Sunbelt Credit Very Rude and Threatens with Impossible Charges Clearwater Florida

First I would like to say that my husband and I are current customers of Sunbelt Credit.  I think that their program is great in helping to rebuild your credit, if used properly.  They offer revolving loans, and based on your credit history, is your intrest rate.  We have been customers for almost two years now and the branch we have our loan with has been nothing but great!

I'm not saying that we have a debt free history because we don't.  In fact Sunbelt was able to get us out of a major jam.  We have been late on our payments every once in a while and as long as I communicate with them, all I get is the first reminder phone call.  Which has helped in reminding me that my bill was due.  The receptionist is very sweet and will call and say hey its _____ from Sunbelt I just wanted to remind you that your bill is due.  I usually have completly forgotten since its not a bill that comes in the mail each month and let her know that I will be in either that day or by the end of the week.  Again as long as I ANSWER my phone and PAY when I have arranged to pay, All I recieve is that initial reminder call and I am left alone.  No threats no harrasment. 

So for those of you who are smashing this company, I'm sorry you have had a bad experiance, but mine thus far has been nothing but great, and I would recommend them to anyone I know in need of a loan.  Working on a better life for my family and I, improving my credit score each month by continuing to pay my loan off and the Help and Support of Sunbelt Credit, Brandon, Fl. 

My husband borrowed money from Sunbelt they got annoying immediately. They harassed friends & family. People that had nothing to do with the account. They even came knocking on our door constantly leaving dumb notes. Even when we made payments they always wanted to add more unnecessary charges. It like it was never good enough for them. Finally paid them off & they still want more. Not gonna happen! They are annoying greedy people. Don't borrow money from them.i will be spreading the word, Sunbelt is nothing but greedy, harassing people!

The language that you have used in this post is exactly what is being complained about. When dealing with a debt, both parties want the same thing, no more debt. If your company uses restraint in the harshness and belittling of people, such as you are doing here, the issue would be resolved.

I was going to see about getting a loan from this company today, but after reading what a the company has said to and about customers on this site, I will reframe from that idea.

Thank you for submitting the complaint and the rebuttal from SunBelt making sure I never use this company.

In a perfect world, everybody's bills would be paid on time, or even earlier. So for you to make that sort of comment, is hilarious. I am sure every bill you have has been paid on time every month. Before you start talking about someone and not paying their bills, walk a mile in their shoes.

Seriously... I guess you dont know the law then, Actually the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act allows anyone that you are in debt to to contact you as many times as needed between the hours of 8:01am - 8:59pm... The debt owner is also allowed to threat you with reposession and litigation as long as their threats are valid and they intend to do so...

It seems to me your issues would be resolved it you simply just paid your bills. It's sad when honest people go looking for reliable information and end up finding information from people who simply dont want to pay their own bills... It's no fault of the company its 110% your own fault...

I have read all these reports so far and have to add that we have dealt with Sunbelt Credit for 4 years now. Every time we got behind they would offer to redo the loan so that we were "up to date" again. they would offer this as soon as we got 1 month behind. My husband would agree just to stop them from calling. We would be fine for a few months and be able to make the payment. As soon as we get behind again they would call. Well after 4 years we still a little over 2,000. When we borrowed 1,800. 4 years ago. 

Well we have decided that we would just make the payments the best we can. But the fact that we are 3 months behind and up until a month ago we were making the payments even though we were behind. But what really makes me upset is the fact that the day after we made a payment they would call us and want to know when we were going to make the next payment. They talked to us like we were trash and would even yell at us on the phone. I decided that it was not worth it to answer my phone. So when they called I decided to not answer. So they would leave a message. For a little while they were calling my home 3-4 times a day and leaving 2 messages on my machine. 

They would come to the house about once a week. And one day my husband was home when they came here. They told him that if we did not make a payment they would reposes the truck. When I got home he was all upset. So we talked about what we were going to do. We decided that at this point do to the constant harrasment that we wanted them to come get the truck and we would work out something else for the balance. 

I know that if the reposes the truck they would sell it at auction and we would still be responsible for the balance. I do not have an issue with that because at that time we could send in a much smaller payment till it is payed off. 

Since that time they call still daily and we have informed that that we want them to reposes the truck. They have stated that is NOT what they do and they will be taking us to court. I have a message on my phone stating that they will be taking us to court by Sept 15. Today is Sept 13 and I still have not gotten anything from the court. I have looked online in public records for anything and there is nothing there. 

They have told me that it is my responsibility to sell the truck if I want to get rid of it. That they are NOT in the reposes business. In the meantime we have decided to not drive the truck and leave it parked outside the fence in front of our house. So if they decide to come get it they can not say that it was not there. For that matter all they have to do is knock on my door and I would give them the key. 

I find it funny that Sunbelt jumps in to defend its practices so vehemently, when it perpetrates a fraud upon the public.  As an attorney who has had to deal with Sunbelt recently, I can say that the double talk and lies of the representatives for the company are mind boggling.  I have been hung up on, accused of being rude (when simply asking for when an item was mailed), cut off mid-conversation, and insulted by the phone representatives.  What's worse, they have repeatedly lied to me about sending documentation which is necessary and required by law, which has been harmful to my client's interest. 

