claire95

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/business...;pagewanted=all

I had a 99 Durango with 120K miles, ran fine, but just verging on shot so I saw this Jeep grand cherokee 2001 inline 6 offered at 8997 at a local dealership Monday morning. Called to confirm it was still there. Someone had an eye on it, but it was unspoken for. I went over and drove it, had low miles, very sharp, fully maintained, new tires, I said, wanna buy. Here in the NW, good used 4x4s are at a premium always. So I had $1500 cash and the Durango (owed 3800, they gave me 2000) and my credit is not fantastic but my recent credit and payment history (bought an 06 Ford at zero APR with no lates no dp) and have had no credit card issues, all paid off except few. Finance manager dredged up a fake debt owed to cap one from 2001 which showed as a charge off to the tune of $6221. I went to court over this account in 2008 and won a judgment against cap one, and they owe me. I have submitted the court findings to the credit bureaus, but nothing changes. This inaccurate, years old, entry on my credit report effectively prevented me from getting a good used car loan. And I can't seem to get this fixed. PISSED. l love my Grand Cherokee. I hate the Financial Services Industry.

I know there are many variables, including state court costs, lawyer fees, etc. but I'm just wondering if anyone might have a ballpark figure about how much it costs a lender to foreclose in a non-judicial foreclosure. If the property owner is the lienholder, would the costs and burning hoops be even worth it? Knowing how much they'll have to put into it to make it marketable, I just wonder if a private party would be inclined to take the steps to foreclose unless out of spite.

I live in a non-recourse state, which recently doubled back on itself with 2009 legislation protecting homeowners in foreclosure from deficiency suits from second mortgage defaults. No fear of 1099c's. I walked. The anxiety is walking with me, even though the law has my back. My lender did a dumb thing and I exercised my rights under the law. Why should I feel any such lingering remorse? Social conditioning, yeah, and the thing about my credit rating, which is a nonstarter. I've been there, recovered, it's so off the table... I guess I just didn't understand the sociopathy it takes to be a true capitalist.

Thank you Marv Bear

Ironically you might have better luck looking at an inexpensive new car. There are all kinds of incentives for remaining 2009s. And many dealers are happy to deal with buyers who have limited, but good, credit.

I posted awhile back about a problem I was having with my car payments being returned to my bank and being unable to locate the lien holder on a vehicle I purchased used about 2 years ago. After calling DMV, the Corporate Services Division (state agency), the original dealer, and having no luck, I finally filed a complaint with the state Attorney General about three weeks ago. They sent me a confirmation that they were investigating. Today I got a call on my cell from the Tacoma Washington branch of United Auto Credit (I live in Oregon) and they were downright hostile that I'd filed the AG complaint. I explained to them how I'd done everything in my power to find them, only to learn they had closed all their Oregon branches. What was I supposed to do? They claim they had the wrong address, phone number, work number, cell number and so it was my fault that my payments were bouncing (well yeah, but somehow my September payment was successfully received and processed). I know that the cell and work numbers have changed since I got the loan, but I haven't moved, so what the hell? They claimed to have an address on me that I haven't lived at since about a year before I bought the vehicle. Hmmm. That's impressive if ridiculous. They also told me I was paid ahead, which is why I never received any statements or anything in the mail. Really? Wow. But I should be receiving statements now. I asked where I should be sending the payments. The young woman on the phone couldn't even get me the correct address in Irvine, CA. She suggested I overnight the payments to Tacoma and they would send them. Uh, nope. And that I enroll in auto withdrawal. No again. No way. As soon as I get the statement she assured me is coming, I'm going to try to refinance the vehicle through my bank. If my credit isn't good enough for that, I'll find someone else. I have no iota of trust in United Auto Credit and their record keeping. I am pretty impressed that my AG's office was willing and able to help me. I want to thank the posters on this board who suggested I take it that far, and would suggest anyone who might find themselves in a similar position to mine do just the same.

I would return the car to the Mitsubishi dealer and walk away. She isn't obligated to keep that car if her financing fell through. I wouldn't do business with them, and I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to settle for alternative financing for that vehicle just to insure the dealer makes a profit from your daughter. Find a new dealer and shop until you get the deal you can live with.

