HSBC trying to collect on difference

How long ago was this and what state do you live in?

Have you gotten anything in the mail from an attorney or debt collector?

The short answer is yes, they can make you pay. They must take you to court and get a judgment, that is the only way. I am in a similar situation where I leased a car and 2 months at the end of the lease they wanted $13,300 in cash or check. I told them I didn't have it and they repoed the car. I still had 2 payments to make on it. First they told me I could finance it with them at the end and then they changed their minds. So it went to auction and they got $8,900 for it. The remainder, $4,400 is my responsibility which they do not deserve. I paid $12,000 to them in lease payments plus they got $8,900 at auction for a $13,000 car. That's $20,900!!!!!!!!

So I will not be paying them that amount, they are thieves and mislead people all the time. As a matter of fact people are outside of all 3 of this guys dealerships with signs saying not to buy from them.

guest, I have to address this...

I disagree with your entire post....except when you said 'yes, they can make you pay'.

When you lease a car, you sign an agreement to make those payments, period. It doesnt matter what the car is worth, it doesnt matter how much more they already received--you signed an agreement. You made a promise to pay ____ amount of dollars. You failed to do so. Regardless of the book value of the car, you went into this arrangement willingly, and most likely you were fully aware of the fact that a car loses value over time.

I will also say this--your story doesnt add up. You said that they told you to pay $13,300, and when you said you couldnt, they repoed the car. This is not how a lease works. At the end of the lease period, you have the OPTION to either buy the car or turn it back in. It doesnt simply get repossessed if you dont cough up the agreed-upon residual value. You also said that you still had two months to pay on it--at this point, here's what I think actually happened in your case.

1--you leased a car.
2--you either could not make the last two payments or you refused to--either way, you were two payments behind.
3--they repoed the car because of those two payments, not because you didnt have the money to buy out the lease.

Also, leases are handled by the finance company, not by the dealership. So, at or near the end of your lease, the dealer would be way out of the picture. The bank is who you would be dealing with--so how does this make the dealership "thieves"?

I live in Idaho. And yes I have gotten a letter from an attorney. What can I do to protect myself?

Anybody else able to tell me how to defend myself?

who did you recieve the letter from (which attorney/collector?) someone will be here to help you more, i promise :)

It was Daniel N. Gordon... Thanks for careing! REALLY!

So you received a dunning letter but no summons? How long ago was the Repo? What state do you live in?

I live in Idaho. The repo was almost exactly a year ago. It was voluntary also. I just received the first letter from that attorney. I am totally new to all this jazz so I have no idea about the summons or dunning letter.
Thanks again!~

The initial written correspondence you received from a debt collector is the dunning letter. It should give you the original creditor and amount owed, the "mini-mranda" 30 day dispute notification and "This is an attempt to collect a debt.....". Is that what you received?