altered contract

[hebedu]

What is the name of your state? I am stationed in Iceland but
I just came from Georgia.

I leased a car and it has come to term. My original contract
which I still posses says that I am to pay for mileage in excess of
60,100. The Lease company has sent me a bill for mileage incurred over 48,100 miles. I have disputed this and requested a
copy of my contract on file. I received the copy and to my surprise it has been altered. Someone with access to my contract
has X-ed through the 60,100 and typed in 48,100. They have also initialed next to the chages as to assert that I had authorized the change. The initials are not mine nor does my
copy of the original have this same information. Is this a classic
case of fraud, forgery, and unethical business practices?
Are punitive damages in order and if so how much is likely?

 

[Thomas234]

I can’t advise you on the legal issues you raise here, fraud, forgery and such. What I can tell you is what happened to my father recently and how he handled it. He had leased a Pontiac through GMAC for a three-year period. At the end of the three years he turned the car in with about 90,000 miles on it so as to lease another car. They told him he owed about $4,500 for excess mileage.

Naturally he was irate. GMAC said his contract stated he owed 10 cents a mile over 45,000 miles = $4,500. So my father dug out his copy of the contract where the area for excess mileage was blank. It was never filled out, so he assumed he had NO mileage limit. Turns out the contract sent in to GMAC, sure enough, had $45,000 miles written on it. Long story short, GMAC asked that he fax them a copy of HIS contract with the blank mileage section, and they honored the unlimited mileage since it was obviously written in after he signed and got his copy of the contract.

Good luck.

 

[JETX]

Same situation here... only much more complex due to your location.
I would suggest you FAX or mail a COPY of your agreement to the lender showing the mileage limit. State that the agreement that they have has obviously been altered and that you insist they comply with the ORIGINAL lease as in your possession. Then, see what response they give you. Insist that all communication be in written form.

After you get their response, come on back to the forum and we will try to help with the next step if necessary.

 

[hebedu]

I thought that there must be a law governing the obvious disregard for the vulnerable consumer. It turns out that georgia law says that a contract altered is in fact void. To me this means that I no longer owe a penny. So I guess my question becomes,
what is to stop these big companies from robbing people without the wit to challenge such unethical business? How easy is it for them to say oops we made a mistake. How many oops have to happen before it becomes noticed. Do you believe if a business
leased a car and turned it in that chances are they would pay attention to the detail and not just pay the eroneuos bill. I belive that they make mistakes on purpose in hopes that the mistakes go unnoticed. I'm sure that I could end this with a simple phone call and a FAX. But what about the next 10 people or 1,000 people or how ever many people happen to not notice a mistake or better yet a delibarate attempt to stick them for more money.

 

[JETX]

If you want to try to protect others from this problem, run for the Georgia legislature when you return and get the law changed to include some type of consumer protection. And of course you can file a complaint with the Georgia Attorney General to see if they take up this fight.

 

[hebedu]

Does anyone have any further advice on this matter. Finding
a lawyer from Iceland is proving to be dificult? If the law says
the contract is void should I at all be worried?

 

[hexeliebe]

You don't need to find an attorney from iceland to represent you in Georgia. Simply do what was suggested.

You are either wanting to prove the fact that the contract was altered and you do not owe the stated mileage charges or you are trying to take up the mantle of the oppressed.

IF it's the first, you've been given the correct advice. If it's the latter then again, you can't do anything about it unless you run for governor.

By the way, legal services (since I am assuming you are in the military) Is there for a reason. Use them.