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Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I don’t pay my payment on my due date?
On the 1st day past due a $10 late fee will be added to your balance.
On the 7th day past due, our system will disable the starter for your vehicle until the past due payment has been paid.
Payment Plans and Lease Rescheduling may be available to prevent you from becoming past due.
My payroll dates or frequency have changed, can I change my Lease Payment schedule?
We are able to Reschedule your remaining lease payments to match your last two paystubs. Paystubs must include Pay Period and Pay Date.
Rescheduling can only happen when the Lease is current. We cannot Reschedule a lease that is past due.
Rescheduling can only happen when paystubs for the Lessee are provided. We cannot Reschedule using a spouse’s pay stubs.
How do I use my Maintenance & Repair Agreement?
Claims Process. In case of a breakdown, you should take the following steps:
STEP 1. Call us for assistance with locating a certified repair facility and getting the repair facility a copy of your Agreement.
STEP 2. Repair facility must email a written estimate to help@steppingstonefinance.com
STEP 3. We will request maintenance receipts from you when relevant. (example: engine failure will require you to provide copies of the last two oil change receipts. No Do It Yourself Accepted)
STEP 4. We will respond to the repair shop with a coverage breakdown.
STEP 5. You review the coverage and approve or decline repairs with the repair facility.
STEP 6. You pay your portion of the repair to the repair facility when repairs are completed.
STEP 7. We pay the repair facility our portion of the repair.
Can I be reimbursed for maintenance or repairs I paid for?
No. Your Maintenance & Repair Agreement requires that we pay a licensed and insured repair facility DIRECTLY for our portion of the maintenance. We do not reimburse after the fact.
What does my Maintenance and Repair Agreement cover?
Your Maintenance & Repair Agreement will answer this question.
Stepping Stone can provide you with a copy in Spanish or English at your request.
I have already made all of my lease payments, what is the Residual Value that I must pay if I choose to purchase the vehicle?
All Lease Agreements include what is called a residual value. This is the amount you have the option to purchase the vehicle for at the end of your rental term. The Residual value is on the first page of your Lease Agreement.
You also made a written statement the day you leased the vehicle which said that you can choose to purchase the vehicle at the the end of the rental term by paying the residual value to Stepping Stone.
Your Dealership can answer additional questions about the Residual Value and review your Lease Termination Options with you.
Can I have a copy of my Lease Agreement?
Yes. Of course.
The fastest way to get a copy of your Lease Agreement is to call your Dealership.
If your Dealership is unable to get you a copy of your Lease Agreement please call us and we can arrange to get you a copy.
What do I do when my license plates expire?
Utah’s Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) handles the renewal of your registration.
Renew Your Registration
Why does Stepping Stone not accept an insurance policy with me only listed as a driver?
Your Lease Agreement requires that you be the Named Insured and there are many reasons why.
The main differences between a Named Insured and a Covered Driver on an insurance policy is that the Named Insured is the owner of the policy and has more responsibilities, more coverage and controls the policy:
Responsibilities
The Named Insured is responsible for paying premiums, making policy changes, and receiving claim checks. They are also the primary driver, so their driving record and credit history are used to calculate premiums.
Coverage
The named insured’s insurance covers them if they drive any car, including rental cars, and are in an accident.
Policy control
The named insured has control over the policy and is the only one who can make changes.
A driver who is not the named insured is called an Additional Driver. Additional drivers are covered under the policy, but they don’t have the same responsibilities or coverage as the named insured. Their driving record is may not be used to determine rates, and they are only covered on the vehicle they are listed under.
One of many examples of why this a requirement of your Lease Agreement is that as only a driver on another person’s policy, you do not have the right to give permission to anyone else to drive the vehicle you are leasing. So, if you let a friend or family member drive the vehicle the insurance company can deny the claim.
Being added as a driver on someone else’s policy is a disclosure that the owner of the policy is making to the insurance company of all people living in the household who are 16 years old or older.
If your insurance agent is suggesting that you be added only as a driver on someone else’s policy, and the agent knows that the owner of the insurance policy is NOT the person leasing the vehicle, you should consider consulting with another insurance agent as the insurance company would likely terminate the policy coverage if the found out about this.
How do Payment Plans work with Stepping Stone?
Payment Plans may be scheduled by calling our Customer Support prior to the 7th day past due. You will schedule an Autopay payment up to 13 days after the lease payment due date.
If the Autopay payment is declined by your bank, it will count as a strike against your account and your starter will be disabled until the past due payment is paid.
Even if you pay the payment later the same day the Payment Plan was scheduled you will still have the strike on your account.
