Do I need a lawyer?

Zero Tolerance

Registered User
This is ridiculous! My wife purchased a car in March. She put down money in cash and has been making payments ever since.. A month or so after the purchase, someone from the company called her and stated how they were "embarrased to have to ask this" but proceeded to ask "if" she actually gave them the money! Of course she did so we thought that was over-with. Now, she gets a letter in the mail stating such things as:

"As you are aware we are attempting to collect the $xxx you owe...."
They expect payment in 7 days or we'll receive a "service charge of $20.00, or an amount of up to 5% of the amount (owed), whichever is greater."
Unless paid in full in the 7 days, they will "turn over all information regarding this incident to the State Attorney for criminal prosecution".
"If payment of the above amount is not made within 30 days of receipt of this notice (they) may file a civil action against (her) for 3 times the amount, plus court costs, reasonable attorney's fees and any bank fees incurred in taking the action".
"If these monies are paid within 30 days of receipt of this letter, you will be given a written release from any further liability for the specific act of civil theft by you (her).

Is this some kind of scam?
 
So they could actually get away with this... Unreal.. I'm going to have to pay an attorney to prove that I paid.. We have a receipt that states she made the down payment. She has the car! "They" don't have the money.. We have a "retail purchase agreement" and a "retail installment sale contract" both stating the down payment figure and both signed... Sigh...
 
Well if you have the documentation then it would be hard as hell IMO for them to say that she didn't make the down payment.. I so love car dealerships..
 
If you have proof of giving them the money, then I wouldn't sweat it. Make a copy of the receipt, the other documents that support you, and the letter and take them to the dealer. Tell them you want it straightened out quickly or you may begin seeking out any potential legal recourse against them.
 
Dude I feel for ya...thats wicked lame...hopefully you kept all the documetation so you can give them a big "up yours".
 
Thanks, all.. I have all the paperwork they gave me and I'm sure they have it to. I really just can't believe how they must think they're going to get away with this. But that's what has me worried.. They must have some sort of confidence that they're right.. Right? What could it BE, though? I mean - unless I LOST all the paperwork, how could I be proven wrong? I don't always have the best of luck so I can just see this somehow working against me... The big question is HOW? My guess is somebody lost the money and they're swearing up and down (to save their job or whatnot) that they never collected it.. Then again, they'd probably get fired for that too.. Or, they pocketed the money and thought they found some loophole in the system and they'd get away with it.. Somebody must be swearing we never gave them the money. That's the only way that I can think of that they'd even waste their time sending me this letter.. Maybe it's a bluf and they think I'll give-in (in the event that I really didn't give them the money - which I did). I just can't see how they're threatening ME (her) with all these fees and criminal B.S. when they have no leg to stand on...
 
Zero Tolerance said:
Thanks, all.. I have all the paperwork they gave me and I'm sure they have it to. I really just can't believe how they must think they're going to get away with this. But that's what has me worried.. They must have some sort of confidence that they're right.. Right? What could it BE, though? I mean - unless I LOST all the paperwork, how could I be proven wrong? I don't always have the best of luck so I can just see this somehow working against me... The big question is HOW? My guess is somebody lost the money and they're swearing up and down (to save their job or whatnot) that they never collected it.. Then again, they'd probably get fired for that too.. Or, they pocketed the money and thought they found some loophole in the system and they'd get away with it.. Somebody must be swearing we never gave them the money. That's the only way that I can think of that they'd even waste their time sending me this letter.. Maybe it's a bluf and they think I'll give-in (in the event that I really didn't give them the money - which I did). I just can't see how they're threatening ME (her) with all these fees and criminal B.S. when they have no leg to stand on...
Click to expand...

Its just bullshit!. Make copies of all your paperwork. Put the originals in firebox and lock them up!. Then take the copies down to the dealership, and tell them you paid, and you have the damn reciepts!. Don't put up with it any longer! Also, make sure to tell them you will never purchase a car from them again because they can't even keep there records straight and like to steal money from their customers!
 
It doesn't matter. Even IF you didn't give them the money, if you have a receipt that says you did, then legally that's all that matters.

If they are scamming, or someone is covering their butt, they may be counting on you having lost your paperwork/proof.
 
Have any of you recently purchased a car and left a cash down payment? If so, maybe you could tell me about any paperwork you were given. Maybe there was something else I should have been given and wasn't - and they don't have any record of it either. After racking my brain trying to figure out if there's ANY way they can somehow say we didn't give them the money, this is it.. Still, I have two separate "signed" documents that state the figure I left as a deposit (one even says "cash").

