Need advice...

[vort3xr6]

Hey all.

Back in August, I sold my wife's infiniti. Against my judgement, I sold it to 2 mexican guys who were sketchy, but they still had cash.

I got them to sign the bill of sale even though they didn't want to, I signed over the title, and they left.

The next day I faxed over the bill of sale to the insurance company confirming that I sold the car and I wanted to cancel insurance on it.

Fast forward to today, and I receive a letter from the District Attorney of Colorado saying I owe 2600 for an infraction regarding the vehicle.

The Case Type is NUIS.

There was a summons issues and below that it shows this.

09/22/2010 TRO ISSUED NUIS/ABATEMENT

TRO means Temporary Restraining Order.

Monday, I will be contacting the state and the DA regarding the case. but what type of liability do I have? I was stupid and forgot to take the plates off the car but I have the bill of sale showing that I sold the car prior to the filing.

Also, what is NUIS?

I will never pay this amount they say I owe because I sold the car fair and square. I have no liability for what happens after that car leaves my possession with the title.

[tecknojoe]

Did you file the sale with the state of colorado / dmv as well? I know in VA you can just go online and fill out a form so that you no longer pay taxes on it. CO might be different

[neh]

How much what time was left on the plates?

I never let my plates stay on a vehicle I sell.

Maybe it was abandoned and towed.

http://www.denvergov.org/Patrol_Division/NuisanceAbatementUnit/tabid/391895/Default.aspx

[ghostrider_9]

Looking online it looks like there was a Temp Rest Order put out for your car. The reason is Nuisance\Abatement. Apparently there is a Drug Nuisance and Social Vices Abatement Act. There is no way of knowing exactly what they did without finding out from the courts, but this act is based trying to target property owners to discourage drug selling and prostitution. From the little I read, it is aimed at real estate owners to force them to take responsibility for what is going on at their properties. I am not a lawyer, but if they want to try to hold you responsible, I would definitely look to hire one . . . On the other hand if they see that you had sold the car and don't pursue you, then I would let it go.

[longrider]

I would not worry too much, just let them know you sold the car. I had something similar happen to me, my car was actually a trade in to the dealer then the dealer wholesaled it to a used car lot which sold it. The buyer never registered it (it was a beater) so the VIN still came up under my name. I explained the situation to Aurora PD and that was the end of it

[modette99]

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[vort3xr6]

UPDATE:

I talked to the Collections attorney and he contacted the state. He said sometimes the state will find you partially liable for any crimes or damages, but he is going to get back to me.

If they come back and try to make me pay any fees, fines, or put any charges on my wife's record, should I get a lawyer?

[modette99]

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[Ricky]

My friend gave his car to his crackhead sister, and basically the exact same thing ended up happening. They went after him for the fines. When he showed that he had transferred title to his sister, they stopped bothering him.

She took the car, then sold it to a friend for drugs, then that person sold it to someone else for drugs, then that person abandoned it somewhere where it started getting tickets. He never had to deal with any of it after proving he had signed the car over.

And yeah, plates are your property. Never allow another person to take your plates. It's like giving them your drivers license, and happily swapping out your photo for theirs. If they say "Well, how am I supposed to get it home?", it's not your problem.

[modette99]

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[Ricky]

Your legally allowed to drive with a bill of sale straight home, but you still need insurance....so there is no problem really with them getting home.

Remember some states the plates stay with the car, maybe the OP is from one of those states like CA???

However there is no law saying you can not leave the plates on a vehicle, it saves the person buying a few bucks as they just reuse those plates and do not need to get new ones. I think it saves $20.

In CO, an insured driver is legally insured on any purchased vehicle, for 30 days form the date of sale, even without contacting the insurance company.

Also, in CO, if you give someone else your plates, you give away what's left on your registration. If you only used 6 months, you have 6 months worth of credit towards new registration fees. You must turn in the old plates to get this credit. You can use those plates on your new registration, or request new ones.

[modette99]

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[Ricky]

Psh... damn bitches telling me I have to have the plates. I just bought a new car the other day and the only thing I could think of was having the plates so I can get my tiny discount off of what will probably cost $700. Blah

[vort3xr6]

Yeah it was my fault for not taking the plates off.

It sounds to me like the collections agency is just trying to get money out of the deal.

I called and left a message with the City Attorney handling the case.

Once I get a final resolution I will let the Collection attorney know in writing that if any judgments or collections appear on my wife's credit report, I will pursue legal action against them.

[modette99]

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[vort3xr6]

Should I be dealing with the collection agency or the state?

I asked the collections attorney if I should contact the state and he told me no. Sounds fishy to me.

