I am writing about my experience with Chicago Lenders/Cactus Jacks. I had a good relationship with Chicago Lenders until October last year. I bought several cars from Cactus Jacks over the last four years and had nothing negative to say about them. I even recommended them to other family members. My account became behind due to a error on their part because they didn't run my debit card when the payments were due as agreed. I did not hear from Chicago Lenders for awhile, thinking that my payments were caught up and being made. On January 3, 2009, my vehicle was vandalized by a former friend who put unknown chemicals into the fuel tank.

My 1999 Dodge Caravan was a flex fuel van and was great on the wallet. I contacted the police and filed a police report, filed a claim with my insurance company for the vandalism and thought everything was OK. I got a call the next day from my mother in law that Cactus Jack/Chicago Lenders were threatening to report the van stolen. The funny thing was that they would have filed a false report because they knew where the van was if they wanted to come get it. I had told Frances the manager that the van was a crime scene and that my insurance company was initiating an investigation into the vandalism.

On 1/21/2009 at midnight a repo man came and picked up the van. I had told them that they were interfering with a criminal and insurance investigation, I had showed them the police report and the insurance claim information. They took the van anyway. Luckily earlier in the day an insurance field adjuster came and took a fuel sample because the tank was 1/2 full still. The next day I contacted Chicago Lenders and informed them that they were interfering with that investigation and Frances did not care. I owed a bill and that was it. Period.

When the original fuel sample was lost, Progressive Insurance tried to get a second sample but the Repo people were not interested in allowing the field agent to do his job. When the agent was able to get to the van, the fuel tank was empty. So a second sample could not be taken.

On March 8, 2009 I received a letter from the Legal Department of Chicago Lenders saying that they will sue me if I don't pay the balance because they sold the van at auction, instead of doing what Progressive said to do and that was to take the van to a mechanic for a diagnostic at Progressives expense, and then wait for payment to pay off the balance owed due to having a clause in my policy to pay off any loan balance. When I talked to the lady at the legal department, she lied to me about Progressive not wanting to pay the balance. So I called Progressive and confirmed that was not the case, and the claims rep told me that they were waiting for Chicago Lenders to follow their instructions and wait for payment.

Well, Chicago Lenders sent me a threatening letter about suing me for the balance. So I contacted them and advised them that any legal action taken against me will be met with a counter suit for damages caused by their actions and interference in preventing a vandal from being arrested and prosecuted and denying my insurance company to make whole me and Chicago Lenders for the damages made by that vandal. In my view they lost out because of their impatience and greed. They were given a specific set of directives by Progressive to get paid, they didn't follow through. It is their loss, not mine to bear.