sold to friend now not paying

[vickeward]

What is the name of your state? texas
my husband financed a four runner. when he was stationed to korea he sold the vehicle to a friend who agreed to take over the remaining payments that totaled $3100. the contract was verbal with myself and the friends wife as a witness. upon returning back to the us a year later, my husband finds out that no payments with the exeption of a total amount of about 700 dollars were made. meanwhile the account has been turned over to a collection agency who claims 4700 dollars. the friend has been stationed to kansas. my husbands brother who lives in the same town as this person has received from us the title of the vehicle, a special pwer of attorney and has tried to recover the vehicle but to no avail. the local authorities do not permit him to recover the four runner. we have tried to contact this individual by phone. he claims that he has paid in full but refuses to furnish any receipts or statements of payment. he refused receipt of a certified letter asking for a response in the matter. he also filed harrassment charges against my brother in law upon trying to contact him in person. does this matter stand a chance in small claims court since there was no written contract. how does it work since this person no longer resides in texas. both my husband and he are in the military. thank you for a response.

 

[JETX]

Though there may be some legal avenues to pursue (including filing a small claims action in Kansas), the one common denominator in all of this (Korea, Texas, Kansas, both parties, etc.) is the military. As such, I would suggest your husband contact his local JAG office and see if there are any military solutions to this matter. If there aren't, then he should consider filing a small claims in Kansas.

 

[toasted]

Is the title still in your name? File it stolen, and if your brother has your POA, he can do this for you.

 

[vickeward]

getting it back

we have spoken to the person and he told us to come pick it up on monday. so that solves that. but we have until the 26th of feb to pay the collection agency 3500. should we sue for interest acrued? do you think we could also sue for damages to the vehicle depending on what condition the vehicle is in. i'm assuming the four runner is in bad shape so we will not get close to the value if we sold it.

 

[JETX]

I wouldn't do anything, and certainly not threaten anything, until you have actual custody and control of the vehicle.

Have whoever is picking up the vehicle take a video camera (best) or at least one of those small disposable cameras... and a newspaper from that date. Once they have the vehicle in their custody, take it to a nearby location (parking lot, etc.) and document the condition, inside and out. If you don't have a video with date/time, at least take a picture of the newspaper in one shot.... showing the date. That video or those pictures, could go a long way to supporting any claims that you may have to make as to condition.

Then, once you have the vehicle back, you can total up what your damages might be (both financial and property) and then consider what action you might take.