Lien/Loan on truck can't get title from seller

[Joefosnough]

I was stationed in SC in the Navy. I bought a truck from a friend in the Navy. I got a loan to pay off his loan and paid taxes on the purchase in SC. I am now home in Indiana and can't get him to take care of the title work to get truck registered. So I have insurance and a loan on a truck I can't register. What can I do?

 

[txls]

Do you have a bill of sale or anything from him? How exactly did you pay the sales tax in SC? Normally paying the sales tax goes hand in hand with registering and titling the vehicle, unless things are really different in SC.

 

[Joefosnough]

Since I was in the navy my taxes were paid for, but I had to get that taken care of before going to the DMV there. Since I did not have possession of the title for the registration process, I could not actually register the truck. And no, the only paperwork I recieved from my credit union or my friend is the paper with my loan details.

 

[txls]

Bring whatever paperwork that you do have to the DMV and they will advise you if there is a way to get title without his cooperation(perhaps by purchase of a bond), but if you have nothing from him at all to prove that he sold you the vehicle then you may be at his mercy(somewhat). It is of course illegal for him to sell you a vehicle without transferring title. You can demand your money back, you can sue for your money back but it may be a long drawn out battle to collect(and you will have to return the vehicle to him).

Was your credit union loan an auto loan? Normally they would make sure they had title to the vehicle.

If you have his home address, send him a certified demand letter for title transfer within xx # of days or your money back.