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To be totally honest, I'd never heard of all these steps before. I figured having the title & signing it in person was the correct way to do things. In hindsight, I should never assume good or even normal intentions. In the eyes of the law, I am no longer the title owner. I have also already filed a Transfer of Ownership which was accepted by the CA DMV.
Anywhere I've ever lived, you're on the hook until you turn the license plate in with the form that says you transferred ownership. In states that have a property tax on vehicles, you can rack up huge back tax and late penalty/interest fees. Eventually, they will suspend your license and refuse to renew your vehicle registration.
If you signed over the title and transferred ownership and the State of California accepted it, there is a record of that with the State. You don't legally own it anymore. So, your answer to the towing company is that you sold it a year ago and transferred ownership and that record is on file with the State of California. It is up to the towing company to purse the correct legal owner. Ultimately, you can prove that because you know you filed the title transfer, but that is their job to figure out before they start sending letters and calling people.
If they continue to contact you, they are harassing you. They have an obligation to verify ownership or they are otherwise recklessly operating, causing harm and distress to you. Tell them that you need their ownership information and liability insurance information because you are going to sue them. They have an obligation when doing business to verify ownership. If not, they are taking on a risk that could ultimately result in general damages awarded to you for distress. You need compensation from them for the time you have spent working on it, which is really their own due diligence that they are not taking responsibility for. If you are suffering and distressed over this, which you are, that can be included.
This would be a great suit to file because the legal system understands the breadth and abuse of what they are doing. It would be appropriate to compensate you for an abusive practice.
i sold a 1964 406 six pac 4 speed ford to a fellow 41 years ago .. a few weeks later a tow yard called me wanting me to pay a 35 $ tow bill to retrieve the car .. i said no way .. never heard anymore about it .. would i pay that now ? you bet ...if we have similar laws in alabama iv`e never heard of them and i`ve sold dozens of cars .. some storage charges can be 20 $ a day usually not counting weekends .. you may owe 10 thousand dollars on it ...
I'm in Calif. I sold a car to a irresponsible looking kid and I was so happy to get rid of it I never got his name or address and he took off.
He never transferred title into his name and of coarse I never sent in the release of liability to the DMV.
This led to 6 months of extreme worry stress and fervent prayers. He got two parking tickets I went to the addresses where the parking tickets were looking for the car but never found it.
Then the registration renewal came up and as far as the DMV was concerned I was the owner and had to pay. I am sure they threw letters I sent them in the trash.
About then the car got impounded, best thing that ever happened to me. I went there right away.
I had to pay for the registration renewal because there was no registration in the car, the two parking tickets, and the impound lots fees.
Cost me $577 in all for a car I sold for $1,000. Still I was so happy to be done with this nightmare.
Always send in the release of liability immediately.
If you signed over the title and transferred ownership and the State of California accepted it, there is a record of that with the State. You don't legally own it anymore. So, your answer to the towing company is that you sold it a year ago and transferred ownership and that record is on file with the State of California. It is up to the towing company to purse the correct legal owner. Ultimately, you can prove that because you know you filed the title transfer, but that is their job to figure out before they start sending letters and calling people.
If they continue to contact you, they are harassing you. They have an obligation to verify ownership or they are otherwise recklessly operating, causing harm and distress to you. Tell them that you need their ownership information and liability insurance information because you are going to sue them. They have an obligation when doing business to verify ownership. If not, they are taking on a risk that could ultimately result in general damages awarded to you for distress. You need compensation from them for the time you have spent working on it, which is really their own due diligence that they are not taking responsibility for. If you are suffering and distressed over this, which you are, that can be included.
This would be a great suit to file because the legal system understands the breadth and abuse of what they are doing. It would be appropriate to compensate you for an abusive practice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by City Guy997S
Who told the cops it was stolen? This makes no sense.....
did you guy bother to read the OP? apparently not since if you did you would have known that the OP did not file a change of ownership, the buyer never transferred title into his name, and the new owner reported the moped stolen.
To be totally honest, I'd never heard of all these steps before. I figured having the title & signing it in person was the correct way to do things. In hindsight, I should never assume good or even normal intentions. In the eyes of the law, I am no longer the title owner. I have also already filed a Transfer of Ownership which was accepted by the CA DMV.
The OP noted in a a subsequent post that he had filed a transfer of ownership document, along with signing over the tile. The CA DMV accepted the transfer of ownership document.
If it was a year ago that he sold it, I presume he did not subsequently renew the registration and plates. The other item he may have is the date he discontinued insurance coverage and the date dropped.
All of these say he doesn't own it anymore.
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