marked credit

[Whooaah]

I have a lease with the Toyota corporation. In November of 2001 I recieved my monthly lease statement for December 2001 that said I was to pay $43.00 instead of my usual $568.00. I called Toyota and asked why my statement only asked for $43.00. The person I talked to said that a recalculation was made to my account and just pay the $43.00 that was all I owed for that month. In February 2002 I reacieved a call from Toyota and they wanted to know where my December payment. I told them that they sent me a bill for $43.00,which I paid, and that I also contacted them about it and was told to pay the same amount. Toyota is now saying that they made a mistake and I would need to come up with my December payment or they would mark my credit report. They also have charged me a penalty for being late on my payment. I have tried to workout an agreement with them to make the payment by increasing my existing pay to make up the difference but they said that would not do. The only thing they could do was charge me $266.00 to delay the payment untill the end of the lease. They said when I signed the lease contract that that's what I agreed to pay and the stament they sent means nothing. Is the bill they sent me a considered a legal document? Why should I have to $266.00 for thier mistake?Who should I go to get help with this? Is there a state agency that can help me? I live in California.
Thanks

 

[Michael Wechsler]

You should probably send them a letter that can be certified, best if certified mail but fax follow-up also acceptable, stating exactly what you said here. You should send a copy of the bill, state that you followed their direction, and that they cannot charge you a penalty due to their mistakes. You are disputing their invoice, the charges, and the debt. You may also want to state that if they persist and report you to a credit reporting agency, you will not hesitate to inform the relevant authorities and take legal action against them.

You might want to start out the letter appealing for reason -- stating that it is absurd that you have to go through this step and are hoping that someone with common sense will rectify the errors that have been solely committed on their part. Additionally and if you need it, you may want to request accomodation for the payment since you did not expect to have to make the payment and may have spent the money. Don't expect too much extra time. I think it likely that they should accomodate you because the last thing they want is for someone like you to go to the local news and have them air a story that will likely result in significant negative publicity.