首页 / 法律问答 / 我的车子已经付清全款，车证也在我手里，但还是因为未付款被拖走了，这是怎么回事？

我的车子已经付清全款，车证也在我手里，但还是因为未付款被拖走了，这是怎么回事？

商业律师 3 回答

Okay, so back in 2019, I financed a car and made payments to the original finance company (VSC) for about six months. Then, they sold my loan to another company (SCC). I kept making on-time payments to SCC for the next five years and finally paid it off on May 31, 2024. A few weeks later, I got the title in the mail, showing VSC as the lienholder but with a signed release dated May 31, 2024. Fast forward to September 24, 2024, and my car was gone! Turns out it was repossessed for non-payment by a company I've never even heard of. The dealership and SCC have no idea who they are either. I did some digging and found out this company retitled the car in July 2023 and placed a lien on it in August 2023 – while I was still paying off my loan with SCC! I'm having a terrible time getting in touch with them. All I know is who they are because I talked to a third-party management company they use. I can't get an explanation as to why they put a lien on my car in the middle of my loan payoff. And to top it off, VSC is out of business, so I can't even contact them. Basically, I paid for a car for five years and now I have nothing. I need help figuring out what to do next and if I can get any of my money back. **Update:** Thank you everyone for the advice! I tried to file a police report, but they said it's a civil matter because the company seems to have a valid reason for the lien/repossession, even though I have the title and lien release. So, I called the DMV's Consumer Relations division. The person I spoke to was really helpful and looked into it. He thinks SCC might not have updated their records when they took over the loan, and this other company might be working with the wrong information. He seemed confident I have what I need to get my car back in court. He also told me how to file a 10-day temporary hold on the title so no one can do anything with it. If they don't get a court order within those 10 days, the hold will be lifted, and I can't file another one. I want to start the hold, but I'm trying to find a lawyer first so I can petition the court. I've never dealt with anything like this, so any suggestions are welcome. My husband thinks there's a lawsuit here, but I just want my car back. Oh, and I contacted my insurance company and am waiting to hear back. **Update:** I put the 10-day hold on the title, so I have until October 11th to petition the court. I also filed a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and our local news station (they have a consumer complaint segment). I spoke with a lawyer today. He seems focused on getting the car back and said he'd try to work something out with the company (Aires) and the management company (Brio) before taking legal action. He thinks it should be an easy win because I have all the documents proving I made every single payment on time. I forgot to tell him about the 10-day hold, so I'll call him tomorrow. The lawyer also wants the original buyer agreement from the car lot, which I think I still have. I'll be car shopping this weekend. Luckily, my supervisor is letting me work from home next week, so hopefully, I can find transportation before then. I took a Lyft to work today and it was crazy expensive! Oh, and I finally got in touch with the tow yard. I have an appointment to get my personal items out of the car tomorrow. The lot is about 30 minutes away. I checked my credit score like you suggested and it still shows my car loan as closed, so hopefully that doesn't change. **Update:** So, I went to the tow yard. I signed papers saying I had the keys and was only there to get my personal items. But then the worker said he needed my keys to bring the car around. When I asked if I could just walk back and open it myself, he said no because of liability issues, plus they needed to keep the keys "in case the car goes to auction." I grabbed my keys back and asked him to explain that. He said they'd keep the keys and if I didn't give them up, I'd be charged for rekeying the car. I told him I have the title and the car shouldn't be there, but he's just a young guy. I said never mind, I don't want my stuff if I have to leave my keys with them. I only wanted my work badge anyway. I always take my gun inside with me. After I left, a lady from the office called and asked why I signed the papers but didn't get my things. I explained the whole situation, and she said it was weird but couldn't release the car because of the lien. She offered to print out the repossession order, but it didn't have more contact info. It actually listed Brio Management as the lienholder, even though the title I saw said Aires Capital. I'm so confused! I called Brio Management to see if I could get an explanation of how they have a claim to my car in 2023. I spoke to a rep who didn't have any answers about when they bought my loan or from who. I was put on hold and then hung up on, but I recorded everything, so hopefully, that's useful. After that, I accepted that this would be a long process and my car probably wouldn't be released willingly. I got a new car on Friday (thankfully, I got a good deal). I've been reaching out to consumer rights lawyers and sent them all my evidence. They're supposed to review everything and get back to me on Monday. So, that's where things stand. I probably won't have another update until I find a lawyer who will go after the right party. I'm starting to think either Sterling (SCC) accidentally sold my loan again, or Aires/Brio Management don't have a legitimate claim and filed a fraudulent lien, which doesn't make sense because they had to have documents to show the DMV, right? I have no idea anymore, but hopefully, a lawyer can figure out where things went wrong. I really can't wait to get an explanation. **Update:** For those still following, I have what will probably be my last update for a while. Unfortunately, it's not good news. It turns out the original finance company (VSC) sold my loan to two companies! First, it was sold to Aires Capital in June 2019. Then, the very same loan was sold AGAIN by VSC in August 2020 to Sterling (SCC). So, I went ahead and filed a petition with the court, keeping the 10-day hold in mind. It's been incredibly difficult to find a lawyer who deals with this kind of situation. Honestly, I don't know what to expect at this point. The company at fault (VSC) is out of business. I don't know if I can hold SCC accountable. And I'm confused as to why Aires never contacted me like Sterling did when they bought my loan. I've heard absolutely nothing from Aires. That's all for now. It'll probably be a while before I update again, but hopefully, it'll be with a good conclusion. Thanks for sticking with me and for all the great advice.

