Several years ago, we purchased a used car and got our loan through the Lending Tree. It was an amazingly easy process and within a few hours we had secured a decent loan with little muss or fuss. So when we decided to purchase a Jeep a few weeks ago we went to Lending Tree again. Boy, was it a totally different experience.Don’t get me wrong. I understood that the economy was bad and that we would be lucky to get a loan at all despite our good credit. But here’s the thing. Sharing personal loan information with car dealers without permission (or at least making it obvious that you might share it) is a bad idea. Here’s what happened.
We had a few questions about completing the loan application through the website, so we called the number at the top of the page that so excitedly stated “We Are Here to Help!” Yeah. When we called the number the recording told us to go to the website. Really? Strike one.
We punted and completed the form the best we could and submitted it. And didn’t hear a word from Lending Tree or any loan providers. Ever. Not even a “thanks, but no thanks” email. Strike two.
A few hours later the phone started ringing off the hook with calls from local car dealers wanting to sell us a Jeep. These were not folks we had contacted. They were unsolicited sales calls from overeager dealers who had obviously had a bad month due to the snow. We later found out that Lending Tree had decided not to give us a loan, but had instead shared our personal information with car dealers who didn’t want to give us a loan but wanted to sell us a car. Strike three – you’re out Lending Tree.
I’m sure that during the process there was probably a disclaimer that said LT may share our information with their partners. But, zero communication from LT followed by unsolicited calls from car dealers left a very sour aftertaste.
Lessons learned:
- Read the fine print. You never know when someone is going to share your personal info and just how much they plan to share.
- Deal locally with folks you know. I know that this is a personal preference, but I’m a firm believer that dealing with people you know (or are at least familiar with) makes for a much smoother transaction.
- Don’t kill the messenger. While I was tempted to reel into these car salesmen, they were just acting off leads from Lending Tree. Ethical? Maybe not. But I guess it’s just what they do.
What was the outcome?
We ended up getting a really good rate on a loan through my husband’s bank. Not my favorite bank, but at least there was no hassle. We found a Jeep through Craig’s List a few towns over and dealt with a mom and pop dealership who were super helpful and sold us a clean, great car. Buying a used car is always a risk at every step in the process. Who should you finance with? Is it a lemon? Will the dealer be a pain? But, I guess sometimes things work out.
To Lending Tree – provide customer service and don’t deceive your customers. In this day and age, you can’t afford to.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Beth — we’re happy to hear that your experience of getting a home loan through LendingTree was such a positive one, but sad to read about your disappointment with our auto loan process. The landscape for auto lenders has shrunk drastically over the last couple of years due to the overall economic environment, and our ability to connect consumers with auto loans has been adversely affected as a result. We are working diligently with some of the largest lending institutions out there to find creative ways to remedy this.
As such, we really appreciate your feedback and have taken it to heart in terms of reviewing our customer service processes and our auto products. If you’d like us to keep you in the loop as to how we are making changes in these areas, please let us (me) know!
Thanks for your feedback!
Hey Angela, thanks for your response. Our first experience with Lending Tree was actually also a car loan. Agreed that the economy was better the first time around. But, I was most disappointed with the numerous unsolicited calls from car dealers who advised that they were referred to us through Lending Tree. We didn’t need help finding a car. We needed a loan. The entire process seemed unsupported and we felt a little exploited by the end. Just seems like there is a better way for Lending Tree to communicate with and support their customers. I look forward to seeing better service from Lending Tree in the future!