Breach of Contract?

[IrishLady47]

What is the name of your state? MD Problem - one party changed contract w/o other party agreeing. Background - In 2001, I bought vehicle w/former bf, I signed as buyer, he signed as co-buyer. When we split, agreed he could keep vehicle w/ payments were made on contract terms. Private agreement was signed & notarized & allowed me to take vehicle if he was late on a payment. Kept a key, title & have limited power of attorney from him to sell vehicle. Realize private agreement did not negate my liability on GMAC loan. No prob for 2 yrs. Got paperwork from GMAC to extend the loan 1 month. Sent notice saying I did not agree to any extension. They sent copy to him, he signed it & GMAC granted extension. No big deal 1x--but found out he could extend 3x a yr. Can I sue GMAC for breach of contract & asked to be removed from all liability?

 

[hexeliebe]

And what theory of law would you base such a suit on?

There is no breach in a contract that is ongoing and in which both parties are performing under the contractural stipulations.

 

[IrishLady47]

The theory that all parties on a contract should agree to a change in the contract. Under the contract I signed a full payment would be made the 30th of each month & the loan wb paid in full Dec 2006. Under the extension, an additional service charge was paid & it will not be paid until Jan 2007. Each extension will further the termination date. If only one buyer & the finance company agree to this against the non-agreement of the other buyer--why is that not a breach of contract to the other buyer. So, I can be held liable for a change I did not agree to. If GMAC had not granted the extension, either the payment would have been made by the other buyer or I would have taken possession of the car, paid it off & sold it. Now I'm just held liable anytime the other buyer decides to "borrow" against this loan & extend my liability w/o my agreement. So a 3-party contract can be changed by only 2 parties involved, that is legal?

 

[hexeliebe]

I'm not going to try explaining contract law to you. If you don't like it simply hire an attorney (if you can find one to take this issue) and pay the expenses of learning an expensive lesson.

Simply put, you have no recourse.

 

[IrishLady47]

Out of curiosity, what does J.A.O.F. stand for?

I thought I would try this forum as I did not want to incur the expense of a lawyer unless warranted. Thank you for letting me know it would be pointless. It just seemed wrong that GMAC would change the contract with only one signature when two signatures were required on the original contract. But, realize what may seem wrong is not necessarily illegal.

I've usually found that when someone says they are not going to bother to explain something, it is because they don't know how to explain it.

 

[hexeliebe]

Most people ask what it stands for but only one on this forum has been told. He would have to shoot you if I told you.

As for your situation, I'd find a big burley guy named "Little Tony" and have him pay boyfriend a visit.

Good luck.

 

[JETX]

And the ACCURATE answers are:

"Can I sue GMAC for breach of contract"
*** Of course you can sue them. After all, anyone can sue almost anyone over almost anything. However, your lawsuit will quickly be dismissed as without any legal merit.
Simply, the contract has NOT been breached.

"asked to be removed from all liability?"
*** As noted above, you can ask that, but the results are the same. There is no breach and no justification for a claim of dismissal of liability.

By signing as a guarantor on the loan, you are secondary to the primary borrower. He has the right to avail himself of the extensions that the lender offers him. Your permission or even knowledge is not required.

 

[hexeliebe]

Damn, that woodshed is getting a lot of action today

 

[IrishLady47]

JETX - I guess you didn't read my original post, the signature on the contract w/GMAC as the primary borrower is mine, the former boyfriend signed as co-borrower. According to the contract, GMAC does have to notify me about any changes or defaults. GMAC has my name, address & phone number as primary contact. So, is your answer still the same? The co-borrower (former bf) can extend the contract with his signature only? And, I did send written notification to GMAC not to grant an extension. So, I'm liable but have no say-so about extensions. Oh, well, live and learn.

 

[JETX]

"on the contract w/GMAC as the primary borrower is mine, the former boyfriend signed as co-borrower."
*** I was in error in reversing the 'roles', but that really does not affect the fact that the extension is not sufficient (if any) adjustment of the contract to waive the obligations.

