GM Financial failed to charge the correct amount to hundreds of borrowers paying their January bill due to errors in its servicing platform amid a consolidation of its various systems, Bob Beatty, executive vice president of customer experience, explained last week.
While the glitch impacted less than 1% of consumers, it resulted in a 300% increase in call volume to the lender’s service centers as borrowers attempted to remedy the payment overcharges and undercharges, according to a published report. The average charge was $20 above or below the normal payment plan.
The system upgrade was intended to take place between Dec. 29, 2017 and Jan. 5, during which time phone lines and the website would be down. However, the window was extended to Jan. 8, and caused some confusion in the system over who should and should not be charged a late fee.
GM Financial said it has identified all the affected consumers and plans to remedy the overcharges and undercharges as well as repair any credit reports that may have been negatively impacted by the glitch. GM Financial declined AFN‘s request for comment on this story.
“We take this very seriously,” Beatty said in the report. “I don’t think there is a bigger endeavor that an auto finance company can do than to convert all of their servicing systems into one in one fell swoop. … It was as big a project as we could have ever taken on. We knew we would have some issues.”
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