Dealer fraud comes in many varieties. I get calls frequently from distressed buyers who bought a vehicle, but the dealer fails or refuses to transfer the Title and/or registration. If the temporary tags and registration expire, this can lead to impoundment. No matter what happens, the bank often will insist on continued payments.
You don’t have to stand for this type or any dealer fraud. By law, the dealer has to transfer Title ownership to the buyer simultaneously with the sale. If the dealer doesn’t do this, then the entire transaction is rendered unlawful and the finance terms are rendered false and fraudulent. The purchase agreement is rendered unenforceable.
If you want to keep the vehicle, there is something that you can do to force the dealer to transfer the Title or obtain an Order from the Court directing the Commonwealth to reissue the Title in your name.
Don’t let banks push you around. At least one bank, Credit Acceptance, has been hit with a huge verdict in excess of a million dollars, because, among other things, it insisted on continued payments even though the buyer never received Title to the vehicle. Some may even repossess the vehicle.
Often times the dealer is selling the vehicle “out of trust.” The dealer has purchased its inventory on credit and a bank holds a lien on the Title. The dealer only has to pay for it within a certain number of days after the vehicle is sold to a consumer. The dealer pays the bank, clears the lien, and then transfers the clean Title to the buyer. But sometimes the dealer does not want to pay the bank. Dealers often sell their inventory out of trust when they know they are soon closing down. They try to take the money and run.
I’ve been successfully resolving favorably several cases involving a dealer’s failure and/or refusal to transfer Title ownership and registration.
Visit my Website for more information about how I can help. /Consumer-Protection/Autodealer-Fraud.shtml
If this has happened to you, or is happening now, then you should call a qualified attorney right away.
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