T
trystn
Guest
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
I am in a bit of strange situation and I wanted to get some input. I have never heard of anything like this happening and wanted to get a feel for how this works legally.
I purchased a car from a dealership using financing from my bank. The financing was set up and the dealer was provided with the dealer check and I was given the keys to the car. A month later, when my first payment should have been taken from my account it was not, so I contacted the bank and was told that they didn't see anything, but sometimes dealerships are slow sending the purchase agreement over. Hearing that I called the dealership I had purchased the car from and asked to speak to someone in finance and was routed to voicemail. I left a message describing the situation and my contact information if they needed anything from me to complete the financing. They did not call back, so I assumed all was well. The next month the same thing happened and I took the same action. Same result, no call back. I had received license plates and registration by this time. I got in contact with the salesman who sold me the car and told him everything I have just explained here. He told me he was on vacation and that he would call me the next day. He never called. The next month the same thing happened only this time the bank said they had no record of a loan but the did have lien on a title to the car I was asking about. Since they had no loan, they released the lien on the title and sent it to me. I knew that something was up so I went into the dealership and requested that they confirm receipt of payment. After telling me that there is no way that I would have received license plates, registration (nor the bank receiving the title) if they had not received payment I was told they would look into it. Two days later a letter arrived on dealership letterhead confirming receipt of payment amount, date and purpose signed by the general manager of the dealership. I had no idea what was going on or how to start making payments. I'd also just lost my job so securing new financing would be very difficult should this come up. About 2 months later that's exactly what happened. The same dealership that had sent me confirmation of receipt of payment was now saying that I could get the money for the car, return the car or expect legal action. To be clear, I want to pay for the car, but I am in the midst of changing career fields and requested they consider giving me another month or two to secure employment. I am told that they want to get this resolved quickly because it's been lingering.
My question is this: does possession of the title and written confirmation of receipt of payment from the dealership give me any leverage should they pursue legal action? From everything I can piece together, there was some serious negligence by the dealership. Does that affect their ability to demand payment or return of the car immediately?
I purchased a car from a dealership using financing from my bank. The financing was set up and the dealer was provided with the dealer check and I was given the keys to the car. A month later, when my first payment should have been taken from my account it was not, so I contacted the bank and was told that they didn't see anything, but sometimes dealerships are slow sending the purchase agreement over. Hearing that I called the dealership I had purchased the car from and asked to speak to someone in finance and was routed to voicemail. I left a message describing the situation and my contact information if they needed anything from me to complete the financing. They did not call back, so I assumed all was well. The next month the same thing happened and I took the same action. Same result, no call back. I had received license plates and registration by this time. I got in contact with the salesman who sold me the car and told him everything I have just explained here. He told me he was on vacation and that he would call me the next day. He never called. The next month the same thing happened only this time the bank said they had no record of a loan but the did have lien on a title to the car I was asking about. Since they had no loan, they released the lien on the title and sent it to me. I knew that something was up so I went into the dealership and requested that they confirm receipt of payment. After telling me that there is no way that I would have received license plates, registration (nor the bank receiving the title) if they had not received payment I was told they would look into it. Two days later a letter arrived on dealership letterhead confirming receipt of payment amount, date and purpose signed by the general manager of the dealership. I had no idea what was going on or how to start making payments. I'd also just lost my job so securing new financing would be very difficult should this come up. About 2 months later that's exactly what happened. The same dealership that had sent me confirmation of receipt of payment was now saying that I could get the money for the car, return the car or expect legal action. To be clear, I want to pay for the car, but I am in the midst of changing career fields and requested they consider giving me another month or two to secure employment. I am told that they want to get this resolved quickly because it's been lingering.
My question is this: does possession of the title and written confirmation of receipt of payment from the dealership give me any leverage should they pursue legal action? From everything I can piece together, there was some serious negligence by the dealership. Does that affect their ability to demand payment or return of the car immediately?
