A Response From GE Capital
This response to my original letter came in two parts, the first an unsigned, error-riddled missive from an unknown service representative. It is fortunate for them (and not out of character) that the second letter arrived first.
January 21, 2003
Dear Mr. LeCour:
Thank you for your inquiry of January 15, 2003, concerning Mrs. Care Credit account.
Unfortunately, we are unable to address your concerns concerning her account, since you are not a signer on the account. The account is an individual account in Kimberly LeCour name only.
In order for the concerns to be address, Mrs. LeCour will need to contact our customer service number listed at the bottom of this letter, or correspond with us by letter.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-333-1071.
Sincerely,
Correspondence
Fortunately, they redeemed themselves later in a three-page, comma-happy letter, a second response that I doubt I would have received had I not copied the original letter to Jeffrey Immelt, the Chairman and CEO of General Electric. Information which was duplicated from my original (and also lengthy) letter is omitted here for the purpose of brevity.
January 30, 2003
Dear Ms. LeCour:
I am in receipt of a letter dated January 8, 2003, from Richard D. LeCour, which was forwarded by GE Capital Consumer Relations, and received in our office on January 27, 2003. Mr. LeCour’s letter concerned your CareCredit account, for which GE Capital Consumer Card Company, (GECCCC), is the credit provider. I appreciate the opportunity to address the concerns outlined in the letter.
GECCCC is bound by state and federal legislation regarding the release of sensitive information on the accounts we service. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide Mr. LeCour with a response, or with documentation, since this account is listed in your name only. We apologize; however, since you have provided us with a verbal authorization to speak with Mr. LeCour concerning your balance, we are unable to address our response to him; therefore, we are directing our response directly to you.
Please accept our sincere apology for any unprofessional treatment extended by our representatives. Customer service and satisfaction are a very integral part of our business, and our representatives are trained to provide that type of quality in the services they render. We sincerely appreciate that you shared your experiences, so that we may evaluate and explore other options, in order to provide our customers’ with a consistent high quality of service, that you, the consumer, expect and deserve.
CareCredit offers promotions that are interest free if repaid before the promotional period expires. Minimum monthly payments are required during the promotional period and finance charges are accrued, but deferred. If the promotion expires, all deferred finance charges, plus any remaining unpaid balance, are posted to the acount’s regular balance. This information is included on each monthly billing statement.
We apologize if there was a delay in receiving [the March 4, 2002] statement; however, our records indicate there was no postal issue, and the statement was sent to your billing address the first week of March 2002.
Whenever the minimum monthly payment indicated on the monthly billing statement, is not provided by the due date, a late payment totaling $29.00 is assessed to the account. This fee and additional terms and conditions governing the account were outlined in the Cardholder Agreement, which is attached to the credit application and sent with the credit card soon after an account is opened.
It is the policy of GECCCC to collect on a past due account. Our employees are trained to perform their duties in the highest standard and in full compliance with applicable law and policies. We sincerely apologize if our effort to collect on a valid debt was perceived as rude; however the notes on your account document that the telephone call completed on Sunday, September 8, 2002, at 11:32, (EST), which would have been 8:32, (PST), and is within compliance with the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act.
Please be advised, GECCCC, the credit provider on the account, is permitted by Ohio and federal law, to access late payment fees and finance charges on a revolving credit account, as long as such charges are assessed in accordance with the terms of the credit agreement.
We apologize if there was a misunderstanding regarding the regular purchases or the promotional agreements and time frames. We also apologize if there was a misunderstanding concerning the terms and conditions governing the account; however, the information was provided in an appropriate and timely manner. Had payment been received within the promotional time frames, there would have been no deferred finance charges to the balance of the account.
You are considered as a valued customer, and I would like to personally apologize for any unprofessional treatment rendered by our customer service representatives. Since the account balance was paid 23 days after the expiration date for two of the promotions, we have credited the remaining account balance.
These credits will be reported on the next monthly billing statement, which will conclude on February 4, 2003.
In addition, we have removed the delinquencies from the account history and this updated information will be included in our next monthly reporting to the credit bureaus.
As documentation of the preceding information, please find the Optional Finance Plan, the Cardholder Agreement, and the monthly billing statements. In addition we have included the authorization and estimate, and the itemized transactions completed at the Regents of UC Davis that were subsequently billed to the account.
Our representatives have tried to explain the situation on numerous occasions, and we apologize they were unable to provide you with an adequate explanation, and regret the situation was not handled in a more professional matter. We hope the preceding information clarifies this matter to your satisfaction.
