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Archive for the ‘Repossession’ Category

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10 Important Questions to Ask When Buying a Used Car

Friday, October 28th, 2011

The Gawker Media-owned car weblog Jalopnik asked readers to contribute the 10 most important questions to ask when buying a used car as part of their daily “Answers of the Day” segment. The 10 best questions published on October 19, 2011 were:

10. Is this the original paint? — New paint could indicate car was rusting or involved in a previous accident.

9. Can I check the oil? — An “earmark for trouble with a used car,” Jalopnik says, look for water, fuel, or foam in the oil.

8. Can you put this on the lift? — This will allow you to check for leaks or rust, but furthermore, you know there is something amiss if the dealer will not let you do this.

7. Why are you selling it? — It is “a question that openly invites the seller to lie to you,” Jalopnik says, but it will still put the seller on the spot.

6. Who was the previous owner? — The more you know about the history of the vehicle, the more comfortable you will be. You can also learn a lot from how a dealer reacts if you ask for a phone number of the previous owner.

5. Do you have the title in hand? — An important issue that can cause larger problems later if overlooked.

4. Can I take it for a test drive? — One of the most telling parts of the process, you should most certainly walk away if the seller refuses.

3. Can I see the Carfax? — Or at least see some similar type of vehicle history report, and be sure you have obtained the right VIN number to avoid a mix-and-match.

2. Can I see the maintenance history? — While you should not expect to see an complete service record history, insufficient information from the seller here will probably affect your decision on whether or not to purchase the vehicle.

1. Can I take this to my mechanic? — This is essentially a must. A refusal from the seller should equate to a refusal to give any further thought toward purchasing the vehicle.

Many instances of auto dealership fraud involve sellers taking advantage of consumers who do not perform due diligence beforehand. If you believe that a car dealer violated California lemon law in your last purchase or you need help getting out of a car contract, contact our office today to set up a free consultation with one of our California lemon law lawyers.

Rosner, Barry & Babbitt, LLP — California lemon law attorneys

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Posted in Auto Fraud, California Lemon Law, Car Defect, Car Recall, Lemon Law, Product Defect, Repossession, State Laws, Technology and Laws, Wrecked Vehicles | No Comments »

Court approves Repo Notice Class Action Settlement with Mission Federal Credit Union

Friday, June 24th, 2011

On June 17, 2011, in Selimi v. Mission Federal Credit Union, San Diego Superior Court Case No. 37-2009-00086697-CU-CO-CTL, Judge John Meyer granted final approval of a class action settlement.  Rosner, Barry & Babbitt, LLP’s Auto Fraud Legal Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mr. Selimi and class of consumers against Mission Federal Credit Union alleging that the notices that Mission Federal Credit Union had sent to individuals after their vehicles were repossessed did not comply with the Automobile Sales Finance Act.

The class includes any individuals who (1) purchased a car from a car dealer in California by signing a purchase contract, (2) had that purchase contract financed by Mission Federal Credit Union,  (3) had their car repossessed by Mission Federal Credit Union, (4) between June 1, 2007 and October 5, 2010, received a post repossession notice from Mission Federal Credit Union, and (5) did not pay to get their car back.

All members of the class will receive the following:

1.  Forgiveness of any balance owed after the sale of your car.

2.  Deletion of the trade line for your account from your credit report.

3.  Refund of any monies you paid to Mission Federal Credit Union after the repossession and sale of your car.

The size of class is estimated to include 1,000 individuals.  The total amount of the balances to being forgiven is expected to be over $11,000.000.  Between 200 to 300 class members will receive refunds for monies that they paid after the repossession and sale of their cars.  The total amount to be refunded is approximately $332,000.00.

Under the terms of the settlement, Mission Federal Credit Union will have 60 days from June 17 to complete the terms of the settlement.

If you have any questions about this settlement, you can contact Greg Babbitt at 858-348-1005, ext 104, or by email at greg@rbblawgroup.com.