Just an update on this situation: I called DMV and all they could tell me was that United Auto Credit's business license is up for renewal in Oregon and expires 10/21. Right now, all they could suggest was that I call the Division of Corporations. I checked with them, and they have no information other than what DMV gave me. So I called the dealer where I bought the car and see if they could tell me what happened to this company. The very polite finance manager told me UAC quit doing business over a year ago, that's all she knew. She directed me to their headquarters' website (they're based in Irvine, CA) and advised me that I could make a payment directly to them. I'm looking at the same screen she is, and I see that while an online payment is an option, it will cost me $15.00. Uh, that's a red flag. But before I do that, I want to talk to someone at this company to find out WTF is going on and why I was never notified that they're no longer doing business in Oregon. And further, how am I guaranteed that my payment will be properly credited? No way am I going to send a payment with a fee without talking to a human first. Interestingly, there are no customer service phone numbers or even email addresses listed on the website. Way too shady for me. I've never seen a consumer lending company without any contact information. So I'm keeping track of all this, including my bounced payments, in case my credit report starts reflecting delinquent payments and/or a repo man shows up. My only course of action now is to contact the AG. Meanwhile, I'm keeping the bounced payments in escrow in case I have to take these salamanders to small claims or something. Thanks again for all the advice.

Interesting. This is very unexpected and unfamiliar turf -- I've never had a problem getting mystery entities to come forward claiming I owed them for a debt I thought belonged to someone else. But anyway, whether UACC restructures (and incidentally their local website is www.uatc.net but I'm sure they're affiliated) I'm astonished that they wouldn't have had enough lead time to sell off their portfolio to someone else and then notify their clientele rather than leave us in the dark. I know I'm not the only one affected by the local dissolution, but it's just very strange that I can't find anything in the local or national media about this company's failure. My biggest concern is my own stupidity/naivete for not keeping tabs on the loan and what the pay off would have been at the time they closed up shop. Not like I would have anticipated such a thing... If the loan falls into some other company's lap, how do I know I can trust that UACC's bookkeeping was accurate? Not at all. So I may file a complaint with the AG anyway, can't hurt. Thanks again for your help.

Thanks, Marv. At least maybe they can tell me what happened to their Oregon division. If the DMV can't give me anything, I guess I'll go back to the dealer who sold me the car and see what they know. Especially if it seems like I might want to trade the car in

The company is (was) United Auto Credit. The branch I was financed through was Beaverton, OR. I did find out that the only state they're still operational in is Texas, but even when I tried the Texas websites the links were dead. They have a terrible reputation for poor customer service, but I never had a problem since I always paid early. I guess now I'm on that bandwagon. I haven't had a chance to call DMV yet.

Great advice, thanks. DMV has thus far proven useless, so the idea of moving on to the AG's office is really helpful. I'm sure I'll get a response from them. Excellent.

Thanks, that's what I thought. DMV still shows the defunct company as the lienholder. I'll call them again and see if they have any new information. I don't feel like the burden should be on me to find out where to send my payments -- I would have thought any new lienholder would make their presence known to me right away. My biggest concern is that any new lienholder gets accurate information. I confess I don't know how much I owe on this vehicle. The original company never sent statements, and now it's too late to ask.

Haven't posted in this forum before. I hope someone has some advice. I've been making payments for two years on a vehicle, and they come out of my bank account automatically on the first of each month. I actually pay more than the minimum because the interest rate is outrageous. Last month my bank notified that the payment had been returned, and I was surprised because I know the loan isn't paid off yet (one of the reasons it could have been returned). So I called the finance company -- phone is disconnected. I did online research to see if I could find anything regarding their status but found nothing. I figured I'd get something in the mail telling me who owns the loan now, and where to send payments. Never happened. I contacted DMV to see if they could tell me the status of the company. No information. I want to know who has the title to my car. I have another payment scheduled to be sent on the first to this non-existent (apparently) company, and I know it will come back to the bank. At least I have bank records to prove I attempted to pay. I really don't know what to do. Any ideas? Thanks.