I am finally ALMOST DONE with my car loan. Since last year, I've been looking forward to the day when I can finally say I own my car. But that excitement has turned into this major headache! Let me share with you my story and hopefully you could also learn a thing or two to avoid experiencing the same problem I am having now.
Background
So I got a car loan from RCBC via Honda Cars when I got my car several years ago.The maturity date of the loan is supposedly on 16th of July this year. I was advised by my agent to open an RCBC Saving account and go for auto-debit payment process for hassle-free payment so that's what I did. Also I was told by my agent that usually, when you pay diligently, you would get your final month payment waived.
So last April, I already sent several emails to RCBC loans customer service to ask for my next steps once I fully paid my loan and if the information I got from my agent was correct regarding the last month payment being waved.
My Problem
RCBC's responses to my email are canned (meaning no direct responses to my inquiries) and they are always late. Like they would respond to me after 2 weeks. I am getting frustrated because I am only asking for 2 things but they were not able to properly give me an answer. I was told that once I fully paid my loan, I should wait for 10 days before processing the documents. No information on where I could process it, what do I have to bring once I process it, and if they are going to call me or what. Nothing. Nada.
And as for the 1 month waived payment, also no direct response to that at all.
The Bigger Problem
3 weeks ago, an RCBC collection agent called me and asked me to settle my account. Thing is, last 16th of June I was already debited as usual with the same amount they are getting from my account every month. For security purposes, let us assume that my month amortization is 10,000PHP. So I told them that I was already debited and sent an email with a screenshot from my RCBC account. I am at lost as to why my payment was suddenly not posted!
So I was told that they will request for "proper posting" of my payment and that it usually takes 2-3 weeks. I was appalled by the fact that they would need 2-3 weeks to post my payment when (1) it was done via auto-debit on my (2) RCBC Savings account. Everything was on RCBC system so why would they need 2-3 weeks to process it right? I would understand it if for example I am doing the payment via another bank or the payment was posted on a 3rd party payment system. But everything is within RCBC and it was auto-debited! So why?
Now, 3 weeks has passed and they are still waiting for the "approval". But I think I know why my last payment was not properly posted (see The Bigger Bigger Problem).
The Bigger Bigger Problem
Now remember that I also emailed RCBC couple of months ago regarding my loan maturity? On that email, I was sent with my Summary Of Payments document. That document shows all the payments I made and the remaining balance.
So apparently, last 16th of May my remaining balance is LESS THAN MY MONTHLY AMORTIZATION. For security, let us assume that my monthly amortization is 10,000PHP and my balance is only 5,244.86 PHP. Even with interest, it is definitely LESS than my monthly amortization right? And my assumption is this is the reason why my 16th of June payment which was auto-debited was not properly posted!
Also, I realize that my agent must be right. That I would end up not having to pay the last month amortization (in my case 16th of July). Although it's not because of RCBC's good heart but because I could actually settle my loan a month early.
Right now, I am still waiting for RCBC's "approval" of my posted payment and still waiting for Statement of Account that will clear me of my loan. And most importantly, I am waiting for them to credit back the excess money they got from me last 16th of June!
Though I have to endure their collection agents bombarding me with calls and asking me to pay. And I also have to worry about delayed charges. Since it also happened to me last 2018 wherein they were not able to debit my account, totally their fault. I was told that I don't have to pay for the late fee charges but I still end up paying 412.65PHP late fee charge.
I worry that I won't get the excess payment and they would tell me that it's because of the late fee charges! And that's probably why it is taking them too long to process a simple payment posting.
My Advice
Now since this happened to me I am sharing several tips especially to those who plan on getting an auto-loan and those who's loan is about to mature. I think this would apply not only to those on RCBC auto-loan but for other banks as well.
- 2-3 months before your loan maturity, ask for the Summary of Payments document. This way you could already see how much is your remaining balance and you can plan your payment accordingly. If you can pay in advance, the better. You will be able to save interest fees. And process your documents early.
- If you are on auto-debit payment, take a screenshot of your transaction history every single month as proof that you are are already debited the amount. This will serve as your proof in case you encounter the same problem as mine.
- This is what I realized, if you can opt out of auto-debit I guess it'll be better. I also experienced last year where RCBC automatically did not debit my account and enrolled me on payment holiday due to COVID which could've resulted to accrued interest. Good thing I always check my transaction and called immediately why they did not charge me. I had to request to be opt out of the payment holiday scheme and had to call customer service for that as well. Another major headache. Also, remember that time when I had to pay late fee charges because they were not able to debit my account? Not good!
- It is best to know how your loan interest are being computed. So you could forecast the actual time you would be able to fully settle your loan.
- Call your bank's customer service. For RCBC you can contact (02)88777222 or their collections department (02)88949100.
It is best to be informed. I will update this blog post once my issue is settled and I would do another blog post once I was able to process my car's documents. Problem is, I am living out of the city now. And this is causing me so much headache Wish me luck!
