Morganton, NC asked in Collections for North Carolina

Q: I consigned for my daughter boyfriend to by a car ,before getting it paid of f the tag place sent title to him he

He then sold it with out my knowledge now credit union wants there money,are there any thing I can do thanks

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1 Lawyer Answer
Rachel Lea Hunter
Rachel Lea Hunter
Answered
  • Collections Lawyer
  • Cary, NC
  • Licensed in North Carolina

A: Co-signing is ALWAYS a bad deal. By co-signing, you are in essence telling the lender "go ahead and make the loan because if the primary borrower does not pay, I will." And if a person needs a co-signer it means that he either has no credit or more likely, bad credit, and that you are just going to be the next in line of victims.

Your post does not make sense though. There is no way that the boyfriend could sell a car legally if (a) the car was not registered solely to him; and (2) there was not a lien on the title. If there was a lien on the title, then the lien would have to be satisfied.

So how is it that you co-signed here? If you paid off any liens, then the lender would have released the title to the borrower free and clear. So what document did you sign?

If you signed a loan agreement, then the lender is going to look to the boyfriend for payment and then you if he does not pay. Since he obviously is out of the picture now, your best bet would be to make the best deal you can with the credit union. Otherwise, the credit union may well sue you and recover a judgment against you. Can they do that without suing the boyfriend? The answer is yes. Once you pay or resolve the debt, you can go after the boyfriend if you think he has any assets.

If not, this can be a valuable lesson to you and others - never ever co-sign anything for anyone else.

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