[ghostrider_9]

I would contact anyone I could. Including the state, the DA, and the various free legal services that are online. They cannot tell you who you can and cannot contact.

[rforsythe]

The collection agency is there for one reason - to get money. They are scam artists and masters of lies and harassment, and are going to lead you down whatever path they feel they can to get paid. In short, fuck 'em. Protect yourself, and do not be afraid to tell them to kiss your ass.

[modette99]

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[TurboGizzmo]

I tell the Collections your talking with the state and any further communications with them can be mailed to you.

+1

[Ricky]

Ask the collections company to prove the debt is yours and that you are required to pay it, just to be a pain in the ass. They are required to provide this info.

[modette99]

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[vort3xr6]

I am about to send the collections idiot this email.


I have contacted the City Attorney Andrew Saliman regarding this case. I will be resolving this matter directly through him.

This is a notice pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.


At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau’s (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:


Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Defamation of Character

Please have any further communication with myself or Rachel Briggs Hampton done by mail.



I already called the state attorney assigned to the case and left him a message.

I am getting pissed off at this shit.

[Swift]

Based on the above it sounds like you've got things under control. I would think this collection agency will back off after seeing this.

[Ricky]

You need to also include in that letter that they need to immediately cease all contact with you.

[chanke4252]

i've had to deal with invalid debt before, it's a major pain.

do not deal with or speak to the collections agency other than to tell them to piss off (and why). their ONLY goal is to get money from you, as much of it as they can. they really don't care if you aren't the one who owes it, or why they are collecting it, they just want it any way they can get it. everything they do and they say is intended to accomplish that goal, and they will offer you no help otherwise.

they try to wear you down and annoy you to the point of paying, it's absurd, but that's how they do it. you have to be a real scumbag to work in collections. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING if you aren't doing so already.

i think you're on the right track. just keep at it. if it's invalid, it'll be over soon is my guess.

[vort3xr6]

WOW. This is nuts.

I talked to the state attorney. At first he said that it is unlikely that these charges would be dropped. But he said our bill of sale is immaculate and the fact that we faxed the bill of sale to our insurance company that night, helped us.

The illegal mexican who bought the car did not have a drivers license, and had 10 grams of cocaine on him when he was arrested. We sold the car at around 6:00 PM and he was arrested at 10:00 PM the same day. He said they see situations like this all the time, but rarely reverse them. Most people just want to avoid the charge, but he said since I have all the documentation, this seems legitimate.

Is it bad that every vehicle I sell after this, I will not sell to a non english speaking person?

[Ricky]

Is it bad that every vehicle I sell after this, I will not sell to a non english speaking person?

Yes, but what you should do is start acting like Arizona and ask for papers! :lol: Seriously though, white trash people will do the same thing.

After hearing this, I will take extra measures when selling a vehicle in the future.

[vort3xr6]

Yes, but what you should do is start acting like Arizona and ask for papers! :lol: Seriously though, white trash people will do the same thing.

After hearing this, I will take extra measures when selling a vehicle in the future.

I hear ya on the white trash part, but I will always get a bill of sale, ALWAYS take the plates, and ALWAYS notify the DMV that you sold the car in writing.

They guy didn't sound super convinced but he was asking me about my job and what my wife does, so he pretty much realized that we aren't scum who sell coke.

[Ricky]

Now that you've sold me a car, you wanna buy some coke? lol, nice.

[salsashark]

Now that you've sold me a car, you wanna buy some coke? lol, nice.

New used car sales tactic?

"How much blow will it take to get you in this car today?"
http://ahmedfernando.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/pic_hownototbuy.jpg

[Ricky]

^^:lol:^^

[Zach929rr]

All this fuss over 10g of coke. Get the fuck out of here.

[modette99]

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[modette99]

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[Ricky]

One thing I was thinking the other night, the plates don't really matter because in any case the State would run the vehicles VIN if there was no plate and as it was not yet registered to the Mexican dude it would still come up as YOUR vehicle so the plates played hardly no role in this but to maybe make the Mexican dude be lazy about going to get some plates that day before he got busted.

Leaving plates on a car, means the buyer NEVER has to register it, until they expire. Someone could ride around on your plates for 6 months. You take the plates, they are more likely to get caught by police, and hassled for having no plate at all. Even if someone were to get pulled over with your plates, and your registration, the cops might not even do anything about it. They could say "It's my friend's car, and I'm borrowing it".

[modette99]

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[Ricky]

I don't think laziness is a factor, lol. They are simply abusing the way the system works.

[modette99]

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[vort3xr6]

The plates were expired when I sold the car. There was no plate life left so that is why I pretty much didn't even think about taking the plates off. I guess I just never had to be in this situation.

[modette99]

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