Bring it on Concept Kia... bring it on
A couple of days ago, I posted about the woes I was having with the tradein car... I will elaborate more here because it has come to a head (no not THAT kind).
I contacted the impound lot on Wednesday asking them for something to indicate that we were now no longer responsible for this car and anything that happened with it. Had I not, I would have been very unpleasantly surprised in a few days when a registered letter arrived.....
According to the laws in Alberta, there is no one that is required to report a vehicle that is going to the scrap yard. There is no obligation for anyone to tell the Motor Vehicle Registry "Nope, can't register that VIN, its been marked for scrap." Insurance companies do when a car is deemed unsafe, unrepairable or written off.. but they do not have to.
So, when I sold the car to Concept Kia, my responsibility in theory should end. However, they did not resell it for the purposes of it being a driveable car. They did, however, sell it to a wrecker. That car would never be registered and the VIN destroyed. But it was stolen before that could happen. And in theory, I don't know that they did sell it. I have no "knowledge of that". So, until that VIN is re registered to another set of licence plates, I am the last registered owner. So that makes me responsible. Ok, I get that. It doesn't make sense when there is a new owner that should be when it can be proven, but thats part of the law.
After all the time at the impound lot, the car has incurred quite a few dollars worth of impound fees... and the impound lot has the right to report to Alberta Justice that these fees are owing. And Alberta Justice can tag them to my address and my new plates. When I go to renew, there they will be. I can prove I don't own the car, but that doesn't remove the hassle. The plates are being renewed for 2 yrs on Monday so that we can buy some time but that doesn't mean that I won't have to deal with it in 2 yrs time.
The impound lot is going to send me a registered letter in a few days which will tell me what they're going to do with the car. THEN they can change the information for the mailing address only (not the registered owner, just the mailing address) to the wrecker guy and then he gets a registered letter (all the while, impound fees are adding up) and then 30 days later he gets a courtesy call. BUT they can't hold his hand to pay up. But they can hold this over my head instead. EVEN tho they have proof that he is the new owner. ARGH
Someone said to me today that I'm being hosed here... and I thought to myself maybe.. so I double checked how many people I've asked the questions to and how they may or may not be tied together and realized that I'm not... only by the government and you get hosed by them daily, but between the city government, a locally owned and operated registry service and a provincial government offical all telling me the same thing.. and the cops too, no one is feeding me a line of BS, but that still doesn't help getting me out of the middle.
I called my lawyer. She says that if we cannot successfully get ourselves OUT of the middle before it reports to Alberta Justice, to sue Concept Kia. Mom and I take a little trip to Concept Kia this evening to speak to the general manager, Don. We decide in the car that I am going to into this irrate and mad (not that thats a new idea since I'm seething) and she's gonna play good cop and rational person (thats not a new idea either as she's been helping me all the way along with where to go next).
We sit down with Don and he asks me what he can do for me, and I start literally shaking and I told him "Look, I'm so mad I'm shaking. Get me out of the middle of this crap with the Shadow, Don, I'm mad as hell and the responsibility as far as I'm concerned solely rests with Concept Kia. What happened after we drove off the lot with the car is your problem, not mine. I don't care what you have to do, if that means you get your business associate to register the car with you paying the impound fees on his behalf, then do it."
My mom pipes in with asking me to breath and politely reminds Don that the contract entered into is between us and Concept Kia and any monies will be coming back via litigation so best be contacting their legal department and with that we left.
Go mom!
Once again, I don't recommend Concept Kia.
I contacted the impound lot on Wednesday asking them for something to indicate that we were now no longer responsible for this car and anything that happened with it. Had I not, I would have been very unpleasantly surprised in a few days when a registered letter arrived.....
According to the laws in Alberta, there is no one that is required to report a vehicle that is going to the scrap yard. There is no obligation for anyone to tell the Motor Vehicle Registry "Nope, can't register that VIN, its been marked for scrap." Insurance companies do when a car is deemed unsafe, unrepairable or written off.. but they do not have to.
So, when I sold the car to Concept Kia, my responsibility in theory should end. However, they did not resell it for the purposes of it being a driveable car. They did, however, sell it to a wrecker. That car would never be registered and the VIN destroyed. But it was stolen before that could happen. And in theory, I don't know that they did sell it. I have no "knowledge of that". So, until that VIN is re registered to another set of licence plates, I am the last registered owner. So that makes me responsible. Ok, I get that. It doesn't make sense when there is a new owner that should be when it can be proven, but thats part of the law.
After all the time at the impound lot, the car has incurred quite a few dollars worth of impound fees... and the impound lot has the right to report to Alberta Justice that these fees are owing. And Alberta Justice can tag them to my address and my new plates. When I go to renew, there they will be. I can prove I don't own the car, but that doesn't remove the hassle. The plates are being renewed for 2 yrs on Monday so that we can buy some time but that doesn't mean that I won't have to deal with it in 2 yrs time.
The impound lot is going to send me a registered letter in a few days which will tell me what they're going to do with the car. THEN they can change the information for the mailing address only (not the registered owner, just the mailing address) to the wrecker guy and then he gets a registered letter (all the while, impound fees are adding up) and then 30 days later he gets a courtesy call. BUT they can't hold his hand to pay up. But they can hold this over my head instead. EVEN tho they have proof that he is the new owner. ARGH
Someone said to me today that I'm being hosed here... and I thought to myself maybe.. so I double checked how many people I've asked the questions to and how they may or may not be tied together and realized that I'm not... only by the government and you get hosed by them daily, but between the city government, a locally owned and operated registry service and a provincial government offical all telling me the same thing.. and the cops too, no one is feeding me a line of BS, but that still doesn't help getting me out of the middle.
I called my lawyer. She says that if we cannot successfully get ourselves OUT of the middle before it reports to Alberta Justice, to sue Concept Kia. Mom and I take a little trip to Concept Kia this evening to speak to the general manager, Don. We decide in the car that I am going to into this irrate and mad (not that thats a new idea since I'm seething) and she's gonna play good cop and rational person (thats not a new idea either as she's been helping me all the way along with where to go next).
We sit down with Don and he asks me what he can do for me, and I start literally shaking and I told him "Look, I'm so mad I'm shaking. Get me out of the middle of this crap with the Shadow, Don, I'm mad as hell and the responsibility as far as I'm concerned solely rests with Concept Kia. What happened after we drove off the lot with the car is your problem, not mine. I don't care what you have to do, if that means you get your business associate to register the car with you paying the impound fees on his behalf, then do it."
My mom pipes in with asking me to breath and politely reminds Don that the contract entered into is between us and Concept Kia and any monies will be coming back via litigation so best be contacting their legal department and with that we left.
Go mom!
Once again, I don't recommend Concept Kia.
posted by Kristin at 2/10/2005 10:38:00 PM
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