auto fraud – Page 2

What to Do When a Manufacturer Won’t Honor a Warranty – Alabama Consumer Protection Lawyer Judson E. Crump

July 4, 2015 by Attorney Judson E Crump 2 Comments

Warranties are most of the reason why we buy cars new instead of used. But what do we do when we buy cars that don’t perform as they’re warranted?

Sometimes, a car just isn’t built right. Maybe somebody in the factory was sleeping at the assembly line. Maybe there was a weak piece of steel somewhere in the frame. But whatever the reason, sometimes you buy a car that just doesn’t work. This happens with every sort of consumer product – from canteloupes to cell phones to cars. And ancient rules of commercial practice – most of which have been enshrined in the Uniform Commercial Code, which is now the law in 49 of the 50 United States – provide a simple remedy: if it doesn’t work the way it is normally expected to work, then you can get a refund. This is true, even if there is no written warranty, and it is something we lawyers call the “implied warranty of merchantability.” Basically, if a product you buy doesn’t work the way it should, then the default rule is that the merchant should pay you back the purchase price.

If you’ve ever returned a faulty ceiling fan or toy at Wal-Mart, then you’ve dealt with the Implied Warranty of Merchantability. When you take the item back and get a refund, Wal-Mart isn’t just giving your money back out of sheer generosity or great customer service. They’re doing it because they have to.

And car dealers have similar obligations. Of course, because automobiles have big price tags and car dealers make lots of money by moving deals along, rather than unwinding them when things go wrong, car dealers put a LOT of effort into avoiding their warranty obligations. In fact, most dealers have worse customer service than Wal-Mart. And Wal-Mart isn’t always known for great customer service. But I assure you, if you buy something from Wal-Mart that doesn’t work, you won’t have to take Wal-Mart to court to get a refund. With car dealers, however, filing a lawsuit is pretty much bound to happen if you buy a vehicle that doesn’t perform well.

So What do You Do?

Once you determine that you’ve been sold a vehicle that isn’t up to standard, there are two basic rules to how you proceed to fix the situation. First, you must give the manufacturer a “reasonable opportunity” to fix the problem. What does this mean? Basically, you need to take it back and let them try to repair the defect. If the product you’ve been sold is defective, then before asking for a refund, you do have to give them a chance to fix the defect. And you may have to give them multiple chances to fix the problem. How many chances? That depends on the nature of the problem. For a minor issue like a radio that doesn’t sound right, you have to give them several chances. For a dangerous problem like brakes that don’t stop the car quickly, two repair attempts may be sufficient. “Reasonable” is a question that is decided for each case as the facts dictate. It is reasonable to expect several tries to fix a radio, but not brakes, because brakes are just essential to the function of a vehicle. No reasonable person can be expected to drive a car whose brakes have failed after several repair attempts.

Second, you must follow the manufacturer’s written procedures for making warranty claims. Your manufacturer’s warranty should be in the Owner’s Manual or a separate booklet. Wherever it is, you need to read it and follow it to the letter. It may direct you to take the car to a licensed dealer. If so, then you have to do that. It may require you to submit your warranty claim to BBB Auto Line or some other ‘neutral’ warranty dispute resolution process. If so, then you have to do that.

Whatever the process is, you should follow it to the letter. Failure to follow the contractual procedure is the number 1 slimy defense that makers and sellers of bad products use to avoid the consequences of selling junk to innocent buyers. Don’t let it happen to you.

As a final thought, most of the rules that apply to automobile warranties also apply to all warranties for major consumer goods, like boats, RVs, and even mobile homes.

If you’ve been damaged by a defective or dangerous product that hasn’t been fixed, call us at 251.272.9148 for a consultation.

Car Paid for but still no Title? What you can do about it. Alabama Consumer Finance Attorney Judson E. Crump

June 2, 2015 by Attorney Judson E Crump Leave a Comment

You’ve worked hard. You made your payments, and finally, the vehicle is YOURS! Right?

So after your hard work and dedication, after you’ve made every payment that was due, you expect a free & clear certificate of title to your vehicle. After all, that is what the contract entitles you to, right? So you wait and check the mail every day, but weeks go by and nothing comes. What do you do?

Believe it or not, this actually happens sometimes. Particularly with poorly run buy-here-pay-here car dealerships. Sometimes, the dealer may just be lazy, and if so, you can probably resolve the issue with a quick phone call.

If a phone call doesn’t get you the title within a week, you need to write a letter. A title demand letter. You can see a copy of one HERE: Title Demand after payoff.doc (It is an MS Word Document that you can adapt to your own use).

In Alabama, they have 10 days after they receive this letter to send you your title. Be sure to send it to the right address. As you make your payments, you need to be sure to have their current address at all times. Sometimes they move away from the business location where you bought the car, so you need to keep up with their whereabouts.

If they don’t give you the title in 10 days, then you may need to take them to court to compel them to release the title. Very often, a refusal to deliver a title after full payment is a sign that they defrauded you by selling a vehicle they didn’t even own. If this happens, you need to talk to an attorney as soon as possible.

When a car is repossessed, can you get back your belongings that were left in the vehicle? Yes. – Alabama Consumer Finance Attorney Judson E Crump

February 23, 2015 by Attorney Judson E Crump 88 Comments

Repo companies often try to extort money from debtors. Don’t let them.

People come to me often looking for help dealing with debt left over after a car has been repossessed by a dealer, bank, or auto finance company. When I ask about the repossession itself, I very frequently hear something like this:

“They wouldn’t even let me get my stuff out of the car. Can they do that?”

No. They cannot.

If you bought a car on credit, then you took ownership of the vehicle subject to a security interest held by the dealer. A security interest basically means that you’re part-owner of the collateral. Your contract with them gives them certain rights regarding the collateral (the vehicle). The most important right they have is the right to repossess the vehicle when you default on the contract. And as you probably can guess, if you do indeed default on the contract, then they can indeed repossess the vehicle.

But there’s an important thing to remember: they have a security interest in the vehicle, not the items inside the vehicle.

This means that if your car is repossessed, and the repo man, dealer, or finance company has no right to take the property inside the vehicle. For example, if you left your purse in the car and the vehicle is repossessed, they have to give your purse back. They can either mail it to you or give you the opportunity to come and get it. If you call them and ask for your property, they have to make it available to you. It’s that simple. Also:

They cannot require you to pay a fee in order to come get your property.
They cannot require you to sign a waiver in order to get your property.
They cannot take anything out of the vehicle – including any loan, sale, or warranty documents that you left in the vehicle after the sale. Your copies of the transaction documents are your copies. They cannot steal them.
They can require you to schedule in advance a time to come retrieve your belongings, as long as their requirement is reasonable.
They don’t have to hold onto your stuff forever. If you want your property back, call them as soon as you know they have it and demand it back immediately. If they refuse, write them a letter and send it certified mail.
They can require you to sign a receipt that identifies the property that was returned. This is different from a release or a waiver of notices.
They can charge you a storage fee for holding the goods if you don’t get them as soon as possible after the repossession.

Very often, subprime car dealers will utterly ignore the law. Dealers who are accustomed to customers who are ignorant of their rights and cannot afford an attorney know the law perfectly well, but also know from experience that they can usually steal their customers’ belongings without getting caught. Don’t be a willing victim. If you have tried to get your property back and they say something like “We can’t let you onto the premises” or “You’ll have to pay a $25 storage fee” or “You’ll have to sign a release.” That’s all bullshit. Call them on it.