I probably shouldn't be wasting my time but when your wife is basically being accused of a crime, it's not easy to rest and not think about it...
 
call the local news station they LOVE to catch car dealerships screwing people over.


CROWLER
 
If they don't accept the documenation and keep on harassing you, I'd take them to court for all you can get out of them.

This is ridiculous.

I like CROWLER's idea, too.
 
Man.... car dealers can be all kinds of shady. We had a New KIA dealer here go out of business. About a month later folks that had traded in their cars on new ones to this dealer before they packed up started getting notices of overdue payments for their old cars. The Dealer never paid off the cars that were traded in and a bunch of folks got screwed. As with most "News" stories, it was never later reported if the poor people had to pay up and if this dealer got prosecuted.
 
Zero Tolerance said:
Have any of you recently purchased a car and left a cash down payment? If so, maybe you could tell me about any paperwork you were given. Maybe there was something else I should have been given and wasn't - and they don't have any record of it either. After racking my brain trying to figure out if there's ANY way they can somehow say we didn't give them the money, this is it.. Still, I have two separate "signed" documents that state the figure I left as a deposit (one even says "cash").

I probably shouldn't be wasting my time but when your wife is basically being accused of a crime, it's not easy to rest and not think about it...
Click to expand...

a receipt for the payment is all you need bro. they're either trying to scam you or they lost the paperwork and they really don't think you paid.

bottomline: copy the receipt, show it to em. next move is theirs. you ain't got **** to worry about.
 
As everyone said make copies, mail them to them and let them figure it out. If they don't resolve it, take their ass to court and report to them BBB.


I hate dealing with car dealership and finance companies. Long story short: Before I moved oversea's I paid off my truck. 3 months after the fact I received a notice saying I owed them over 1,500 bucks that I already paid these motherf@ckers. I check my credit a month later and these sumbitches reported it as a charged off debt. Now I have to fight with the credit agencies to get it cleared up.
 
If a copy of the receipt doesn't satisfy the company, then file a complaint with your state's consumer protection agency. Nowadays, most, if not all, allow you to initiate the complaint through the agency's website or by telephone.
 
I just remembered something. Most State atty general offices have an automobile fraud dept.

Just call them, lodge a complaint.


CROWLER
 
sounds like they're double-dipping, same way a company may bill you for service years after you stopped doing business w/ them: if you pay, it's free money; if you don't, so what?

you say you have a copy of the purchase agreement, but but do you have payment receipts? you'll need some kind of receipt for each payment to prove you've paid: a cancelled check, a money-order receipt, a cash receipt, something that says they got your money. as long as you have that, they can do dick. if you don't have any proof of payment, they may (will almost certainly) be able to get a judgement against you.

the 7 days is **** unless they've sent you something 3 weeks ago that said you have 30 days. write them immediately, tell tham that you do not agree that you owe them, and demand an itemised list of the payments they claim are missing; if they're spiking you, they'll probably back off - whereas if they are legit, they'll be able to come up with that list right away.

If you have no receipts for the payments, you'll be on semi-thin ice, but you should NEVER agree that you owe money you believe you've paid - make 'em prove it to you (and if your receipts are in order, they can't). Contesting their claim in writing ASAP is important, because if you don't they can claim a tacit agreement to their

still: do like the other guys say & put your receipts under lock & key for the duration, and send 'em all the copies they want - registered mail, so you have proof that they received it. don't send everything - use the itemised list (if they send you one), and only give them what you need to prove you paid.

if they persist, pitch $20 to a lawyer for a 'cease & desist' letter.

if she's paying in cash, try and convince her to buy a money order: the receipt she gets will improve the paper trail & and *that* makes this **** harder for them to pull off...and, you may want to go with her next time she pays (put all your hard work in the gym to good use!); be cool, be nice, but show the flag, dig? Sonner they realize they're in the wrong yard, the better.


I am not a lawyer, just been through these things a time or two...and I *have* WORKED for lawyers....
 
My uncle is a lawyer, so he would obviously say this, but he says ALWAYS bring some rep. of some kind when ever you need to go to court. You might wind up saying something wrong, no matter how minor, and it will wind up screwing you.
 
wait...
do you live in texas?
i swear i read this before, it was from a local mustang board
for dallas ft. worth.

if not, ill try and search to see if i can find the thread
becuse i swear i've seen this before.

:edit: heh. old thread ... sorry :(
 
My lawyer sent them a letter stating that we DID pay. We haven't heard back from them yet. The letter was sent in late August. I don't know what they're up to now...
 
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