Repossessing a car?

[Wade Lippman]

I financed a new car 6 months ago.

The finance company just noticed they failed to get their name on the title. (In NYS the owner gets the title, but the finance company's lien is noted on the title). They demanded that I mail them the title or they would consider me to be in default and repossess the car.
The contract says I am in default if I don't have only their lien on the title. I suppose that could mean I am required to have them on the title, but to me it means I can't have anyone else on it.

If they didn't get the lien on the title, could they even repossess?
Since I had nothing to do with preparing the title, how could I be negligent for not including their lien? Mailing them the title just seems crazy.

First time I have financed anything, and likely to be the last. A real learning experience.

[George Bokros]

Seems to me the blame lies on the seller of the car particularly if the seller was a car dealer. At least in Ohio the dealer handles the title work, applies for and obtains the title and mails to the owner or finance company. If financed, a memorandum of title sent to the owner for obtaining plates.

[John Coloccia]

Mail them the title. They will mail the title, and a notice of lein, to the DMV. The DMV will mail you a new title with them noted as a lien holder. The dealer screwed up, but this is easily fixed by a quick trip to the post office. The lending company is right. Without them noted a lien holder, you could sell the car tomorrow, and then default on the loan and the company is out all of the money.

There's nothing funny going on here. Just mail the title. It's legitimate. When you sign a contract, there's an assumption of good faith. All y'alls are required to act reasonably in a way that holds to the terms and spirit of the contract, even if minor clerical errors are made, and even if it's not your fault. If you want to make an issue of it, I guess you could ask the lending company to mail you a notice of lien, and then you could mail that and the title to the DMV, but you might actually be obligated to mail the legitimate lien holder the title in NY if they request it to correct errors like this. I guess you could spend all sorts of energy trying to figure that out if you want to.

[Wade Lippman]

Seems to me the blame lies on the seller of the car particularly if the seller was a car dealer. At least in Ohio the dealer handles the title work, applies for and obtains the title and mails to the owner or finance company. If financed, a memorandum of title sent to the owner for obtaining plates.

I transferred plates, so I didn't do anything at all. Dealer moved them over and the next thing I know the finance company is threatening me.

[Frederick Skelly]

Mail them the title. They will mail the title, and a notice of lein, to the DMV. The DMV will mail you a new title with them noted as a lien holder. The dealer screwed up, but this is easily fixed by a quick trip to the post office. The lending company is right. Without them noted a lien holder, you could sell the car tomorrow, and then default on the loan and the company is out all of the money.

There's nothing funny going on here. Just mail the title. It's legitimate. When you sign a contract, there's an assumption of good faith. All y'alls are required to act reasonably in a way that holds to the terms and spirit of the contract, even if minor clerical errors are made, and even if it's not your fault. If you want to make an issue of it, I guess you could ask the lending company to mail you a notice of lien, and then you could mail that and the title to the DMV, but you might actually be obligated to mail the legitimate lien holder the title in NY if they request it to correct errors like this. I guess you could spend all sorts of energy trying to figure that out if you want to.

I think John has it right. A friend of mine once had something very similar happen, he complied, and it worked out fine. The only thing I would add, is that you should call the "loan servicing" phone number on your contract just to confirm. Dont use a number or link in anything you received in the mail - just a quick independent check for peace of mind. Tell them thats why you called and that you intend to satisfy the contract and their request.

Fred

[Raymond Fries]

I agree with John as well. I would a delivery receipt for that important piece of paper. Post office has been known to lose things.

Good Luck getting it sorted out.

[Rick Christopherson]

If a lender threatened me that way, there is no way I would do anything to comply with their demands. If they had asked nicely, that might be different, but not under a false threat. As a matter of fact, what they did is possibly illegal under the Fair Dept Collection Practices Act. It is illegal to threaten actions that they can't legally take, and without their name on the title, they cannot legally repossess the vehicle.

That's the reason why they threatened you in the first place. They are in a panic and hope that they can scare you into taking actions you are not technically required to do. Sure, there is nothing really wrong with doing it, but there is also nothing to gain from it either. When the loan is paid off, you'll have to make sure that they are removed from the title, which isn't always automatic. It also prevents you from selling the vehicle before the loan is paid off. Oh, and it also gives them controlling rights if you ever have an insurance claim too (which can actually be good if the insurance company jerks you around).

[Jim Matthews]

Out of an abundance of caution, contact the Better Business Bureau and DMV to make certain all above board in this transaction.

Likely, this is just as represented. It is, however, worthwhile to have all your facts arrayed before taking action.
http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/whe...+whitsongordon

[glenn bradley]

Its just a boo-boo and I would make a big deal out of it. Humans make mistakes now and again, even me ;-) I would at least have a conversation with them and clarify that you are uncomfortable sending the document without some sort of tracking and could they send you a pre-labeled FedEx envelope or whatever. If they say that is not necessary I would jot down who told me that and the date/time so they could trace back if required and just send it. relative to the cost of the car buying transaction you have already spent more than time on it than I would ( I mean this in a good way).

[David Weaver]

Out of an abundance of caution, contact the Better Business Bureau and DMV to make certain all above board in this transaction.

Likely, this is just as represented. It is, however, worthwhile to have all your facts arrayed before taking action.
http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/whe...+whitsongordon

That's not uncommon, and what really sucks is when you hear someone with a similar story who wants to get their trade in back and it's long gone by the time they repo the new car.

