CA collecting on car towed that was sold prior

ok, when exactly was it towed? Was it after you sold it? If so, then you should be in the clear, as long as you can find that bill of sale--with a date on it. Was it towed from your house or something?

They buyer would have the bill of sale wouldn't he? That is his proof of ownership. You can trace it through DMV!

hopefully he processed the paperwork thru the DMV before he passed away....but good catch, frog! You can check with the DMV to see if they have any record of the title changing hands.

It was towed after we sold it. Problem is, he never went to DMV and registered it...as I said, the thing wasn't for driving, it was to pick parts out of it so I guess that is why he never registered it....then he died. I'm not sure where it was towed from..we moved out of state right after selling the car.

The CA said we are still legally liable because the car was still in our name. Now I don't trust anything a CA has to say. I am looking at Nevada DMV laws regarding sale of cars but haven't come across anything helpful yet....basically the CA says they will continue to report it on the report and will keep calling. I know I can send a cease & desist (which I will do just to get them to stop) but we don't want this on our report.

OK, something that jumps out at me here. a $2,000 towing bill. If they don't own the debt and are collecting on behalf of the towing company then that company is probably seriously violating standards for their county public service commission.

Where would I find those standards?

what county/state is the towing company based out of?

I have no idea...I have not once ever got anything in writing over this. I assume it is Las Vegas Nevada, which would be...Clark County. At least I have the CA on not sending a letter 5 days after first contacting us...but as I said, that doesn't help get this taken off our report.

Ok here is a bit more information:

Seems that it wasn't even the county who towed, it was private. The car was sitting in a garage and the owner of the house (the tenant is who died) had the car towed.

ok, so it wasnt even on your property at the time? That itself would lend some credibility to your claim. The tenant was storing the car on the property that he was renting, and that in no way involves you. you have no legal or financial responsibility to be liable for anything that this tenant did where he rented the property. For them to come back and say you are liable now is only because the guy they really should be going after is deceased, so they cant go after him. They are grasping at straws, big time. If only you can find that bill of sale it will put this ridiculous bit to rest.

The CA says the bill of sale will make no difference because according to Nevada DMV, we still own the car and so are liable for it. I just can't seem to find any laws or such about this situation.

the CA is full of it, basically. A bill of sale, combined with someone's death, would do plenty to show a judge that you no longer owned or were responsible in any way for this car. How did he pay for the car? Was it cash, or a check? If he used a check, that may produce a paper trail that can prove ownership.

be careful not to take what the CA says as proof of anything--they know that he is deceased and all they care about is getting their money. They dont care where they get it from. They are likely to tell you anything that they think would make you more likely to pay.

Yeah I figured that the CA was blowing smoke. I called DMV and found out that even if the car never got registered, that we are not liable. I have somewhere a signed agreement from both parties stating that the car is being sold as is for 200 bucks. (it was paid in cash).

I called the CA back and told her what DMV told me...heh they changed their tune a bit. Now they want me to fax them a copy of the signed agreement. She said it will take a couple weeks, but that they will determine if this agreement is acceptable.

Heh. It better be because I think by law is it proof that we do not own the car any longer.

you would be exactly right--it is proof that you no longer owned the car. Next time you talk to the collector, be sure to tell them that it isnt a matter of whether or not the agreement is "acceptable" to them--the law says what the law says, and they cannot try to get around that blindly in the hopes of getting money that they are not legally entitled to get from you.

Its a shame that you dont have the calls recorded, they just attempted to use deception to collect the debt. They would be owing you $1000 for it....

did you sign the title over to the purchaser upon receipt of payment?

Yes we signed over the title.

signing over the title would only help you if you had a photocopy of it now, or if the actual title you signed over could be located. Since he never brought it to the DMV, their records will still show you as the owner. Locating that bill of sale would be your best bet, if possible

Yeah that is the main problem. :)

If you can find out the address where the car was towed from, the tow company should have the info. Contact the property owner and get a statement that he had the car towed from that location and the tennant was X. If the property owner won't provide the info of the tennant you might be able to get the neigbors to confirm that X lived there and had the car for x amount of time.

All this will back up the bill of sale and may provide proof that you did not own the car even if you can't find the bill of sale.

Good point Cellular, see if you can get statements/depositions from tenant or neighbors in court.

As long as you have the bill of sale and it's dated before it got towed then you are fine.

golden..I won a car at a major gambling site in Las Vegas in 1986...I felt the Las Vegas Dmv was in co-hoots with the car lot dealing with gambling site doing promotion ..who ...willingly offered information and falsified records and made me a resident of Nevada who "resided" at salesman's address--where registration was mailed to and he then later forwarded to me---which let me drive the car home to California the next day....I had to pay ....my point is the D.M.V. is not a proof of any real transaction..only of transaction from information others provide that they accepted and imposed fees on...

p.s.....we were traveling through the state..I had never gambled and put $20 in slot machine and won....always thought that was the instance that woke me up and turned my life around! (p.s. is Dmv still on Flamingo..Tropicana? ...something like that?..car lot who was in promotion....drove me in a courtesy van to the D.M.V. site! :D

I can't remember where it is honestly:) It's been a few years and my memory is not good. :)