Avoid being road kill author gets run over by Toyota

The Venture Business Manual: Avoid Being Road Kill author Bradley Bartz got hit twice by Toyota Financial Services over the past few years. The first time was when he leased the 2017 Hydrogen Toyota Mirai and Toyota Financial somehow was able to change Mr. Bartz's birthday at the credit agencies that made him younger than his son. Today, with his 850 credit score torched by almost 100 points things cascaded.

Upon reporting falsing by Toyota Financial Services, Mr. Bartz business credit line was reduced and thereby put in default with Chase Bank. A solar financial firm for Mr. Bartz's clients also happened to check us out after Toyota Financial dropped the ball.

"1st I wish Toyota really could make me 23 again. I would buy a Toyota for eternity!" Said Mr. Bartz. "But what this sloppy company did was strip me of my adult credit portfolio. Even COSTCO would not give me a credit card because I was ... 23."

The second more horrifying thing just happened. Santa Monica Toyota took in the 2017 Mirai and drove to Mr. Bartz's home, a new 2020 Mirai. The deal was simple. Toyota gave Mr. Bartz two big credits for running out of Hydrogen for months at a time during the ownership term of the 2017 Mirai. (Mr. Bartz is an early adopter.) This meant that the last payment of the 2017 Mirai was absorbed by this credit and the new 2020 Mirai was a clean slate. Notes to this effect are in the Santa Monica Toyota computer system.

But, in the Japanese home of Toyota to treat a client like this would not stand. Mr. Bartz lived in Japan for 11 years until 2000. And, Mr. Bartz actually lived in a home owned by the Toyoda family, the former Liberian embassy in Tokyo. The stature of the client in Japan is penultimate.

But Toyota USA does not share that basic understanding of the customer.

Bartz is clear that after 38 years of buying new Toyota cars, he will never be a Toyota customer again. Bartz relayed the change of birthday story with a shrug. But having immature and vindictive Toyota Financial Services staff not do their job and instead harass Mr. Bartz, he simply had enough.

But, by then it was too late. The credit services now show Mr. Bartz as average.

"My Book the Venture Business Manual: Avoid Being Road Kill, does talk about the great unknown, actions of humans." demurred Mr. Bartz. "I will have to re-write my book to be extremely clear on the use and abuse of credit, credit agencies and the lack of accountability."

I will have to write about how to avoid being road kill at the hands of Toyota.

About Bradley Bartz: Mr. Bartz is a futurist and entrepreneur that owns companies on three continents. The Venture Business Manual: Avoid Being Road Kill is at https://VentureBusinessManual.com. Mr. Bartz is also an author and one his favorite pieces can be seen here