Check issued by car dealer in error?

DaveBalinger

New Member
Jurisdiction
Florida
About 5 months ago, I had my older car worked on at a new car dealer for a recall repair. The repair was supposed to be available to be done within 3 months of the recall, but it took over one year to get it done. I had called the dealer and the manufacturer several times with complaints about the delay.
A couple of weeks after the repair was finally done, I received a check from the dealership for $1,000. The check itself was legitimate looking and did not say anything like "non-negotiable" or "only valid if...." on it. It had the bank name, account number, etc and was signed by two authorized signers, with original signatures.
It was a tear-off form with the check on top. The bottom portion said "Trade equity due customer upon receipt of clear title". I thought perhaps they were compensating me for the long delay of the repair, and since the check appeared legitimate, I deposited it and it cleared the bank. It has been over 5 months and have heard nothing from the dealership.
If this was an error on their part, can they take any action against me to recover the money?
 
Have you called and asked them about the check? What did they say?

Honestly, you know they aren't going to compensate you for the long delay without having you sign some type of waiver of any legal claim. And the bottom portion has NO relation to what your relationship with the dealership is. You didn't trade equity nor do they have title to your car.

Do the right thing here. Why wait until they eventually try to recover? Would you want them to profit $1k for a mistake you made? Or would you be screaming to get your money back?
 
It sounds to me like they mailed you someone else's check in error. That could happen if someone typed a check using a customer number and transposed numbers so that they used your number by mistake. Of course they should have caught it but hey, humans make mistakes.
 
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