ITSEL33

I sent a $500 deposit thru Paypal for an 06 CLS 55. I live in Pa. the car is in Fl. Price was $43,000, 33,000 miles, black on black, Mbusa warranty til 6/12.
I also spent $170 on a dealer inspection.
Now the problems. when I first contacted sellers I asked them if they had the title free and clear (no loan) they said yes. So I had them next day me a copy of the title, inspection, and a notorized bill of sale. When I recieved the paperwork to forward to my credit union I noticed the title was in a mortgage co. name. I asked them about it the couple said they owned the mortgage co. Well my bank needed them to forward a "articles of Incorporation" proving they owned the co. and could sell the car. They could never produce it, So I and my bank suggested they change the title to their name, they said they couldn't because it would cost them $2,500 (for the taxes) which they claim they did not have.
So they ended up selling the car to a cash buyer and get this, THEY WON'T REFUND MY MONEY!!!!!
So I file a dispute with Paypal (I thought there was some type of safety in using them) and was declined, they say they don't cover deposits only if I had paid for car in full, WTF!!!!!
What should my next step be, Small Claims Ct. anyone knows how that works with me being in PA. and the seller in FL. I feel like flying down to Fl. and doing some damage!

SL2003driver

Contact your atty generals office and Fla. Atty general office. You might also tell the would be seller the Fed might be interested in interstate fraud.

Jen_Kenne

You are probably limited to civil action. Talk to a Florida Lawyer. However, unless the statute allows you to recover your legal fees IF you win in court, your attorney fees would probably be more than you lost.

Small claims court might work, since you don't need a lawyer, but you need to be present.

HouTxCLS55

Yes 500 dollars in not chump change but time is money and you are going to spend more of both dealing with this BS.

Trust that the universe has a special place for people like this even though you don't get to hand it to them personally.

Move on and count your blessing bro, it's never worth dealing with people like this. I always feel I have more to loose personally then the looser I'm dealing with.

MP

mokz

You can file a suit against them in your city. You don't have to go all the way over there. Make them come to you. Most states have long arm statutes which allow you to sue people out of state if they targeted you in your state. Here, they advertised their car for sale on the internet which is worldwide. Therefore, the long-arm statute would give your state jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit against them. If they thought they were in financial trouble before, wait til they have to defend a lawsuit in another state. And if you really wanted to cause some damage you could sue them to enforce the contract for the sale of the car to you.

mokz

oh and if you paid with CC just dispute the charges. PayPal is a pain in the *** to deal with. I always fund PayPal through my credit card instead of bank just in case of situations like this

ITSEL33

I should have used my credit card with Paypal, I'm kicking myself. I thought I was safe with paypal, boy was I wrong!

ITSEL33

I'm going to my local county courthouse tomorrow, hopefull I can make them come to me.

Jen_Kenne

I hope it works out. I can imagine how infuriating this is for you.

BTW - do you have the VIN for the car? If so, you might be able to file a lien on the title.

ITSEL33

I have the vin but what do you mean?

Jen_Kenne

If you mean, what is a lien. The textbook answer is that a lien is"a claim on another's property asserted in order to secure payment upon a debt; to assert an interest in another's property until an indebtedness is discharged."

If you file a lien on the title, they will not be able to transfer the title until you release your lien.

Depending upon what state you are in, there may be online forms and a small filing fee. Here in Florida, it's simply a matter of a $10 recording fee at the Clerk of the Court's office.

Since the car was in Fort Pierce, a call to their Clerk of Court may get you the information you need to file the lien.

Good luck.

ITSEL33

Gotcha, I'm on it first thing in the am. these people have no idea who they are f**king with!

ITSEL33

Checked into it today, no good. You can only put a lien on a vehicle title if for example you are a mechanic or shop, you did work on the vehicle and they didn't pay. I will try the small claims court route. I will see If I can make them come to me in Pa.

Jen_Kenne

Good luck.