Abuse by John Deere Credit

HillBilly77 · Apr 13, 2004

If you buy from John Deere heres what you face, even when you're ready , willing and able to pay it off. Here's my letter:SUBJECT: ABUSE AND INCOMPETENCE AT JOHN DEERE CREDIT 4-6-04

DISTRIBUTION:
H.J. Markley-President, Ag Div Richmond Palladium-Item
Douglas C. DeVries-Senior VP Nine-News Troubleshooter
Michael J Mack, Jr.-Senior VP Marketing Future Farmers of America
Sam R. Allen-President, Financial Services National Farmers Organization
Jon D. Volkert-President, JD Credit Indiana Farm Bureau
TractorByNet.com
Indianapolis. Star
Dayton Daily News

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,

In October ‘03 I purchased a new JD 4510 tractor, loader and backhoe. In November I submitted
the paperwork for automatic monthly payments from my checking account. I was told that the auto payments would begin in Jan. 04 and that I should make the December payment by mail. I did this. Auto payments did not begin. On Feb. 12 I re-submitted all of the paperwork for auto payments to Barbara F. Auto payments did not begin.

In March I received repeated calls from Jerry in Collections, who demanded that I immediately pay “my overdue account”. His manner was condescending, abrasive, rude, coercive, abusive, and insulting.

I WANT THREE THINGS:

1. A written (not email) apology from Jerry.

2. Auto payments taken from my checking account in the amount of $817.09 maximum per month.

3. A credit for maintenance items at a JD store as an acknowledgement of the inconvenience and abuse I have received from JD Credit.

To those who are considering buying a John Deere product and using JD Credit I recommend carefully evaluating all of your alternatives to JD. Watch for follow-up letters on this subject; I will keep you posted.

Sincerely,

Bob_Skurka · Apr 13, 2004

Sounds to me like the credit department at JD has treated you better than the local dealer treated me when I walked in (check book in hand) to buy a John Deere. I'm glad I walked out!

Golfgar4 · Apr 13, 2004

Your letter was dated 7 days ago. Any responses from anyone yet? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

rockyridgefarm · Apr 13, 2004

Sorry about your problems! I have nothing but the best service from them...

SteveH_CT · Apr 13, 2004

Dayton Daily News... Indianapolis Star - Would this qualify as news?

Don't get me wrong here... I know this is inconvenient to have payments and possibly your credit messed up - but Abuse??? Let's talk about some of the terrible things happening in the world and it kinda moves this down the ladder from abuse to a personal problem. I had the same type of thing happen recently with Toyota credit on my truck. Their system didn't work as planned and I ended up making two payments to keep my credit right. Bottom line is I never cede responsibility for my credit to another person, or a computer. You didn't notice that the payments weren't coming out of your checking?

I may be wrong, but this seems like an overreaction to something you should have kept track of.

And regarding Deere Credit, the Dealer, and the company in general They've treated me fine.

Yankee · Apr 13, 2004

Just a word of advice from one who works for a bank - the fault may not be Deere's, it may have to do with the way your account is set up at the bank or any number of other issues - i.e., your wrath may be misdirected. That doesn't excuse the (allegedly) abusive treatment at the hand of Deere collections, not one bit, but you have some responsibility to insure that the payments happen too - it's your bank account, your Deere account, and you're the one in the middle. Guess who's stuck with the fiduciary responsibility to see that Deere gets paid? YOU! (not Deere or the bank)

I don't mean this as harshly as this probably comes off, but really and truly, that's the case (that you're the one ultimately responsible). Automated payments get screwed up all the time. Most parties are sympathetic, but you can't automatically assume you'll get a by.

Bill

MikePA · Apr 13, 2004

<font color="blue"> In October ‘03 I purchased... In November I submitted the paperwork for automatic monthly payments... I was told that the auto payments would begin in Jan. 04 and that I should make the December payment by mail. I did this. Auto payments did not begin. On Feb. 12 I re-submitted all of the paperwork...payments did not begin. In March I received repeated calls from Jerry in Collections, </font>
Jerry had to call you multiple times. Why? How many times did Jerry call you? Was he "condescending, abrasive, rude, coercive, abusive, and insulting" during the first call?

Help me understand, you didn't make your payments in January and February by mail even though you knew they were not taken out of your checking account. Your account was overdue.

<font color="blue"> Watch for follow-up letters on this subject; I will keep you posted. </font>
You did not indicate if you've paid up your overdue account. Have you?

As Yankee mentioned, there are many things that can go wrong with setting up auto-payments, some of which are not JD's fault. Mistyped account number, mistyped routing number, screw up at the bank, etc.

No offense, and I am not saying JD Credit is blameless, but this is only one side of the story. This is also why the bashing of dealers, manufacters, etc. is discouraged because no matter how righteous ones postion appears, it is, at the end of the day, only one side of the story.

Silvers · Apr 13, 2004

I have been in a slight financial bind this past winter and John Deere credit has been the most flexible and accomodating of all my creditors. I bought a John Deere lawn mower last year and they even offered( John Deere credit) to set it up on a 2 year 0 % finance. I can't complain. John Deere credit has been more than fair to me.

JDGREEN4ME · Apr 13, 2004

I've never had a problem with JD or JD credit. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Of course I never tried to get automatic deductions started either /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Waldo · Apr 13, 2004

HillBilly77,

Stop and take a deep breath. Remember, cooler heads will always prevail. From my neutral standpoint there appears to be several ways this transaction could have gone wrong. As stated above you are ultimately responsible for not only choosing a "product" but also for paying for it.

I know this will be hard to do, but put your self in John Deere's shoes. You gave someone a quality product and they are not giving you the agreed upon monthly payment for it. Everyone has their bad days, and this is yours. Just be glad that it is over a miscommunication and not a tragic accident involving a loved one. I don't mean to sound dramatic, just trying to put this in perspective for you. We can all put our blinders on when things don't go our way...

I'm sure all will work out in the end. If you do a little research, you will find the John Deere helped the American farmers stay in business during the Great Depression by almost any means possible. After all, any company with over a 150 year history must be at least trying to do the right thing /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif