Need assistance

[smeldraper]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Utah

This is quite the mess.

In 1998 my mom bought a 1998 Geo Metro. She made all her payments on the vehicle which got paid off around 2001 or 2002 to Bank One (Bancor). She drove the vehicle around to about 2007 when she got in a accident with a metro bus. The bus didn't do much damage but she was tired of the vehicle and financed another one the same year and gave me the Geo Metro to fix up and post it for sell. I fully fixed the vehicle and posted it for sale for 2000.00, however my mother wasn't able to find a lien release/title for the vehicle so we removed it from being sold and went to the state to see about getting a title. They did a title search for the original title and found that Bank One was still on it as the lien holder and that it hadn't been released. They gave us the contact information for Bank One which was now Chase and we wrote them 2 letters and 1 certified letter requesting a lien release on the title. They replied back that they couldn't find any information for the vehicle specified and couldn't release a title for it. We then went down to a Chase branch and the bank manager got on the phone for over 2 hours to the main corporate office. Again he was told they wouldn't release the lien.

My mom took back the vehicle a couple years ago and kept it registered in her name. A couple days before Christmas my mom went to Walmart around 5:00 am with the vehicle to pick up some treats for work....while she was in the store a repo company that had followed her from her house hooked on to the Geo. She walked out to discover them and they told her that a repo order had been issued by another company Asset Recovery Specialist (not Bank One or Chase) and they were to recover the vehicle. We haven't been able to get any where with the company because they just told us in phone conversations that they were hired to recover the vehicle and to notify the bank it was financed through. Upon contacting Chase we got the same line that they couldn't locate any information on the vehicle and then they gave us a phone number for a department within Chase that handled Bank One assets and contracts. Upon contacting them they said they couldn't locate the contract either and would send a letter stating that. They also said they were unaware of repossessions and that was another department.

So my question is...can we recover the vehicle and who could we possibly hold responsible for the impound charges and how would we get a legal lien release on the vehicle?

Maybe because of the mess created in the buyout of Bank One we will not be able to get a lien release but can we still be put on the hook to pay impound charges and other fees related to this vehicle?

Thanks,
Steven

PS
Sorry for the mess but I am frustrated with the system and afraid my mother who isn't quite always right in the head will get hurt by all the mess.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Utah

This is quite the mess.

In 1998 my mom bought a 1998 Geo Metro. She made all her payments on the vehicle which got paid off around 2001 or 2002 to Bank One (Bancor). She drove the vehicle around to about 2007 when she got in a accident with a metro bus. The bus didn't do much damage but she was tired of the vehicle and financed another one the same year and gave me the Geo Metro to fix up and post it for sell. I fully fixed the vehicle and posted it for sale for 2000.00, however my mother wasn't able to find a lien release/title for the vehicle so we removed it from being sold and went to the state to see about getting a title. They did a title search for the original title and found that Bank One was still on it as the lien holder and that it hadn't been released. They gave us the contact information for Bank One which was now Chase and we wrote them 2 letters and 1 certified letter requesting a lien release on the title. They replied back that they couldn't find any information for the vehicle specified and couldn't release a title for it. We then went down to a Chase branch and the bank manager got on the phone for over 2 hours to the main corporate office. Again he was told they wouldn't release the lien.

My mom took back the vehicle a couple years ago and kept it registered in her name. A couple days before Christmas my mom went to Walmart around 5:00 am with the vehicle to pick up some treats for work....while she was in the store a repo company that had followed her from her house hooked on to the Geo. She walked out to discover them and they told her that a repo order had been issued by another company Asset Recovery Specialist (not Bank One or Chase) and they were to recover the vehicle. We haven't been able to get any where with the company because they just told us in phone conversations that they were hired to recover the vehicle and to notify the bank it was financed through. Upon contacting Chase we got the same line that they couldn't locate any information on the vehicle and then they gave us a phone number for a department within Chase that handled Bank One assets and contracts. Upon contacting them they said they couldn't locate the contract either and would send a letter stating that. They also said they were unaware of repossessions and that was another department.

So my question is...can we recover the vehicle and who could we possibly hold responsible for the impound charges and how would we get a legal lien release on the vehicle?

Maybe because of the mess created in the buyout of Bank One we will not be able to get a lien release but can we still be put on the hook to pay impound charges and other fees related to this vehicle?

Thanks,
Steven

PS
Sorry for the mess but I am frustrated with the system and afraid my mother who isn't quite always right in the head will get hurt by all the mess.

It sounds like the first thing you need to do is find out which bank allegedly authorized the repossession. Those would be the folks you need to talk to. Sounds like it's NOT Bank One or Chase, but someone else. It's also possible that the vehicle was repossessed by someone other than the bank that originally financed it - maybe someone collecting another debt or judgment against her sometime in the last 10 years?

Once you can do that, you can find out why the lien was never released. It's quite possible that you thought it was paid off, but wasn't, and whatever balance was left unpaid has since accrued (along with interest).

 

[smeldraper]

Thanks

Ok Thanks...I was entertaining the idea that it could possibly be another bank or something. Just wondering who because it not showing nothing except Bank One as a Lien Holder. Unsure how to continue but we will be making new calls to the repo people on Monday and ask them for more details about the company who hired them. I am kind of doubting it is Bank One because it has been so long I think if they had a balance still due on the vehicle it would of been repossessed long ago. Will post findings this week.

Steven

 

[smeldraper]

Contacted the recovery company and they gave us the numbers that led back to Chase. Talked to them and they informed us that the vehicle had unknown status because of incomplete records so they placed it in recovery for 5500.00 with interest. My mom insist that she paid off the vehicle and is searching for the receipts of payments. Her credit report also list the loan paid off as well. Not sure what more to do about it but looking to contact a lawyer.