I am having a difficult time getting a title for a car I bought before Christmas. It is rather complicated. I will have a quick summary at the end for those who don't feel like reading it all.
I found a low mileage 2013 Nissan Rogue on Craigslist as a private local sell. The 50+ year old woman who owned it lost her job when a DOD contract was not renewed at the local Navy Base. When the hurricane hit she lost the apartment where she was staying and had been moving around. I felt sorry for her and agreed to pay $100 over her asking price which was fair.
When we got to Wells Fargo office, she told me that she owed more than the selling price, but that WF had agreed to settle for a lower amount since she was going to sell it. The only thing was that they hadn't told her exactly how much they would settle for, but she was willing to go ahead and write a check for the difference in the payoff.
I felt sorry for her situation, plus she has an adult autistic son, which I can identify with. I told her that if she went ahead and paid it off WF would probably not settle for less and she'd be out for whatever they agreed to settle for. So, I told her to wait until after they told her how much they would settle for, and then I'd give her the cashier check in exchange for the car and the Bill of Sale. She would then need to overnight the money to WF corporate office since the local guy said that it would probably go quicker that way. A couple of days later I handed her the check and she gave me the Bill of Sale and the car.
One note. Florida issues electronic titles, and the liens are filed electronically too. I figured it would take some time to get processed with Christmas and New Years, so I waited until after the first of the year and contacted her. She told me that they told her that it had been sent to the lien release department which was backlogged and that they would get to it soon. Each week since I have contacted her and asked her to get an update. She called and they kept telling her that it was backlogged. She even sent me a screen shot of her account showing the payment that was made and the final settlement amount of $795 which they were writing off.
After a month of the same story from WF, I was able to get some help from someone who told me that the account was still showing with a balance. I contacted her and she called a manager who told her that the lien would be released within 3 days. This was about two weeks ago. I asked again today and she told me that she had been on the phone for 2 hours and was told that they still hadn't released it, but that it would be released by Feb 15.
She said that the stress of dealing with it was affecting her health and that she was done calling them and would let me know if she got a lien release notification, and for me to do whatever I needed to do. She said to name WF in the lawsuit (???) since they had the money.
I had the feeling that she was about to bail on it, so I asked her if she would give me a power of attorney specifically for the car. She said that she would agree to do that, so we're going to meet up tomorrow to get it. I figured the state DMV might accept that along with the Bill of Sale in case she refused to show up or had a stroke before WF release it.
Once I get the POA, I'm going to ask her to forward any correspondence from WF where they agreed to settle for the balance. I'm beginning to have some doubts as to her truthfulness.
The DMV (local tag office) has issued two temporary tags, and the last one will not be renewed when it expires on March 1.
I have text messages for almost all communication. If this was any other bank but WF, I'd be doubting her story - but WF's past actions make me think the problem may be with them.
So, what are some of my options if WF stalls any longer, or if she lied to me about the settlement?
IF She told the truth and WF is not releasing the title due to some internal issues
1 - Is there a state department or agency that may be able to help me?
2 - If I have to hire a lawyer to get them to release the lien, can I sue WF for damages to recover my time and attorney fees?
IF She lied and WF did not agree to settle for the $10k that I paid her for the car?
1 - Did she commit a crime by selling the car and lying about paying it off?
2 - Can I sue her in small claims court for the $795 payoff amount if I have to pay it in order to get the title?
3 - Can I sue her for damages?
Will WF talk with me if I provide a Power of Attorney?
Any suggestions or advice?
Quick Summary as promised - I bought a car, but cannot get the lien released on electronic title. WF is either stalling or the seller lied about WF accepting a lesser amount since she lost her job and could not pay for the car.
This is a bit aggravating because the car was a gift for my wife and she won't be able to drive it after March 1 if this doesn't get handled. I went out of my way to help this woman because I felt sorry for her. If I hadn't been a softy, I would have required her to paid it off while we were at the bank and I probably wouldn't be going through this hassle.
