How should I deal with this debt

[hmcart]

Ok first dont judge me here. We made a mistake over a year ago and bought a SUV from a buy here pay here place. A friend told me to go there and that they would treat us well and we thought it would be better than financing for 6 years. That was our first misake. The guy was super nice and told us we were buying a great car. Within a week the transmission went out. They did pay half of that repair bill. After that it was nothing but continuous repairs until finally the motor locked up. We were one year into the 2 yr loan. I talked to the manager who agreed to give me time to have it looked at and decide what to do. In the end a mechanic advised that it simply was not worth repair as it would be very expensive and there were other problems. I talked to the manager who agreed to work out a voluntary surrender since we could not afford to pay the monthly payment and fix it. They claim it was sold at auction for $1000 leaving me owing $5000 and sent it straight to an attorney. (such liars!) I have not seen a bill of slae from the auction so I requested that they verify the debt. That put it in dispute status. That was the end of October and I still have not recieved any further correspondence. I have talked with the attorneys office several times and they are saying they are ordering the paper work and have yet to receive it. I am willng to pay what needs to be paid once I see the bill of sale but until then I have know proof the car was ever sold at auction let alone what it sold for. Am I in the right by making them verify? Has anyone ever done this? It just seems to be taking a long time.

[QM]

I have no idea, Holly, the politics of this car purchase/sale, but I'm quite sure if I were in your shoes I'd want proof that it was auctioned at the price they claim it was. Sounds like a messy situation. I hope you get it cleared up soon!

[hmcart]

I figure I will learn from my mistake regardless the outcome. We dont plan to ever finance a car again. In fact we have been carpooling since that happened and we have saved so much in gas alone. I guess in the end I am no worse off then what they claim. According to Tn law they cant even take a payment from me until they verify the debt once I disputed it soI gues this could take a while.

[Incognito]

Report them to the Better Business Bureau.
We've got lots of those used-vehicle dealers around, selling junk vehicles which were totalled in accidents, or 'lemons'.
Tricking consumers into buying; paperwork shady or non-existent.
Pursue dealer-accountability to some acceptable conclusion, and then get on with life.

[Contrary Housewife]

Keep all the paperwork and get them to verify things like "According to Tn law they cant even take a payment from me until they verify the debt" in writing. If they won't put it in writing, don't believe it.

[ncarr]

I'm really sorry your car crapped out on you I hope you are able to resolve this so you don't owe 5grand on a car that you don't even own

[Libby]

Wow sorry to hear this...I think you're right to request paperwork and if they won't show it to you, there's something fishy going on. Also...alert your bank or financial institution that company 'x' is not allowed to take ANY money from your account - block them now vs later to be safe. Heaven forbid you get things settled to only find out they're taking $ from you.

[butterflywatcher]

Yes, definitely ask for verification!!!! Go all the way to court, if you have to. Then you can enter into a settlement agreement and pay a much lower payment, probably monthly. Listen, people have money problems. That's life for some of us. I've been married for 20 years and am just now starting to figure out that I can live debt free and be responsible with my money. Full disclosure: I've filed bankruptcy twice, had cars repossessed, utilities shut off, credit accounts charged off, check and bank account garnished, you name it.

My husband has yet to learn how to handle money and two years ago bought a car from one of those car places you're talking about. He had half the money and got a loan from them for the other half. Long story short...he fell behind on payments and at the three month mark, they took the car, but let him have it back when he paid up to date. They broke a major part of the car when they towed it. It was a mess. They wouldn't admit fault and it cost my husband a bundle to have it fixed. Live and learn.

Anyway, don't let them pull a fast one on you. I wouldn't pay a nickel unless a judge told me to.

[hmcart]

Ok so I did report to the BBB as one of yall suggested. That totally got me nothing. Apperently if you pay dues to be in the BBB you can treat people like crap. The dealer claims he gave me 30 days to pay him and the BBB closed the file when I have paperwork proving that was false. They didnt auction it as they claim until Oct 6th and the letter from the attorney was dated Oct 27th! Seriously yall would laugh at the professionalism of the sell notice they sent. It is hand written with just an amount of sell and nothing else!

[mndtrp]

The BBB doesn't do anything anyway, I'm not sure why people think it's a good course of action. It's not like they will go to bat for you, try to work things out, or do anything at all other than send a message to the company. The only thing they are really good for is to research before hand how many complaints there are against a company.

I would wait for documentation. In the meantime, I would also keep track of all correspondence with the company; phone calls, emails, certified letters, everything. If they are defrauding you, it's possible they will "forget" about the issue. I am anything but a lawyer, though, so going to a legal forum might work better for you.

[kita]

I wonder if anything could be traced via carfax? Not perfect but it might lead to something. And the DMV. Who got the new title? How much did they claim to have paid for it? I am wondering if they trashed the car as totalled and if they admit that then it falls under the lemon law...

[khaski]

You might consider sending a verified letter requesting proof of auction sale price...if you get it certified you have PROOF that you have been willing to pay- upon proof of sale price. As of now it's your word against theirs that you've requested that info, and I would bet the late fees and interest rate are both going through the roof. Put your request in writing, mention specifically the dates/ways you asked for this proof (email, phone call, etc) and be clear you are happy to pay the remaining amount owed- once proven. As of now there is NO proof you have been not paying due to waiting for this info- protect yourself, put it in writing, send it certified (return receipt I think it's called, where you get proof they signed for it). Without something like this, if it goes to court on either end, they can paint you to be just another dead-beat, even when you know it's untrue.

And of course- it's always worth the roughly $100 to have an independent mechanic look over any used car you are considering purchasing, no matter what the seller tells you. A mechanic can tell what's good, what's about to fail, and what's been improperly 'mickey moused' back together again. I did this for the first time on my last car purchase- the car did well, I made my purchase with the confidence nothing major was on it's way out.

[dancemommy]

Is there a news channel you can contact? I know where I live there are people who do reporting on problem businesses in the area to help consumers. Sorry that is happening to you...we recently needed a new car and have poor credit. We actually ended up leasing as I was afraid of the used cars we could afford- our last used car was junk. Our lease is going great- I know they are looked at as "bad" on this website but for us the payment is very affordable and the car is so reliable- no need to even think about repairs. And the gas mileage is excellent!