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Am I obligated to pay on a loan if no lien holder was put into my contract?
Anonymous8 views3 answers
I recently bought a brand new car from a dealership. I was told the first payment would be in February, but was never told who my lien holder was. I called the dealership when my payment was due, but no one returned my calls. I called the bank that I have a current motorcycle loan through. They told me what page in my contract I would find the lien holder, but the box was empty. After all was said and down, I found who the lien holder was and was 3 days late on my payment. Do I actually owe anyone money even though the lien holder is not in my contract?
Robert Vance SalterDivorce / Separation LawyerWheat Ridge, CO ·
Congratulations, you get a free car... OK, not really. You didn't actually think that would be the answer did you?
Yes, you actually owe someone money. Even if you could establish that the failure to fill in the lender's name was a material defect in the contract and there is no other language in the contract that provides for a way to correct such a mistake (and most such contracts will have terms that allow for the correction of such clear errors), the best you could do would be to void the contract. This would require you to return the vehicle and require the dealership to return your payments. You don't just get to keep the car and not pay for it.
You should speak with the finance company about forgiving any fees you were charged for being three days late on your payment. Under the circumstances it would make sense for them to cut you some slack. However, you should expect to continue paying for your car from here forward.
Yes, you must follow (pay) or you are in breach. A lien is just security for the contract. Even if there was an issue (which does not seem to be the case since you said you found the lien holder), all that means is that they could not foreclose on the security (namely the car). You can still be sued for breach of contract and you would lose that lawsuit.
In short, you either pay per the terms or pay after you are sued (and you will pay much more). So unless you enjoy dealing with lawsuits, yes you owe the money and you should contact the finance company to resolve any issues.
Certainly you owe money. You don't get to keep things for free when you purchased them. Imagine what you would say if you sold someone your car and forgot to give the person your address to send payments to and they said they didn't have to pay you!