I found a low mileage 2013 Nissan Rogue on Craigslist as a private local sell. The 50+ year old woman who owned it lost her job when a DOD contract was not renewed at the local Navy Base. When the hurricane hit she lost the apartment where she was staying and had been moving around. I felt sorry for her and agreed to pay $100 over her asking price which was fair.
When we got to Wells Fargo office, she told me that she owed more than the selling price, but that WF had agreed to settle for a lower amount since she was going to sell it. The only thing was that they hadn't told her exactly how much they would settle for, but she was willing to go ahead and write a check for the difference in the payoff.
I felt sorry for her situation, plus she has an adult autistic son, which I can identify with. I told her that if she went ahead and paid it off WF would probably not settle for less and she'd be out for whatever they agreed to settle for. So, I told her to wait until after they told her how much they would settle for, and then I'd give her the cashier check in exchange for the car and the Bill of Sale. She would then need to overnight the money to WF corporate office since the local guy said that it would probably go quicker that way. A couple of days later I handed her the check and she gave me the Bill of Sale and the car.
One note. Florida issues electronic titles, and the liens are filed electronically too. I figured it would take some time to get processed with Christmas and New Years, so I waited until after the first of the year and contacted her. She told me that they told her that it had been sent to the lien release department which was backlogged and that they would get to it soon. Each week since I have contacted her and asked her to get an update. She called and they kept telling her that it was backlogged. She even sent me a screen shot of her account showing the payment that was made and the final settlement amount of $795 which they were writing off.
After a month of the same story from WF, I was able to get some help from someone who told me that the account was still showing with a balance. I contacted her and she called a manager who told her that the lien would be released within 3 days. This was about two weeks ago. I asked again today and she told me that she had been on the phone for 2 hours and was told that they still hadn't released it, but that it would be released by Feb 15.
She said that the stress of dealing with it was affecting her health and that she was done calling them and would let me know if she got a lien release notification, and for me to do whatever I needed to do. She said to name WF in the lawsuit (???) since they had the money.
I had the feeling that she was about to bail on it, so I asked her if she would give me a power of attorney specifically for the car. She said that she would agree to do that, so we're going to meet up tomorrow to get it. I figured the state DMV might accept that along with the Bill of Sale in case she refused to show up or had a stroke before WF release it.
Once I get the POA, I'm going to ask her to forward any correspondence from WF where they agreed to settle for the balance. I'm beginning to have some doubts as to her truthfulness.
The DMV (local tag office) has issued two temporary tags, and the last one will not be renewed when it expires on March 1.
I have text messages for almost all communication. If this was any other bank but WF, I'd be doubting her story - but WF's past actions make me think the problem may be with them.
So, what are some of my options if WF stalls any longer, or if she lied to me about the settlement?
IF She told the truth and WF is not releasing the title due to some internal issues
1 - Is there a state department or agency that may be able to help me?
2 - If I have to hire a lawyer to get them to release the lien, can I sue WF for damages to recover my time and attorney fees?
IF She lied and WF did not agree to settle for the $10k that I paid her for the car?
1 - Did she commit a crime by selling the car and lying about paying it off?
2 - Can I sue her in small claims court for the $795 payoff amount if I have to pay it in order to get the title?
3 - Can I sue her for damages?
Will WF talk with me if I provide a Power of Attorney?
Any suggestions or advice?
Quick Summary as promised - I bought a car, but cannot get the lien released on electronic title. WF is either stalling or the seller lied about WF accepting a lesser amount since she lost her job and could not pay for the car.
This is a bit aggravating because the car was a gift for my wife and she won't be able to drive it after March 1 if this doesn't get handled. I went out of my way to help this woman because I felt sorry for her. If I hadn't been a softy, I would have required her to paid it off while we were at the bank and I probably wouldn't be going through this hassle.