#留置权 #非法扣押 #贷款欺诈 #消费者权益 #律师诉讼

回答次数 (3)

老

老旧唱片

# 3

I would also file a complaint file a Consumer Finance Protection Bureau complaint: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/

In the complaint advise that you are materially and financially affected by the company’s actions and that the company has been advised of the error and will not talk to you directly to fix the situation.

Loan companies are rightfully scared of CFPB investigations. If they see a pattern they tend to show up with 10 lawyers with no notice and take over the company’s conference room to dig through everything for weeks. They also have the independent power to levy fines and are funded through those so they have every reason to get as much as they can from offenders.

The CFPB complaint should set off alarms in the company and you should be contacted by an exec or compliance director/manager. If the company is at fault your should be asking for compensation in the low 5-figure range depending on the value of your vehicle.

Source: former compliance guy

BrightFalcon2

# 2

When you talked to Brio - and Aires, if you've called them - did they say that the supposed loan was in your name? If it is, then they legally should be able to provide you with any information related to that account. If it's not, they need to know that whoever's name IS in their system never had any right to the car nor possession, and then you're definitely looking at criminal charges - unless some idiot swapped info between files, which may in fact be the most likely scenerio.

This is a great example of just how shady selling debt is (and these loans in general, if we're being honest). I used to have some fines from traffic tickets that had gone to collections. At some point I was notified by the court that they had changed collections agencies. I paid off my remaining balance with the new agency and got my license back - the agency has to release the hold on the license before it can be reissued. However, the previous agency (which is known for being extremely predatory) continued to harass me for payments, on an account they no longer had the legal right to, and as such they would not have been authorized to release the hold on my license if I had paid them. The money would just be gone. And that's on a government contract with the court.

FloraNature

# 1

Pursue the route of the CFPB other posters have mentioned and find a lawyer to navigate this, these are major damages you are entitled to..That’s the fastest route in a wrongful repossession. This is major and if some reason this vehicle is sold (after the state mandated holding period on a repo) you aren’t just SOL you are entitled to the full value not just what it was sold for. This concern of it being transported too far from you, they are bringing that car back to you, you have the power once this is sorted out. This is a major screw up in the lending world. The view point of the repo company, they are only acting on the good faith of the lender. This is one repo of many they do in the course of a day, week, month..I doubt it’s as malicious as it’s made out to be on here. The transaction of a repo there is actually very little back and forth between lender and repo company. There are repossession forwarding companies that basically are the middle man between lender and repo co. and it’s plagued with mistakes. They can’t or won’t just release a vehicle because someone has the title in hand as they are responsible for the vehicle.

I was once in this world for several years, I’ve seen it happen by mistake for one reason or another. Everyone got the car back plus or recovered money plus.