sold car, buyer paid and never picked up and not able to contact.

C

craigj

New Member
Jurisdiction
Missouri
sold a truck on ebay 6 months ago,the guy paid in full within a couple days. he was supposed to get an auto transport company to pick up the truck and never did.I have been unable to contact the guy by any means for 4 months, even sent a certified letter. had his local police department do a check on the man and his residence is abandoned. I checked with the local dmv and the title is still in my name. so legally im still responsible for the truck.what can i do? can i legally take back? if so can someone come back at a later date and demand money back? possession of the truck?
 
Did you fill out the buyer's information on the back of the title and get him to sign it, keeping a copy for yourself?

upload_2023-3-4_7-4-18.png

Did you file a sold notice within 30 days like you were supposed to, keeping a copy for yourself?

Form 5049 - Notice of Sale or Transfer (mo.gov)

Had you done both, according to your state's requirements, you would have no liability.

How much money did you get for the truck?
 
adjusterjack said:
Did you fill out the buyer's information on the back of the title and get him to sign it, keeping a copy for yourself?

View attachment 4232

Did you file a sold notice within 30 days like you were supposed to, keeping a copy for yourself?

Form 5049 - Notice of Sale or Transfer (mo.gov)

Had you done both, according to your state's requirements, you would have no liability.

How much money did you get for the truck?
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the truck was purchased through ebay so i never met the guy face to face.i filled it out but no i didnt turn it in to the dmv because he was not there to sign it and give me the rest of the information. only info i have from the guy is a po box.i talked to the dmv and asked them if i should turn it in and they said it wouldnt matter untell he transferred title because i still have possession of the truck..He paid me $25000 so its not a small amount of money.
 
Umm... what funds did he use? I wouldn't get too attached to that money quite yet. Lots of fraud out there. The sad news is it is near impossible to tell when a check clears these days. It can take many weeks to find out you have a forged cashiers check, for instance.
 
flyingron said:
It can take many weeks to find out you have a forged cashiers check, for instance.
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A very informed assessment, mate.

In the good, old days of yesteryear, a savvy person would request the bank to "send the check for collection" before attempting to access the funds.

How do you send a check through as a collection item instead of normal banking channels? What kind of notices do you give your customer?

Answer:
Generally, the payee endorses the item and you affix your bank endorsement so you are in a position to present the item to the drawee bank. You include a cover letter with instructions to the drawee bank regarding how long you wish it to hold the item in anticipation of adequate funds to pay the item. Your letter also contains instructions as to how the drawee bank is to remit funds or return the item unpaid. You may have the customer sign a document that mirrors the terms in your collection letter so you can have assurances that the customer understands the process, but there is no federal requirement for anything akin to a disclosure. This is somewhat of an "old fashioned" practice, but it still has its MANY uses today!

Sending Checks for Collection | Bankers Online
...
 
So...to be clear...you have the vehicle and the vehicle is titled in your name. Right?

craigj said:
I checked with the local dmv and the title is still in my name.
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Did you provide the buyer with the means to change the title?

craigj said:
can i legally take back?
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Take what back? The vehicle is in your possession, right?

craigj said:
can someone come back at a later date and demand money back?
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Of course.

craigj said:
possession of the truck?
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What about it?

craigj said:
only info i have from the guy is a po box.
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If all you have is a p.o. box, how were you able to have "his local police department do a check on the man and [determine that] his residence is abandoned"? In order to do that, you must have had a physical address.

With $25k at issue, a consultation with a local attorney would be advisable. In the meantime, I'd suggest reviewing Part 2 of the Missouri Uniform Commercial Code.
 
flyingron said:
Umm... what funds did he use? I wouldn't get too attached to that money quite yet. Lots of fraud out there. The sad news is it is near impossible to tell when a check clears these days. It can take many weeks to find out you have a forged cashiers check, for instance.
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paid by bank wire transfer , i know better than accepting checks
 
zddoodah said:
So...to be clear...you have the vehicle and the vehicle is titled in your name. Right?



Did you provide the buyer with the means to change the title?



Take what back? The vehicle is in your possession, right?



Of course.



What about it?



If all you have is a p.o. box, how were you able to have "his local police department do a check on the man and [determine that] his residence is abandoned"? In order to do that, you must have had a physical address.

With $25k at issue, a consultation with a local attorney would be advisable. In the meantime, I'd suggest reviewing Part 2 of the Missouri Uniform Commercial Code.
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the local police in his town have records not available to me and that cant be shared with me.my local sheriffs office contacted the purchasers local police dept and did a welfare check.
 
craigj said:
the local police in his town have records not available to me and that cant be shared with me.my local sheriffs office contacted the purchasers local police dept and did a welfare check.
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Ok...that answers only 1 of the 6 questions I asked.
 
zddoodah said:
Ok...that answers only 1 of the 6 questions I asked.
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the other questions were already answered , yes i have the truck, i sent him the title and he never transfered it., the other remarks were not questions just remarks or whatever they were. and i have read part 2 of the code and it doesnt relate to my issue but thanks
 
It's a long shot but have you tried doing internet searches on his name + state + words like "obituary", "arrest", or "mug shot"? If that doesn't work maybe a private investigator could find out what happened to him.
 
craigj said:
there is no one to send a check to, the guy is a ghost, bank account he wired the money from not open and house abandoned.
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If the bank account he sent the money from is closed and his house abandoned then you can only speculate about what happened to the guy. But if all was legitimate a normal person would not be gifting 25K to a stranger. Maybe he is dead or has been picked up and deported. Either way he is gone.

If it were me at this point I would get a duplicate title and sell the truck again (since he never transferred the title it's still your truck). I would take the 25K I received and put it into a high yield CD for a year and if some one ever comes back to claim the truck I have the money to refund. After 18 months, I would consider the truck abandoned.
 
welkin said:
If the bank account he sent the money from is closed and his house abandoned then you can only speculate about what happened to the guy. But if all was legitimate a normal person would not be gifting 25K to a stranger. Maybe he is dead or has been picked up and deported. Either way he is gone.

If it were me at this point I would get a duplicate title and sell the truck again (since he never transferred the title it's still your truck). I would take the 25K I received and put it into a high yield CD for a year and if some one ever comes back to claim the truck I have the money to refund. After 18 months, I would consider the truck abandoned.
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From a practical standpoint, your advice may work. From a legal standpoint, you are wrong. The truck does NOT belong to the OP at this point. There are mechanisms in place to deal with abandoned property that should be followed by the OP, legally speaking.
 
adjusterjack said:
Then set the money aside in a separate account (or CD) and be prepared to pay him if he comes back for it.

You don't get to keep the money. After a certain amount of time you have to turn it over to the state as unclaimed property.

Missouri State Treasurer - Reporting Unclaimed Property (mo.gov)
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I suggest that you read the actual statute regarding unclaimed property.
https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneChapterRng.aspx?tb1=447.500 to 447.595

447.505. Property held or owing by banking, financial organization or business presumed abandoned,
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I don't think OP is any of those categories.

The dormancy period in Missouri is 5 years.
The dormancy period is 5 years for all types of property except the following: Court bonds – 1 year. Demutualization, rehabilitation and reorganizations of insurance companies – 2 years.
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Zigner said:
From a practical standpoint, your advice may work. From a legal standpoint, you are wrong. The truck does NOT belong to the OP at this point. There are mechanisms in place to deal with abandoned property that should be followed by the OP, legally speaking.
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Legally and technically the truck does still belong to OP until title is transferred to a buyer. There may be good grounds for a civil suit under contract law though.

Please post your theory as to why OP does not still own the truck.
 

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