I have a 2004 Dodge Ram pick up truck that is paid in full. In November 2006, I acquired a car title loan for $5K. I have made payments of approximately $3K. The problem, is I was behind and was getting constant phone calls from them. So I told them to give me payoff amount, each time they were different and more than the last. They finally made a settlement offer of $6K and I asked for it in writing. They said they could not do that. I would have to pay an additional $3K before they would put anything in writing. So I refused to pay anything because they would not apply any of my payments to principle only interest.
I received a phone call from the same gentleman again, saying it would be charged off and then I would have a full amount to pay to a collection agency and will go on your credit report. That was at the end of June. So I have been waiting to get a collection letter in the mail, I have the credit report monitor alert set so I will be notified or some type of notification from them. I have not received ANYTHING from them. They have called my Human Resource manager to confirm my place of employment (I assume for garnishment) and also have called family members telling them everything. On Monday a auto recovery service appeared at my door to take the truck. I asked him for paperwork, he had none. So I told him he could not take the vehicle without a court order. He returned again yesterday and again thismorning at 8:30am.

The car loan was from Arizona. I now live in Spartanburg, SC. I do not have a problem paying the loan off but as of June they said my total payoff was $7489. I just need a definite amount in writing so they can’t go back and sell it to a collection agency and I end up paying way more then what I am supposed to.I have no idea what to do I paid $18K for this truck and it is ridiculous for them to take my truck without any kind of notice or anything. They haven’t even given me a right to cure notice. The APR is 118% and I checked AZ licensing and their license expired July 1 but in process of renewing. Their corporate office is in FL but its not listed anywhere under the State of FL banking sites. The license number that they have on AZ banking website does not show them in FL.

Weren't they supposed to send mea rig tto cure notice before trying to repossess the vehicle? Also have a court order? Also teh recovery company said its from some company which is not company I have contract with or that is listed as a lienholder on my title.

Do I have any rights?

You have rights to immediate payoff and also rights as to consumer usury. High interest rates in California are not allowed and collection companies are highly regulated. Contact a lawyer in Arizona and I am sure you will get some help you need.

Jim Ballidis

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James Ballidis
(888) 752-7474

Contacting attorneys in other states will do you no good. You live in S.C. now and so only two states plus federal have jurisdiction in this matter. To understand why that is so, if a lawsuit were to be brought it would have to be brought in your home state or the state where the contract was signed. If one were to be brought against you it would most likely be brought in the state where you reside now, not in Arizona. If there are any good consumer attorneys in either state I'd like to know about them.

Consumers attorneys who really do know what they are doing are extremely rare birds indeed. Most of those who are good are NACA attorneys.

I think your only potential remedy right now is to use a TILA (truth in lending) questionaire and hope to get grounds to sue them in federal court. You can't use FDCPA as a cause of action in federal court because original creditors are not subject to FDCPA.

You might be able to sue the Repo artist under FDCPA because he is liable for his actions under FDCPA since he is acting as a debt collector. That isn't an easy task however because you would probably not be able to prove that he provided you with false and misleading information or other violations.

Remember that whether you plan on going federal as a pro se litigant or hiring a good consumer advocacy attorney you are ging to need evidence and proof of your accusations. You need to get a good digital voice recorder and a decent digital camera. You should carry those with you at all times that it is possible to do so or at least have them handy where you can get to them quickly. Both can be carried in a small belt loop camera case. Carry a couple of extra batteries for both of them with you at all times as well because they both use up batteries even when not turned on. I would recommend an Olympus WS-311M digital voice recorder and an Olympus TP-7 ear phone so you can record calls even on your cell phone without any physical connection to the phone. I would recommend a good camera such as a Sony cybershot or a Cannon. Use the equipment liberally because it is the only way you can gather evidence you might need if you decided to go to court or have to go to court because you were sued.

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(405) 237-2174 or (405) 227-9423