Can I sue the dealership

[nannalynn]

Jurisdiction

Washington

My Fiance recently bought a car.
When he structured the deal and signed all the paperwork it included the full trade in amount on his truck. We canceled his upcoming automatic payment due to it being structured in the deal for the 10 day pay off and our monthly payment was due 15 day later.

A month later we saw that the truck was still not paid off. What had happened was the dealership had decided to pay off what would have been left had we paid the last upcoming monthly payment.
Example: instead of paying the signed agreed apon 27k they only paid 26,300.

They said since we had an upcoming automatic payment they were just going to pay what they paid and reimburse us the monthly payment. Not once were we called or contacted about their supposed plan.

This has not only affected us financially but credit wise as well. They made us pay 200$ for the occurred interest from the monthly payment that was not paid. It also dropped his credit score down 75 points due to 30 day late payment.

Can we take the dealership to court for this affect on our life?

 

[adjusterjack]

I hope you understand that there is no "us" in this matter. It's your fiance's deal and he's the one to figure out what to do about it.

He can take the dealer to small claims court for breach of contract and claim whatever losses he incurred.

Unfortunately, there's nothing he can do about his credit score dropping due to the late payment. He'll just have to wait until it rises again as the item gets older. He would be wise to avoid attempting to borrow money until that happens.

 

[Tax Counsel]

Can we take the dealership to court for this affect on our life?

Well, he may sue the dealership. He's the one who made the deal and it's his money and credit that are affected. As his fiancée you have no legal or financial interest in this (though I understand you feel emotionally invested in it). What the outcome of the case would be is impossible to predict as I've not read the actual contract he made with the dealership. The exact language of the contract will be critical to determining whether the dealer breached the contract and, if it did, what damages will be awarded. The impact of one 30 day late payment on his credit score won't last all that long if he has no other later credit dings. Moreover, the financial impact of the credit score is speculative, and generally one cannot win anything for speculative damages.

 

[welkin]

Example: instead of paying the signed agreed upon 27k they only paid 26,300.

At the very least, you contact all three credit reporting agencies file a dispute and you put a consumer comment on your credit reports. You can also contact the finance company and ask them that if you prove to them that the dealership breached the contract without any notification to you, if they will cancel the delinquent payment on the reports.

 

[Zigner]

At the very least, you contact all three credit reporting agencies file a dispute and you put a consumer comment on your credit reports. You can also contact the finance company and ask them that if you prove to them that the dealership breached the contract without any notification to you, if they will cancel the delinquent payment on the reports.

Your response assumes that the dealer offering to pay off the loan actually held the original loan. That is very unlikely. The more likely scenario is that a separate finance company held the loan and is not a party to any payoff deal the OP may have made. The delinquent entry on the credit report would be appropriate. One should continue making any payments on a loan until it is paid off and not rely on another party to do so.

 

[welkin]

Your response assumes that the dealer offering to pay off the loan actually held the original loan

I don't know where you get that idea. I was speaking of whatever finance company had the loan.

Believe it or not, the credit reporting companies are very receptive to consumer situations of this type where the consumer, by no fault of theirs, gets dinged. And a righteous finance company will also work with the consumer. It can't hurt to ask.

 

[Zigner]

I don't know where you get that idea. I was speaking of whatever finance company had the loan.

Believe it or not, the credit reporting companies are very receptive to consumer situations of this type where the consumer, by no fault of theirs, gets dinged. And a righteous finance company will also work with the consumer. It can't hurt to ask.

The finance company has no reason to not report a delinquency in this situation, as it is the OP's responsibility to ensure the loan is paid according to the contract terms. I do agree that it can't hurt to ask.

EDIT: I do not agree that the OP bears "no fault" in this situation.

 

[welkin]

I do not agree that the OP bears "no fault" in this situation.

I think that if it were you that had a contract that said the dealership was going to payoff off the loan in a certain amount on or before a certain date, you might think differently.

 

[Zigner]

I think that if it were you that had a contract that said the dealership was going to payoff off the loan in a certain amount on or before a certain date, you might think differently.

That contract with the dealer has nothing to do with the earlier contract with the finance company.

I've sold cars with a trade-in and I always made damned sure that any payments are appropriately handled so that *I* don't end up breaching my existing contract with the financing company.