If this lender violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I'd extract something out of them for that before I signed the new title, and I'd put it to them just like that. A tax on their inability to play above board.

I'd pay my loan off because I agreed to it, regardless of whether I had a legal out not to, but blowing past the law just because you think someone else is too dumb to know what you're doing is not cool.

[Phil Thien]

If a lender threatened me that way, there is no way I would do anything to comply with their demands. If they had asked nicely, that might be different, but not under a false threat. As a matter of fact, what they did is possibly illegal under the Fair Dept Collection Practices Act. It is illegal to threaten actions that they can't legally take, and without their name on the title, they cannot legally repossess the vehicle.

That's the reason why they threatened you in the first place. They are in a panic and hope that they can scare you into taking actions you are not technically required to do. Sure, there is nothing really wrong with doing it, but there is also nothing to gain from it either. When the loan is paid off, you'll have to make sure that they are removed from the title, which isn't always automatic. It also prevents you from selling the vehicle before the loan is paid off. Oh, and it also gives them controlling rights if you ever have an insurance claim too (which can actually be good if the insurance company jerks you around).

I'm 99% certain the lender does not need to be on the title to repossess.

The repo man isn't going to ask any questions, that is for sure. That is because he does hundreds of cars for this lender a year (I'll bet), and he isn't going to rock that boat.

Even if you try to make some legal argument that the lender shouldn't have taken the car, the courts are going to point to the notification that you (the borrower) were not in compliance.

The advice provided to send the title is good (and the right thing to do, we should all honor our words).

Failure to follow that advice will probably result in a front-row seat for a lot of stuff happening automatically, including a hit to your credit score.

[Mike Henderson]

I'm 99% certain the lender does not need to be on the title to repossess.

The repo man isn't going to ask any questions, that is for sure. That is because he does hundreds of cars for this lender a year (I'll bet), and he isn't going to rock that boat.

Even if you try to make some legal argument that the lender shouldn't have taken the car, the courts are going to point to the notification that you (the borrower) were not in compliance.

The advice provided to send the title is good (and the right thing to do, we should all honor our words).

Failure to follow that advice will probably result in a front-row seat for a lot of stuff happening automatically, including a hit to your credit score.

I agree with Phil. This is probably a common mistake and it's been litigated and handled before. I would bet there's standard procedures for handling it.

You had an agreement with the loan company and you need to keep your word. If they made an honest mistake, you need to help them correct it. You would expect the same from them if the shoe was on the other foot.

But, from an abundance of caution, make sure the company who contacted you is the actual company who gave you, or has rights to, your loan. You don't want to allow someone to get on the title unless they are entitled to it.

Mike

[Jerome Stanek]

I'm 99% certain the lender does not need to be on the title to repossess.

The repo man isn't going to ask any questions, that is for sure. That is because he does hundreds of cars for this lender a year (I'll bet), and he isn't going to rock that boat.

Even if you try to make some legal argument that the lender shouldn't have taken the car, the courts are going to point to the notification that you (the borrower) were not in compliance.

The advice provided to send the title is good (and the right thing to do, we should all honor our words).

Failure to follow that advice will probably result in a front-row seat for a lot of stuff happening automatically, including a hit to your credit score.

If you have the title then when they come to repo it and you call the cops who are they going to believe the repo guy that has no title or the person that has it. I had a situation where I was parked in a loading work zone that I had already checked with the city if it was ok as I was working in the building and the bank that didn't want the drug store to go in called to have my truck hauled away. The tow truck driver was almost hooked up to it and I stopped him. He gave me a hard time so I said that I would call the police that patrolled and were right across the street at the time. The driver laughed at me and said that he was his buddy so I called them over. and explained what was going on. The officer told the driver that he could not tow without my permission as it was on the street and not on the banks property. He told the drive that if he took it I could file a stolen vehicle report and he would have to arrest the driver.

[Phil Thien]

If you have the title then when they come to repo it and you call the cops who are they going to believe the repo guy that has no title or the person that has it. I had a situation where I was parked in a loading work zone that I had already checked with the city if it was ok as I was working in the building and the bank that didn't want the drug store to go in called to have my truck hauled away. The tow truck driver was almost hooked up to it and I stopped him. He gave me a hard time so I said that I would call the police that patrolled and were right across the street at the time. The driver laughed at me and said that he was his buddy so I called them over. and explained what was going on. The officer told the driver that he could not tow without my permission as it was on the street and not on the banks property. He told the drive that if he took it I could file a stolen vehicle report and he would have to arrest the driver.

Oh the repo guy will have the title, and a copy of the signed contract (with the VIN on it), with the section indicating that the lender be added to the title (highlighted), and a copy of the notice they sent.

And don't get me wrong, I sympathize with Wade, who needs the aggravation? But if you think this is aggravating, then ignore the notice and see what happens. Or tell them "no," and see what goes down.

[Pat Barry]

OK - comply with their request. If not, here's whats going to happen. They will assign the case to a repo man. He will do his due diligence to identify an opportune time and place to perform the transaction, probably while you are at the mall shopping with your car in the big lot. He won't be asking for your title if you know what I mean. He willl have the car long gone before you know what happened and good luck getting home.