Based upon my experience with Sunbelt, I would not ever voluntarily work with the company again.  Their representatives are blatant liars, and will try to find any way to avoid doing work that they are required to do by law.  In my case, a lien satisfaction letter was required within 10 days.  I am now 58 days out and still waiting.  No matter what the response, there is no valid excuse for the lies I and my paralegal have been told, or the rudeness of Sunbelt's staff. 

Deal with this company at your own risk, even if you are a good customer.  They are not worth the hassle.

Typing in all capital letters...virtually yelling at the customer...is not customer service nor is it professional to act so childish in a public forum. I hope that is not the treatment these customers have received. However on the other hand we are required to contact customers who become 1 day late at the very least once and day until payment or arrangements are received and that changes as the delinquency becomes more severe. It is not harassment to call you once a day or even several times a day it is merely persistence. The law regulates that 1st party collection can proceed with collections from 8 am to 8 pm Monday thru Saturday. We can call your phones as many times as we feel the need; however we can only leave one voice message daily..granted we are human and sometimes we do make mistakes. We can also visit your house once daily if necessary; however as long as the customer communicates and keeps their promises and works with the company as we are trying to work with them it usually doesn't escalate that far. However if you constantly ignore us, cuss us and refuse to pay us... that is when we take collections to the next level. A life in collections is neither fun or desired however someone has to do it especially when we lend people money and no one wants to pay it back.

YOU SIGNED A CONTRACT STATING THAT YOU WOULD PAY YOUR LOAN ON TIME EVERY MONTH. YOU ALSO SIGNED O THAT SAME CONTRACT THAT WE MAY CONTACT YOU THE VERY NEXT DAY THE PAYMENT BECOMES PAST DUE, YOU PROVIDED THE NUMBERS OF CONTACT AT YOUR OWN SUBMISSION AND ACCORDING TO THE WRITTEN CONTRACT YOU GAVE US PERMISSION TO CALL YOU TO REQUEST PAYMENT ON THE LOAN YOU TOOK OUT.

OUR COMPANY HAS MANY WAYS TO HELP A CUSTOMER BEFORE PERSUING ANY FURTHER ACTION.
THE LOAN WAS GIVEN IN GOOD FAITH. REMEMBER YOU CAME TO US FIRST, ALL WE ASK IS YOU TO KEEP UP TO YOUR SIDE OF THE CONTRACT THAT YOU SIGNED!

OUR CONTRACTS AND COLLECTION EFFORTS ARE IN COMPLICENCE WITH THE FEDERAL FAIR CREDIT ACT.

THE ITEMS YOU PUT UP FOR COLLATERAL ARE OUR PROPERTY UNTIL YOU PAY OUT THE LOAN. THESE ITEMS ARE CONSIDERED MORGAGED PROPERTY AND CAN BE LEVIED ON EVEN IF THE PMT IS LATE. THERE IS NO GRACE PERIOD ACCORDING TO THE CONTRACT YOU SIGNED.

For future reference don't give any of these people your cell phone number if you have both a home phone and a cell phone.

For future reference don't give any of these people your cell phone number if you have both a home phone and a cell phone.

For future reference don't give any of these people your cell phone number if you have both a home phone and a cell phone.

I had a loan with SunBelt Credit, as well did my sister. The loan officers discovered that she was my sister, due to the unusuality of our last name. My sister fell behind in her payments a couple of months, and the harrasment started. Now the first time they called, I politely told the loan officer that I was neither a co-signer nor a referance, to please not call me concerning my sisters acount. A week went by and hence my phone rings again. Well what do you know its Sunbelt Credit again. This time the loan officer got snotty with me. She told me that I needed to have my sister call them, that she was extremely delinquint on her account, and that her credit wasn't going to be worth crap if she didnt pay. By this time I have become agitated. I replied to the ladies hostilities with a simple answer,"I'm not my sisters babysitter please stop calling me." About a week later i went to the office to pay out my last payment. The loan officer precedes to tell me that i need to get in touch with my sister and make her come pay her bill. I replied hostily this time and said,"My sister is not my responsibility, STOP HARASING ME!!!" The loan officer said that i didnt need to get uptite all i had to do was tell them to stop asking. If this wasnt a slap in the face, I dont know what is. A week has gone by with no calls, but for some reason I dont feel I've heard the last of Sunbelt Credit. So Deane what do you say to that?

As a corporate supervisor for Sunbelt Credit, why don't you take this advice. Sunbelt's policy is to call customers who are past due on their accounts. These calls start as just friendly reminders, and our representatives and managers are always helpful when a situation arises where a customer can't make their payment, as long as that customer cooperates with us and stays in touch. The only time a reposession is performed or threatened is when someone refuses or fails to keep in contact or work with us. You secured your loan with the vehicle and we made you this loan trusting that you would pay it back, according to the contract which you read and signed and agreed to. If you fail to do so, yes we will repossess your vehicle and even take you to court if need be. Furthermore, the FDCPA you are referring to is for collection agencies only. It does not regulate the actual creditor, the one that loaned you the money. I suggest you live up to this responsibility and stop trying to look for excuses not to pay it, and claim that Sunbelt is "harassing" you. If we owed you $5,000, I'm sure you'd be "harassing" us just the same. So pay your debt, and get it paid off, and then close your account so you don't have to deal with all this and waste your time posting complaints on web sites.

Thank you for your time. Have a nice day.