If there are additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Robyn Rountree
For GE Capital Consumer Card Company
The fact is not lost on me that her letter was ALSO copied to Jeffrey Immelt; appease the customer, suck up to the big guy, and attempt to save face. Under the assumption that the February statement arrives with the expected credits (if it arrives at all!), I guess I’ll drop the matter of the $1.55, the skirmish, battle, campaign, and the entire war won…
I saw your letter to GE Capital Consumer Card Company. Where did you get the mailing address? I have been searching for it. Thanks.
I sent it to GE Consumer Finance, Post Office Box 276, Dayton, OH 45401, and secondarily to GE’s corporate headquarters address obtained from a recent SEC filing. - RDL
I work for GE Consumer Finance and have witnessed a lot of unethical behaviours within its walls. So much so I escalated on behalf of my peers to HR in my capacity as the union delegate. From there I was smirked at, had them roll their eyes at me and basically told me to come back when I had a real problem. As a staff member I seem to receive just as much flak from my team leader as customers receive from the more dubious characters that grace our building. Considering that I work in GE in Australia I find it interesting (and encouraging) to see that there are customers who are willing to stop throwing their money at this company and tell them that they are wrong. Beleive me in the world of unsecured personal credit its unbeleivable how many people get caught the same way you do without saying anything. You might find that the mistake may have come from a sales rep from the store that you originally purchased the goods from using your card again. Probably worth following up. Cheers J
I feel better knowing I am not the only one who has has difficulty with this company. I want to call them re my billing inquiry (to which they have not responded). Does anyone have a telephone for the Dayton office?
I may have some phone numbers for you. I have just been going through a similar situation where I was trying to resolve a billing error in my mother’s behave and they would not discuss it with me. A representative from their company called my mother and she told them to speak with me. He left his name and phone number for me to contact them. I ran into a brick wall when I attempted to do this however. They wouldn’t speak with me on verbal consent. I’m not getting into the long story and detail right now. I just noticed your letter and thought I’d share some information. You’ve probably already resolved your problem by now anyway. I was given phone # to call of 800 292 7508. Hint, press 0 before going through all those automated messages along the way. That may or may not work. The other was one the supervisor gave me when I called. The phone is 888 676 2722. The person I spoke to was Larry Gantt. He was very uncooperative. Good luck.
I have come to the conclusion that dealing with GE is a joke. I also had a CareCredit card, but this was for some dental work that my son needed. The dental office offered us a 12 Month Same As Cash financing option in which there were no payments / no interest for 12 months. We paid this off within 10 months. We did this in chunks - not consecutive months (as we were advised we could do). GE however, has not honored this. Despite speaking with two separate GE customer service people upon opening the account - going through the detials of “Same As Cash”, No Interest, No Payments, we have been charged with accrued interest, late fees and the like, due to the fact that we “missed” a month’s payment and therefore “terminated” the promotional offer. The promotional offer was for a term of 12 months. We paid in full within 10. During one of my calls to GE, their representative, Faby, advised me that they don’t set up terms, the dental office does. What is the problem then??? I have a letter in to Mark Berger who Faby advised me to write to. I have had no response, but have had the pleasure of the rash of early morning phone calls. I also recently found http://www.sameascashsettlement.com which involves GE and their misleading and unethical practices. I guess if nothing else, I feel better that I am not alone with my problems with GE, and see that there is a chance for resolution.
I live in the UK and am currently having problems with G E Capital. We moved house last April and contacted at least 30 companies with change of address, we also had our mail re-directed. G E Capital was the only company who deny that my call was ever made, even though it is on an itemised phone bill. They have added late charge fees and even a address search fee to the first statement I have received in over 6 months, their fees total
Richard: As a dissatisfied customer with excellent credit
My mother finance some dental work with the GE Care Credit Same as Cash Financing. She regularly paid the minimum balance on her bill. Unfortunately, she did not realize that if the balance was not paid off in full before June 15, she would be charged the accrued finance charge. She had only $70 left to pay, but now owes over $500 in finance charges! Does anyone know if there is anything she can do to avoid paying this outrageous amount? Any help would be appreciated.
I am glad I found all this out. I bought a scooter for my wife last week, 12 months no interest. I was surprised to see a credit card from GE Capital arrive in the mail. After reading your posts I call GE and found out, just as you said, that the no interest deal is void if I miss two monthly payments. I told the rep (Nara) that BestMobility.com had told me that there would be a min payment stated on the bill but that I could ignore it as long as I paid the balance off within 12 mo. Like others on this board she told me that she couldn’t change the promotion that BestMobility.com would have to do that from their end. We shall see. I did ask her when I could expect my bill, and verified that they had the correct address. The internet is full of complaints about this company. I guess I need to keep on top of it so I don’t have the same problems you all did. Thanks for taking the time to post all of this.