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Finance Company refuses to release vehicle title!

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DRTDEVL

Member
What is the name of your state?FL and VA

On 13 May, 2002, my wife and I purchased a used van from a dealership in Virginia. They offered in-house financing, and we bit. We got a decent deal, a decent interest rate (considering her credit that we wanted to rebuild), and everything went smoothly. Shortly thereafter, I was transferred to Florida (I am in the Military).

Fast forward to this year. I knew I was coming up on reassignment soon, and I put in a request for Europe. Knowing that we could only bring 1 car to Europe, we started making double payments on the van (so it could be paid off with plenty of time to sell it). For my birthday present, my wife allowed me to pay off the remaining balance of the vehicle, $1,115.88, on 8 Aug, 2005.

When I called them to pay it off, the woman I spoke to in the finance department said that the title would be held for 30 days (pending clearance of my debit card payment) to protect the company from the possibility of a disputed charge after the title was sent. I discussed this with my wife, and we determined this would not be a hinderance, as we would be placing the van for sale on 1 October, leaving plenty of buffer time for the mail system.

On 17 September (Saturday), I called the company to inquire about the title... It had been 40 days, so I felt they had plenty of time to comply. The lady on the phone said it was still there, she didn't know why it was still there, and that it would be put in the mail on Monday... "Look for it by the end of the week."

Today is 28 September, and still no title. 54 days have now passed. I called back, and was immediately transferred to the department manager when I identified myself (which I thought was odd). He claimed that there was a 60 day hold on it, not 30, and they would not send it out until at least October 8th! I argued and cursed at him over the phone, only after attempting to negotiate with him to have it sent immediately.

I am running out of time... If they ship it on the 10th (the following monday), I will get it on the 14th. I can ship it on the 15th to Tennessee (my home of record) to have the lien removed... They would get it on the 18th, process it on the 19th, and ship on the 20th, only to return to me on the 25th... I leave the country on the 28th.

What can I do? Are they breaking any laws here? Do I have any legal standing to threaten them with? The earliest appointment I could obtain with JAG is next Monday, the 3rd, but it seems almost pointless by then.

HELP!
 


JETX

Senior Member
DRTDEVL said:
What can I do?
Regretably, not much. You made a 'soft' payment, using a method that would allow you to reverse or dispute. The lender has the right (and obligation) to protect themselves against that possibility. Of course it doesn't help now, but you should have made payment via cashiers check or similar.... which would have allowed a much shorter turn-around.

Are they breaking any laws here?
Based solely on the contents of your post, no.

Do I have any legal standing to threaten them with?
See above.

The earliest appointment I could obtain with JAG is next Monday, the 3rd, but it seems almost pointless by then.
Yep. One thing you can do is to ask them to send the paperwork by overnight.... even offering to pay for it.
 

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