L
legal_0
Guest
State: California
A collection agency is pursuing me very aggressively for an invalid claim. I had a vehicle that I sold to the current owner in April 2001. I submitted the 'release of liability' the next day and it was received by DMV a couple of weeks latter. The current owner didn't initiate the registration process till July and never finished it. In August, I received a ticket for extended parking and a bill from towing company for the towing charges. Apparently the car broke down and the current owner decided to leave it on the street.
To make it short, I did all the legwork to get a printout from Sacramento that they received the release of liability in late April showing that I was not the legal owner of the car at the time the car was towed. I send in the printout to the court and the collection agency, the court dismissed the ticket but the collection agency is still coming after. First they told me that the status of legal ownership is irrelevant and that they don't have to follow DMV's status on this matter. Also, that they can only see the name of the current owner and not the address on the Sacramento's printout, they claim that I may not have included the current address on the release of liability form. I sent them an another print out from the local DMV office that did show the current owner's address but they don't seem to want to honor it.
Their demand is becoming rather threatening with statements that they intent to go to extreme measures. I am very tired of it and am wondering about my options? Can they put a negative mark on my credit based a total bogus claim? If so then doesn't their actions fall into extortion? Do I have any bases here for contacting law enforcement or consumer agencies? Can I take them to small claims court for punitive damages and lost wages?
I'll very much appreciate a reply on this matter.
A collection agency is pursuing me very aggressively for an invalid claim. I had a vehicle that I sold to the current owner in April 2001. I submitted the 'release of liability' the next day and it was received by DMV a couple of weeks latter. The current owner didn't initiate the registration process till July and never finished it. In August, I received a ticket for extended parking and a bill from towing company for the towing charges. Apparently the car broke down and the current owner decided to leave it on the street.
To make it short, I did all the legwork to get a printout from Sacramento that they received the release of liability in late April showing that I was not the legal owner of the car at the time the car was towed. I send in the printout to the court and the collection agency, the court dismissed the ticket but the collection agency is still coming after. First they told me that the status of legal ownership is irrelevant and that they don't have to follow DMV's status on this matter. Also, that they can only see the name of the current owner and not the address on the Sacramento's printout, they claim that I may not have included the current address on the release of liability form. I sent them an another print out from the local DMV office that did show the current owner's address but they don't seem to want to honor it.
Their demand is becoming rather threatening with statements that they intent to go to extreme measures. I am very tired of it and am wondering about my options? Can they put a negative mark on my credit based a total bogus claim? If so then doesn't their actions fall into extortion? Do I have any bases here for contacting law enforcement or consumer agencies? Can I take them to small claims court for punitive damages and lost wages?
I'll very much appreciate a reply on this matter.