But I SENT the car payment

Got a notice that my car payment was past due. I sent it way early - weeks ago. Looked at my balance, check had not gone through. Looks like it disappeared. I’ve NEVER missed a car payment, or been late in the lst 20 years. Now they say I must pay a penalty. Do I have any options?

First you’ll want to find out what exactly happened. Do you have any more details you could give us?

Sounds like you paid by check. If it didn’t get there, that’s a bummer, because you can’t prove anything. Don’t they have online billing? At least that way you’d have a confirmation number. Pay the bill NOW and then call the loan company and talk to them about it. They might take off the late payment, especially if you’ve actually paid the bill. There are lots of people out there with sob stories why they didn’t pay. I find it best to pay first and argue later. That way, you’re probably dealing with someone from Customer Service rather than Collection. And there’s a HUGE difference in attitude.

  • PW