"According to the contract, GMAC does have to notify me about any changes or defaults. GMAC has my name, address & phone number as primary contact."
*** And what was their explanation for failing to contact you??

"So, is your answer still the same?"
*** Pretty much.

"The co-borrower (former bf) can extend the contract with his signature only? And, I did send written notification to GMAC not to grant an extension. So, I'm liable but have no say-so about extensions."
*** Actually, no one said that you have no 'say-so'. If the contract is as you indicate, GMAC's actions may have been a minor breach. And if so, then you might have a claim for damages against them. So, what have been your REAL damages?? And are you willing to spend several thousand dollars bringing an action against them??

 

[IrishLady47]

The only remedy for a breach (minor or not) is damages? Contracts can't be revised as a remedy? I don't want damages & I haven't (yet) suffered any monetary loss. And, I accept my liability on the original contract, I signed it, it doesn't matter that we split later. I just don't want the termination date to keep moving into the future. Really, I want either of the following two scenarios--stay fully liable, but no extensions granted w/o my concurrence OR let boyfriend extend as many times as GMAC will allow (up to 8 more times possible) & take me off the contract, he's making the payments anyway.

My view is "If I have to pay, I have some say--No say, no pay". I know--way too simple. And, as you & the other guy have pointed out-I have no real recourse to achieve this.

I never said GMAC failed to contact me-their statement was one party can change the contract as long as the other party is not "harmed". So even though this extension (as future ones will) makes me liable longer than I agreed to & increases the payoff if I would be stuck w/the loan, that doesn't harm me?

Last thing--why would a suit cost thousands of dollars? I sued my cousin for $12,000 she owed, it cost me $20 to file & $20 for a wage garnishment when I was awarded a judgment.

 

[IrishLady47]

New Twist

This probably won't make a difference, but I'd thought I'd ask those who know more than me.
GMAC had sent me a letter before stating that only one party could do the extension as long as the basic terms of the contract were not changed and the other party (me) was not harmed. Although I considered the change in termination date such, legally I guess it is not.
I have now found out that even though GMAC approved his extension & accepted his payment of the service charge, they still submitted a 30 day late charge to all the CRAs.
I had an absolutely perfect credit record, not one negative item, all accounts paid in full & on time. Now I have this 30 day late charge on my credit reports. Isn't that harmful?
Can I do anything at this point? I understand that legally I am still liable for this loan, but can I at least get GMAC stop granting extensions & fix this credit stuff? How can I do this?

 

[IrishLady47]

I realize I having a boring case, but can anyone advise me of what action I can take, if any?

 

[JETX]

"I realize I having a boring case"
** Correct. Especially considering that your questions have already been answered.

"but can anyone advise me of what action I can take, if any?"
*** Yes. See my previous post. Take several thousands of dollars. Give to attorney. File lawsuit. Since you have no damages, court will dismiss your case.

 

[IrishLady47]

TO JETX

Did you read the post just before the one you answered? What I am asking now is how to correct my credit reports. I just became aware of this. I thought the whole purpose of an extension was NOT to get a late charge. This is what GMAC has done. I tried to correct this thru CRA normal corrections channels, GMAC still confirms the late charge. Although I disagreed with the co-buyer being able to do the extension w/o my concurrence, the extension paperwork was done on time & the service charge paid. I had a perfect credit report, this does damage it. First, GMAC extends the contact wo/ my concurrence. Saying it doesn't harm me, then they report a late payment on my credit report. If they would have just denied the extension in the first place, he would have made a full payment on time or I would have taken the car, paid it off & sold it. Believe me, he would have made the payment, he can't get a loan for another car by himself. And, that's the deal we made when we split, so I being perfectly fair. As long as he pays this car off, I will sign it over to him, I don't want anything from this. Yes, I was stupid to let someone use my good credit, well, love is blind. I knew when we split in 2001, regardless of our separation agreement, legally I was still fully liable for this joint loan. I just want GMAC to follow the same rules I do.