Help Michelle Get Her Car Back
Donation protected
The beautiful girl in the photo above is my best friend Michelle. She's twenty-four years old and has been doing an excellent job of keeping up with the responsibilities of adulthood, including working full-time, paying bills on-time, and most recently, signing for an auto loan with Lake Erie Auto Credit in Lorrain, Ohio.
Two weeks before Christmas, she was fired from her job at the Mentor, Ohio Speedway on 615 after only seventeen weeks of employment. She has been donating plasma in order to bring in some money while she waits for a decision from the Unemployment office regarding her claim, and has been struggling to keep up with her necessary payments.
This morning at around 4 a.m. her car was repossessed by the dealership. The payment was due by the 24th of December -- Christmas Eve. The dealership was closed on Christmas Day (as one would expect) and she received a phone call at around 8 p.m. on the 26th of December asking her to phone them during their extended hours. By the time she received the message, it was too late to return the call.
Lake Erie Auto Credit has failed to answer phone calls made throughout the night and there are no emergency phone numbers listed. The payment was two days overdue at the time the car was repossessed (which Michelle understands to be legal).
The dealership is not open on Sunday (the day the car was repossessed at 4 in the morning) and therefore no arrangements can be made for the car until the following Monday.
Our understanding (based on reading complaints about this company to the Better Business Bureau) is that the cost to recover the car will be equal to the missed payment, the next payment, and a repossesion fee of $350 (this isn't taking into consideration that we live in Mentor and the dealership is in Lorrain, so this fee may be higher).
We are asking for whatever assistance we can get to recover the car as quickly as possible. My husband relies on Michelle to transport him to work in Mayfield every day and without the car, we are paying as much as $80 a day in cab fees for him to make it to his job.
The amount we're asking for should cover the fees to recover the car from the dealership in accordance with Ohio law (and Michelle's contract).
This has been devastating for her. Speedway was the first employer to ever terminate her employment. It was a no-fault layoff only two weeks before Christmas. My husband was terminated from HIS job (again, a no-fault situation) in October and is only recently back to work, and we are behind on other bills as well (Michelle lives with my husband and me).
The money raised through this campaign will be applied toward recovering the 2007 Chrysler Pacifica from Lake Erie Auto Credit so that my husband may continue to work and so that Michelle may continue her job search for another job.
Ideally we would like to see the funds available by Wednesday, December 30th. We realize that this is a large sum of money to earn in such a short period of time (especially right after Christmas) but we trust in the spirit of the holiday season and we have hope that some of you will be able to help us out under these circumstances.
Donations (and the recovery of the vehicle) will mean that my husband will be able to continue to work at his job in Mayfield and that Michelle will be able to continue her job hunt in order to help keep a roof over our family's heads.
I cannot begin to express the extent of the gratitude I have for anyone who is able and willing to help us to resolve this issue. I've asked a lot from friends, family, and strangers in the past, and truly believe that things are going to get better from here -- we just need a boost up to get out of the quicksand we've been sinking into!
If you choose to donate, we'd love it if you could comment so that we know who's helped us out. We can't offer much, but we do offer good wishes and prayers for those who help get us out of this tough situation!
Two weeks before Christmas, she was fired from her job at the Mentor, Ohio Speedway on 615 after only seventeen weeks of employment. She has been donating plasma in order to bring in some money while she waits for a decision from the Unemployment office regarding her claim, and has been struggling to keep up with her necessary payments.
This morning at around 4 a.m. her car was repossessed by the dealership. The payment was due by the 24th of December -- Christmas Eve. The dealership was closed on Christmas Day (as one would expect) and she received a phone call at around 8 p.m. on the 26th of December asking her to phone them during their extended hours. By the time she received the message, it was too late to return the call.
Lake Erie Auto Credit has failed to answer phone calls made throughout the night and there are no emergency phone numbers listed. The payment was two days overdue at the time the car was repossessed (which Michelle understands to be legal).
The dealership is not open on Sunday (the day the car was repossessed at 4 in the morning) and therefore no arrangements can be made for the car until the following Monday.
Our understanding (based on reading complaints about this company to the Better Business Bureau) is that the cost to recover the car will be equal to the missed payment, the next payment, and a repossesion fee of $350 (this isn't taking into consideration that we live in Mentor and the dealership is in Lorrain, so this fee may be higher).
We are asking for whatever assistance we can get to recover the car as quickly as possible. My husband relies on Michelle to transport him to work in Mayfield every day and without the car, we are paying as much as $80 a day in cab fees for him to make it to his job.
The amount we're asking for should cover the fees to recover the car from the dealership in accordance with Ohio law (and Michelle's contract).
This has been devastating for her. Speedway was the first employer to ever terminate her employment. It was a no-fault layoff only two weeks before Christmas. My husband was terminated from HIS job (again, a no-fault situation) in October and is only recently back to work, and we are behind on other bills as well (Michelle lives with my husband and me).
The money raised through this campaign will be applied toward recovering the 2007 Chrysler Pacifica from Lake Erie Auto Credit so that my husband may continue to work and so that Michelle may continue her job search for another job.
Ideally we would like to see the funds available by Wednesday, December 30th. We realize that this is a large sum of money to earn in such a short period of time (especially right after Christmas) but we trust in the spirit of the holiday season and we have hope that some of you will be able to help us out under these circumstances.
Donations (and the recovery of the vehicle) will mean that my husband will be able to continue to work at his job in Mayfield and that Michelle will be able to continue her job hunt in order to help keep a roof over our family's heads.
I cannot begin to express the extent of the gratitude I have for anyone who is able and willing to help us to resolve this issue. I've asked a lot from friends, family, and strangers in the past, and truly believe that things are going to get better from here -- we just need a boost up to get out of the quicksand we've been sinking into!
If you choose to donate, we'd love it if you could comment so that we know who's helped us out. We can't offer much, but we do offer good wishes and prayers for those who help get us out of this tough situation!
Organizer
Rebecca Radigan Rizzuti
Organizer
Mentor, OH