ALTERING A LEASE AGREEMENT

[DEBRA SOARES]

my husband and i leased a vehicle on feb 16,2001, when we signed the lease and left our copy said our first payment was due april 16, 2001, we put a sizeable down and it says first payment included. turns out the dealership after we left scratched out payment date of april 16, 2001 and hand wrote in march 16, 2001 as first payment date and sent in to car corporation who in turn accepted the lease and booked it as that.the car corporation says it is between the dealership and us, mean while my credit is being affected, i thought you can't change an lease agreement after we had signed, our copy shows no alterations, is that legal, what are our rights. we left thinking our payment was due in april 2001 as lease says. now car corporation says somebody has to make that payment the dealer or us, if not our credit will be ruined. my state is california. i am in desperate need of what legal right i have,and running out of time to get this information

[Edited by DEBRA SOARES on 04-07-2001 at 05:32 PM]

 

[loku]

Dealer changed contract

It is true that you are not legally bound by the contract because of the change made by the dealer. However, as far as the finance corporation is concerned, it is your debt until you prove otherwise in court. So I think as a practical matter, the simplest thing for you to do is make the payment, then sue the dealer for it. The dealer committed fraud and is liable for that. You could take this to small claims court.