Ok - I will try to make this as short and understandable as possible! About this time last year we traded my husband's truck in on my current car. Come to find out the dealership never paid off the loan we had for my husband's truck, yet they resold it anyway! Yep, that's right! Our bank still has the title for the truck AND we are still making payments on it because we don't want to hurt our credit. Now, since all this has been going on the dealership and the man that owned it have filed bankruptcy! Are there any lawyer mommies out there that can give some advice as to what we can do?? I am currently working on a letter to send to our bank. Our loan officer is aware of our situation and said we could start with the letter and see what happens. I don't see why this has to fall on us. We signed papers stating they would pay off our loan - shouldn't the loan now be their responsibility? And since the owner himself filed personal bankruptcy, does that mean he is no longer paying anyone he owes??? UGH this gives me such a headache! Please help!
Ok, well we are still dealing with this crap! Sorry, but that's what it is...crap... lol. So far, at the advice of our bank manager, we were able to refinance my husband's truck and pay off the truck we don't actually own. Our monthly payment only went up $40 - which is better than the $170ish a month we were paying! BUt, that still means we only own a piece of paper. We are hoping that since we have the title, once the bankruptcy stuff is over, our reimbursement may go a little quicker!
Whitney C.-so wouldn't the car technically still be their property and couldnt she report it as stolen?
Obviously this is illegal, but it happens often unfortunately, You are still responsible for the loan as the name on the note is yours and your bank has no relationship with the third party. Thus, if you want to keep your credit clean, you have to continue paying the loan until such a time as the situation is resolved.
Now. In terms of the loan, it depends on who your loan is with and the type of relationship you have with that institution as to how willing they will be to work with you. If it is with a Credit Union, typically they do everything in their power to help their members in trouble. If you're with a smaller hometown bank, that bodes well also as the people with the power tend to be more accessible and more willing to work with you. If you're with a big chain bank, esp one owned by the govt now, you may find someone willing to work with you or you could quite possibly be totally and completely screwed. I highly suggest trying to get in touch with the VP of lending for a face-to-face mtg if at all possible, explaining the situation in detail with proof (paperwork), and humbly asking them to explain your options while totally expecting them to work with you. If you're a customer in good standing and you've had a positive relationship with them in past, especially if you have several accounts and/or products with that institution, they will probably try to work something out (eg, lesser payments or even suspending payments for 6 mos or something) while you try to resolve the situation. They may even be able to suggest a course of legal action. As a previous credit union employee, we saw this situation more often than we liked and kept attorneys on hand to recommend.
Keep in mind that until the title is transferred, any and all taxes owed are your responsibility and any damage caused by that car is your responsibility. I would highly recommend holding onto your car insurance on that VIN in case someone else gets in an accident w/it or something.
You will probably have to file a civil lawsuit in addition to filing a claim in the bankruptcy suit. Your attorney can help you do these things. More often than not, though, there is no money in these situations and the debtor pays the secured debts first anyway (eg, secured property, etc). I believe yours would be an unsecured debt owed and as such take lowest priority. In the end, if there were enough money for those unlucky debt holders, you would only receive a piece of what is left. Typically in situations I've seen like yours, the unfortunate customer is left holding a title and note to a security they no longer possess and are left paying on it.
Do you have a bill of sale for your state? If so, this is the best piece of paper to have, if I remember correctly.
contact your attorney general and your financial institution immediately. Hopefully you can get a referral for an attorney or they may help you file a bankruptcy claim through their own atty since they have an interest in the security.
Good luck!
If the bank still has the title then they still own it so they can still reposses it from the people you traded it too. Who ever has the title own it no matter if you traded it. So Id start by seeing if you can find out where the truck is and then talk to the bank and see if you can pay to have a repo guy go and get it back and then you all take ownership of it again and either keep paying it or privately sell it. With a private sell you dont turn over the truck till you have paid off the lean and have the title and then its signed over to the new owner so in order for you to pay off the lean the new owner has to pay you first see what I mean. My husband flips cars for side money so I deal with titles a lot. Im in WV and not sure what state you are in but here who ever the title's name is in its theirs period. If we sold a car and 4 years from now we find out the new owner never switched the title we could go and take it back cause there is personal property tax liabilities. Good luck and I hope this gets worked out for you.
You can always contact your states attorney generals office. They should be able to help you.
OMG! That is so horrible. It makes one not want to ever trade in a vehicle again. I would definantley talk with a lawyer. Maybe you could even talk with a judge in your area or another dealer that can give you some ideas. The judges here are very helpful.
Isn't it in your contract when you traded the truck in that they would pay off the loan? Even if they filed bankruptcy doesn't that mean the loan would of gone into their bankruptcy? I would contact their lawyer to find out what to do or call a lawyer for a free consultation.
I would gather all the paperwork from the sales transaction showing that you traded in the truck and the dealership would pay off the loan. I am sure this is aggravating! Good Luck!
Ohhh that is horrible! I hope you have the paperwork stating that they would pay off your truck loan! If so, take those papers to your bank. I would think if you have the proper proof, your truck has to be put into HIS bandruptcy and off of you. Then take a copy of the papers and send copies to every one of the credit bureaus. With proof they have 30 days to change the status of your credit to show that you are not at fault. Also, go down to the dealership WITH those papers and demand to talk to a mgr! He may have filed bankruptcy but is the business still there? Not to mention, how could they have sold the truck without the title?? If you can, get a police report then use the police to track down the truck using the VIN number. You can find the VIN number on the title. Once you track it down, that person has the truck illegally and you can take it back! Poor them but they should have wanted the title, sounds like an illegal sale to me. If you are paying for it, you either need the truck or the new owner may want to pay you what is owed on it so you don't take it. Use that title to your advantage b/c the VIN number is on it and b/c that shows ownership. File a police report first so you have a trail of your work and have legal advantage. ohhh, good luck! let us know how it turns out!