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Posted in Auto Fraud, Automobile Sales Finance Act, Class Action, Repossession | No Comments »

Auto Fraud Legal Center sues Toyota San Diego

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

Rosner, Barry & Babbitt recently filed an action against Toyota San Diego in San Diego County.  The case is Stark v. Conant Auto Retail San Diego, Inc. doing business as Toyota San Diego, Case No. 37-2011-00086079.

In May 2010, Michael Stark agreed to purchase a 2010 Toyota Venza from Toyota San Diego by signing a purchase contract.  The terms of the contract permitted Toyota San Diego to cancel the contract if it notified Mr. Stark within 10 days of the purchase.  The 10 day period allows Toyota San Diego to try to find a finance company who will purchase the contract between Mr. Stark and Toyota San Diego.  If Toyota San Diego does not provide notice within 10 days, the contract cannot be canceled.  Toyota San Diego did notify Mr. Stark of its intent to cancel by sending him a letter within 10 days; however, when Mr. Stark contacted the dealership about the letter, he was told to ignore it.  Toyota San Diego has engaged in similar practices with other consumers beside Mr. Stark.  Mr. Stark continued to drive and use the Venza.  Later, the dealership told him that it was unable to get him financed, and that he needed to return the Venza.  The dealership took back the Venza towards the end of June 2010.

Mr. Stark has sued Toyota San Diego for conversion and violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and Civil Code Sections 1785.20 and 1787.2.  The lawsuit not only seeks damages on behalf of Mr. Stark, but also seeks to change Toyota San Diego’s unlawful business practices in two respects.

First, Toyota San Diego has a practice of sending letters to individuals within 10 days to cancel their contracts, and then telling them not to return their vehicles.  The dealership continues to try to get the contract purchased by a finance company, but relies on the letter sent within the 10 days if it is unable to do so.  This practice is not fair to consumers.  The dealership must cancel within the 10 days.  It cannot extend this period by sending the letter and telling consumers to ignore it.  A number of other dealerships in California engage in similar practices.

Second, when a consumers is denied credit, both federal and state laws require the creditor who is denying the consumer credit to send a very specific notice.  This notice must advise the consumer that he was denied credit and why, or who to contact to find it why.  These laws apply to car dealers too.  Toyota San Diego did not send this notice to Mr. Stark and likely is not sending the notice to other consumers to whom it declined to extend credit.

If you have any questions regarding this matter

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Posted in Auto Fraud, California Auto Fraud, Repossession | No Comments »

Rosner, Barry & Babbitt invited to speak at Community Dialog with Professor Elizabeth Warren

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

On Tuesday, March 22, 2011, Professor Elizabeth Warren hosted a community dialog at the San Diego Housing Commission.  Professor Warren is the Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financical Protection Bureau (“Bureau”).  The Bureau was created as part of the legislative response to prevent in the future the financial crisis that led to the mortgage meltdown.  The Bureau will become an active governmental agency later this year; however, Professor Warren is in charge of gettting the Bureau ready.  She spoke to members of the community about the Bureau and asked to hear questions or concerns from San Diegans.

Rosner, Barry & Babbitt was invited to the community dialog and given a special opportunity to ask Professor Warren questions related to the Bureau and auto finance.  Greg Babbitt attended the community dialog on behalf of Rosner, Barry & Babbitt.  He asked Professor Warren two questions.

First, Mr. Babbitt asked what the Bureau could do to force that banks who buy retail installment sales contracts from car dealers to abide by the contractual language that makes them responsible for bad acts performed by the car dealers from whom they buy the contracts?  Professor Warren responded that part of the Bureau’s tasks will be to ensure Banks are abiding by the terms of their contracts and that there are consequences if they do not.

Second, he inquired what the Bureau would be doing to prevent the preemption of state consumer protection laws that had occurred in the past by regulations promulgated by the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) and Office of Thrift Supervison (“OTS”)?  Professor Warren stated that the Bureau intends to allow states to enforce their consumer protection laws against banks without restrictions previously encountered from the OCC and OTS.

The Bureaus website is already up and running and can be found at www.consumerfinance.gov.

Posted in Auto Fraud, Automobile Sales Finance Act, California Auto Fraud, Repossession | No Comments »

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