Stepping Stone allows only two strikes (Payment Plans which are declined by your bank). After a second strike Payment Plans will no longer be allowed for your account.
There are no exceptions to this two strike rule so do not schedule Payment Plans if you are not 100% certain the Autopay will be approved by your bank.
What options do I have to terminate my lease early?
There are three ways to end your lease early and all of them will likely cost you THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.
Option 1.
Return the vehicle to the dealership for Lease Return Inspection and then:
Pay all remaining lease payments,
Pay the Early Lease Termination fee $999
Pay for any safety or emissions failures found during Lease Return Inspection.
All of this must be paid when returned, no payment plans available.
Once payment in full is received the account will be closed and will report as paid in full with a zero balance to the credit bureau.
Option 2.
Trade-in the vehicle at a dealership or sell the vehicle to a dealership. If your Lease Purchase amount is higher than the dealership offers, you must pay the difference to the dealership at the time you sell them the vehicle.
Option 3.
Repossession. The repossession process begins when you return the vehicle to the Dealership.
The specifics are in your Lease Agreement, but you will owe thousands of dollars to Stepping Stone and your account will be reported to the credit bureau as a repossession with a balance due.
The balance will be turned over to a local law firm which will attempt to collect the balance plus interest and legal fees by obtaining a judgment and garnishments of your bank accounts, future payroll, and tax returns if possible.
What is the TLW Fee?
The TLW Fee you see on your account is the Total Loss Waiver Fee. The Total Loss Waiver IS NOT AN INSURANCE POLICY.
Your Lease Agreement requires you to insure the vehicle at all times during your Lease period.
When Stepping Stone receives a copy of a Cancellation Notice from your insurance company, we update your account and send you an email notice that we are adding a daily fee to your account until your insurance company or agent emails us a Reinstatement Notice or a Declaration page.
The Total Loss Waiver fee is a fee we charge you every day that you do not have a compliant insurance policy protecting the vehicle.
We can provide you with a copy of the Total Loss Waiver Agreement that you signed the day you leased the vehicle.
Why don’t you offer monthly Lease payments?
We schedule our lease payments to match with our customer’s pay dates because this splits the payments in to more manageable amounts
You may pay up to five payments at a time on our Payment Portal. So, if you would like to pay two or three payments once a month you can choose to do that on our Payment Portal.
Why does Stepping Stone require my insurance policy have a collision deductible of $500 or lower?
This company policy is to protect our customers from putting themselves in a position where they cannot afford to repair damage to the vehicle they are leasing because they are responsible for paying the deductible first before their insurance pays for any physical damage repairs.
If you are confident of your ability to pay a higher deductible, you can pre-pay this amount to us in the form of a refundable security deposit, which we will hold until the end of your Lease term.
During the Lease term or at the end of the Lease term, if there is damage to be repaired, we would pay the deductible using the security deposit which you have pre-paid to us. If there is no damage at the end of your Lease agreement and you choose to return the vehicle, the security deposit would be refunded to you. If you choose to purchase the vehicle at the end of the Lease agreement, the security deposit would be credited towards the residual balance, which would reduce the amount you would pay Stepping Stone to purchase the vehicle.
Can I transfer me lease to someone else?
No. Your lease agreement prohibits the transfer of the lease to another person.
Can I be removed from the Lease leaving only my Co-Lessee responsible for the Lease?
No. There is no process to remove a either Lessee from the Lease Agreement. Either of the Lessees can choose purchase the vehicle at anytime during the Lease which would terminate both Lessee’s responsibility to the Lease Agreement.
In an Emergency, can you enable my vehcle's starter?
Once our system has disabled your vehicle’s starter, only a payment will enable the vehicle.
There are emergency uses which do qualify for temporary one time enable:
Use to go to the hospital.
Use to move a vehicle back to your verified home address to prevent the vehicle from being impounded.
What happens if I moved to another state?
Stepping Stone is only registered in Utah as a leasing & rental company. If you intend to move to another state, you will need to arrange financing from your bank or credit union to purchase the vehicle BEFORE you move. You also have the option to trade the vehicle in at any dealership BEFORE you move to another state.
When would Stepping Stone Terminate my Lease Early and hire a repossession company to take possession of the vehicle?
Your Lease Agreement lists all of the reasons which would prompt Stepping Stone to begin the Repossession process.
Communication with our customer when their account is in default for any reason is the most important factor.
If you refuse to communicate with us and refuse to make a plan to get your account back on track then it leaves us without options.
Hours
Mon – Fri: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Phone
801-601-1977
Address
PO Box 9337
Salt Lake City, Utah 84109