Auto deal FRAUD!?? help please?!?
Hello,
I send in what i thought was to be my final ( YEY!) payement on my car, that i bought for $4900 in october of 2007. I lost my copy of the contract. ( stupid i know.. but what can you do?) i got an invoice from him, saying my last payment was in dec. of 08, and everything was on track.
after i sent in my LAST payement, the dealership/guy i bought the car from, sends me an invoice saying that i owe him an additional 17 payments for the car.... putting my total cost of the car a little over $7000. and he sent me a copy of the contract that VERY CLEARLY has numbers written over other numbers and the wrong date i bought the car, and the wrong amount for the down payment. HAHAHA.. i laughed.
So, heres my question to you all.. First, should i get a lawyer..
second, do i have a case even though i lost my copy of the contract? i mean, the one he sent to me is CLEARLY tampered with, and i have invoices and check stubs for every payment.
what should i do!? thanks in advance for the advice!!
Comments
If the invoices contain information such as how much of your balance is remaining to be paid, then those can be used as evidence to support the original contract. He clearly has no right to charge you any more.
I would call him up, and be sure to record the conversation. You'll have to tell him that you're recording the conversation at the beginning of it, but having the recording will help you if you do have to go to court. Tell him the contract he sent you has been falsified and you are not going to pay any more than you originally agreed to. Do NOT tell him that you lost your original contract. If it ends up in court, you'll have to reveal that, but there's no reason to tell the car dealer now.
If he insists on pursuing it, you'll have to get a lawyer. If you're lucky, the fact that you're standing up to him will be enough to get him to back down. A lot of places do things like this because people will just send out the payment mindlessly. As soon as you question it, they back down.
Good luck.
Gather up all the information you have such as checks, bank records, and go to the DMV and get all the information they have on your auto.Put everything together by date.
Write down everything you remember. Just don't assume you will be believed so you need everything you can get together for this.
Tell the Auto dealer you are taking the contract and filing a report for an investigation with the DMV.
Do NOT give him ANY other information.Rememember , a slip of the lip, sunk a ship! Let him stew and suffer as he has defrauded you. He will probably straighten out the problem as his license will be taken away if he is found to be liable.
File a fraud complaint with DMV and they will investigate the situation.'
Don't lose your papers!