payment plan was set up and we have been hired to contact you to try and resolve this debt in a shorter amount of time. Under your current payment plan you will be making payments until 2021 which is a burden upon both you and Zipcar. We are hoping that we can work out a reasonable settlement that does not continue for years as is this plan does. Zipcar charges 10% interest which would increase the amount due over 100% over the current extended plan, which was not approved via proper channels.

First I would like to make sure that neither you nor xxxxx had insurance available to protect you at the time. If either of you lived with a family member that had auto insurance, they might
cover the claim for you, if you did not have personal insurance yourself that might provide coverage. You have probably already checked into that but I felt it worth mentioning since it would remove the burden from you.

If there is no insurance, we need to discuss changing the plan. I would like to stay away from interest charges as this would extend your payments significantly. The best solution would
involve you taking out a loan or significantly increasing payments, in return I will get Zipcar to consider reducing the debt so the matter can be closed in a reasonable amount of time. In reading the notes, it appears normal as Zipcar will usually allow payment plans across several months, not years. These are difficult times for everyone and Zipcar is auditing processes to ensure they are complying with company procedure; this is why your file caught their attention in
an audit.

Please contact me and let me know what you are able to do to resolve this. Generally, Zipcar will allow a larger discount as the payment period decreases, with the best deal being a one
payment settlement.

I look forward to hearing from you soon; I may be reached at the phone number and email address below.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation"

 

[ethanl]

odd, my posts keep disappearing. Sorry for long post, I've added in emails between me & zipcar & the letter I received a few days ago.

There was no contract written in ink. Just an email agreement between me & the company rep at the time. This is what he emailed me:

"Thank you for your response. I spoke with my manager. Unfortunately, I'm unable to lower the $14,500 payment since this represents the amount needed to replace the total loss.

However, I'm still willing to work out a payment plan with you. We can schedule a very low, regular payment, which you may then increase or opt to pay out in full on a later date. Please let me know what would work best for you."

A subsequent email from him:

"As per our conversation, I've scheduled a monthly paymentof $150 on the first of every month. These payments will continue until the full $14,500 is paid off.

Please confirm via email that you authorize this plan"

Is this enough to keep them from changing the payment terms on me?

Zipcar confirms that they have hired a company to collect this debt & this is what that company sent to me in a letter as an attachment in an email:

"Partner's Claim Services is the third party claims administrator for Zipcar who has provided us with documents that validate your debt to Zipcar and payments you have made totalling $1,200.

Zipcar has had changes in ownership and management since your payment plan was set up and we have been hired to contact you to try and resolve this debt in a shorter amount of time. Under your current payment plan you will be making payments until 2021 which is a burden upon both you and Zipcar. We are hoping that we can work out a reasonable settlement that does not continue for years as is this plan does. Zipcar charges 10% interest which would increase the amount due over 100% over the current extended plan, which was not approved via proper channels.

First I would like to make sure that neither you nor xxxxx had insurance available to protect you at the time. If either of you lived with a family member that had auto insurance, they might cover the claim for you, if you did not have personal insurance yourself that might provide coverage. You have probably already checked into that but I felt it worth mentioning since it would remove the burden from you.

If there is no insurance, we need to discuss changing the plan. I would like to stay away from interest charges as this would extend your payments significantly. The best solution would involve you taking out a loan or significantly increasing payments, in return I will get Zipcar to consider reducing the debt so the matter can be closed in a reasonable amount of time. In reading the notes, it appears normal as Zipcar will usually allow payment plans across several months, not years. These are difficult times for everyone and Zipcar is auditing processes to ensure they are complying with company procedure; this is why your file caught their attention in an audit.

Please contact me and let me know what you are able to do to resolve this. Generally, Zipcar will allow a larger discount as the payment period decreases, with the best deal being a one payment settlement.

I look forward to hearing from you soon; I may be reached at the phone number and email address below.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation"

 

[army judge]

It will take you more than 96 months (8 years) to pay off a $14,500 debt.

No wonder they now want to charge you interest.

They could sue you, and add in the value of the revenue the demolished car would have generated.

You're very lucky to be allowed to pay this off at $150/month.

You never had a contract.
You had an email indicating that you could pay off the debt in nearly a decade at no interest.

That arrangement has now changed.

If you balk, look for them to escalate the battle and sue you!

By the way, they'd win.

When (and if they sue), look for their damages and your payment amount to increase. You're very lucky. They could be attaching your wages and seizing your property. If I were you, I'd get busy paying this off. Look for the $150 a month payment to increase, in the coming months.

 

[ethanl]

odd, my posts keep disappearing. Sorry for long post, I've added in emails between me & zipcar & the letter I received a few days ago.

There was no contract written in ink. Just an email agreement between me & the company rep at the time. This is what he emailed me:

"Thank you for your response. I spoke with my manager. Unfortunately, I'm unable to lower the $14,500 payment since this represents the amount needed to replace the total loss.

However, I'm still willing to work out a payment plan with you. We can schedule a very low, regular payment, which you may then increase or opt to pay out in full on a later date. Please let me know what would work best for you."

A subsequent email from him:

"As per our conversation, I've scheduled a monthly paymentof $150 on the first of every month. These payments will continue until the full $14,500 is paid off.

Please confirm via email that you authorize this plan"

Is this enough to keep them from changing the payment terms on me?

Zipcar confirms that they have hired a company to collect this debt & this is what that company sent to me in a letter as an attachment in an email:

"Partner's Claim Services is the third party claims administrator for Zipcar who has provided us with documents that validate your debt to Zipcar and payments you have made totalling $1,200.

Zipcar has had changes in ownership and management since your payment plan was set up and we have been hired to contact you to try and resolve this debt in a shorter amount of time. Under your current payment plan you will be making payments until 2021 which is a burden upon both you and Zipcar. We are hoping that we can work out a reasonable settlement that does not continue for years as is this plan does. Zipcar charges 10% interest which would increase the amount due over 100% over the current extended plan, which was not approved via proper channels.

First I would like to make sure that neither you nor xxxxx had insurance available to protect you at the time. If either of you lived with a family member that had auto insurance, they might cover the claim for you, if you did not have personal insurance yourself that might provide coverage. You have probably already checked into that but I felt it worth mentioning since it would remove the burden from you.

If there is no insurance, we need to discuss changing the plan. I would like to stay away from interest charges as this would extend your payments significantly. The best solution would involve you taking out a loan or significantly increasing payments, in return I will get Zipcar to consider reducing the debt so the matter can be closed in a reasonable amount of time. In reading the notes, it appears normal as Zipcar will usually allow payment plans across several months, not years. These are difficult times for everyone and Zipcar is auditing processes to ensure they are complying with company procedure; this is why your file caught their attention in an audit.

Please contact me and let me know what you are able to do to resolve this. Generally, Zipcar will allow a larger discount as the payment period decreases, with the best deal being a one payment settlement.

I look forward to hearing from you soon; I may be reached at the phone number and email address below.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation"