ING Direct Says Merry Christmas As It Pays January Mortgage Payment For 500
This is a heartwarming story of a company that get’s it.
No Christmas parties at ING Direct for the staff is allowing the company to pay January’s mortgage payment for 500 customers who participated in a contest by the bank.
ING Direct forgave $861,513.25 in January mortgage payments — or an average $1,700 per household — for the 500 customers who won the online bank’s essay contest.
ING Direct canceled its holiday parties this year, said spokesman Jeff Mirabello, partly offsetting the cost of the contest. He was not unable to provide a specific figure on how much the company usually spends on its holiday gatherings.
There was no staff vote on the decision, but employees weren’t upset, said Scott Lugar, head of consumer lending, who administered the program.
A committee within the direct bank and thrift, owned by the Dutch financial services giant ING Groep NV, chose the winners out of nearly 5,500 homeowners who sent in a 250-word essay. via the AJC
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Comment by Joshua Dorkin @ BiggerPockets.com on 26 December 2008:
Good for ING! I’ve always been a fan of the company, and this definitely helps secure their image in my mind. Most of these banks have yet to figure it out . . . I’m glad to know that at least someone out there recognizes what’s important – the CUSTOMER.
Comment by Vicki Lloyd on 27 December 2008:
A client of mine was one of the “winners” of this contest. She had just closed on her new house 10/31, so her first payment was due 12/01. They forgave her January payment, so she is pretty thrilled.
I haven’t asked her what she wrote in her essay, but I’ll bet it had something to do with buying a foreclosure that had some financial “surprises” in the repairs that were needed before moving in. (She still got a great house at a great price – it just took some cash to bring it up to its potential.)
I was very impressed with their performance on the loan, and then again on this “gift” after closing!
Comment by Borya @ Starting Real Estate on 30 December 2008:
That’s a great idea ING. Would be really neat to read some of those essays.
Comment by grande dunes on 31 December 2008:
that was a great idea ing done, i can’t believe it didn’t get more press. There PR people must not bee too good>