Household Automotive Finance Co. HSBC Refused to reposess vehicle, kept title & sold account to collections Carol Stream, Illinois

You may want to check this out A 2010 report by the West Virginia US Attorneys Office, disclosed last week by Reuters, alleges widespread and systematic failures in HSBC's anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance. The two-year-old money laundering allegations would normally not be news, except that they come when HSBC is on the brink of facing regulatory actions by US agencies and federal prosecutors, and disclosures by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
I found it in the acfcs website you may also want to get a lawyer involved

To the original author, you only mention the fact that this is on your credit report. You might want to check the public records for the Clerk of Courts under your name to see if the original creditor has gotten a default judgment against you. Sometimes they will file for a judgment and not serve you the lawsuit properly so you don't even know about it. This is known as "sewer service".  That's not the way it is supposed to happen, but it happens quite frequently.

Go to the Clerk of Courts website and look up your name in the public records to see what judgments are filed against your name (if any). I only suspect this because it is HSBC and they are known for "sewer service". 

If there is no judgment - great. But if there is, you will need to take additional steps to take care of it because in Florida judgments are good for ten years plus they can be renewed for another ten years. As you can see, this is an entirely separate issue from the credit reporting issue. To take care of a judgment it needs to be either vacated or satisfied. First see if you have one. Hopefully you don't have one.

Jim S. - Thanks so much for your informative reply.  I was not trying to totally erase this debt and the negative effect on my credit rating.  I am and have always been a responsible person that's why I was willing to return the vehicle and reduce the amount that I owed at that particular time.  Now, on to other things.  The SOL was on my mind which is why I have not contacted them at all since the last contact.  A reliable source recommended me contacting the credit bureaus as you suggested.  I am just trying to clean up anything that I can to improve my credit rating.

I do have a mortage that is current (15 years to the good), no credit cards (living within my means) and no other outstanding debts.  I needed to get transportation so that I can obtain employment that was offered to me (but not on the bus line).  Because of this particular issue, a relative donated a vehicle to me (minor repairs were needed) so now I don't need to purchase a vehicle.

Again, thanks for the information.  You have been a big help and worth your weight in gold.

Steve is correct - the statute of limitations on debt for the state of Florida is five years for a written contract; the clock on calculating SOL dates back from the last payment to the present.  If you have not made a payment since February 2005, the statute of limitations has indeed run out.  If you arrange for any installment payment, you will start the clock once more and you will be SOL on an SOL claim. 

Now, that means nothing insofar as it relates to your credit history or your FICO score; your score and history are going to remain in the garbage despite the SOL period.  Forget about the FTC - they aren't going to do anything about it.  What you can do is try writing the three credit reporting agencies and request they remove the item from your credit report because (a) it's a mistake, and (b) the SOL has run out.  If they are unable to verify the debt through e-Oscar (a verification system of debt), the agencies by law have to remove the item from your credit history.  

Also be careful - there is a new scam out there by credit card companies (Master Card in particular) working with 3rd party collectors to revive SOL debt by issuing you a credit card with the 1st debt being your debt outside SOL period; by agreeing to the card, you are verifying the debt, which also wipes out any SOL claim.  The AG of New York is investigating this scam, but in the time the investigation takes place....they will sign up a sucker here and there.  Read the T&C's on any credit card or better yet, don't sign up for one.

IF the agencies are able to verify the debt, I would still wait; no need to contact anyone.  After so much time, the 3rd party agencies have bought your debt for maybe $0.05 on the dollar.  Now you have some leveraging power.  If a collector calls you asking for payment, I'd offer them $0.10 on the dollar for the debt in exchange for wiping out the whole debt, and a letter on their letterhead indicating payment in full.  Oh, and no letter = no settlement.  I would also make certain to write a check (no wire to the agency) and indicate payment in full.  Make a copy of the check and retain the letter for some period of time (another 5-7 years) because collectors will sell collected debt to another agency.  With the letter and copy of check in hand, you can now write the agencies and submit copies of each to the agencies to have them remove the debt.

Another item of note:  any process you use to try to get rid of this debt is going to take some time, even if the three agencies remove the debt; if you're looking to buy another car next week, or next month, forget about it.  Even though the FTC requires credit reporting agencies require the credit bureaus to act on requests in 30-45 days, the millions of requests they get aren't acted upon timely, and 60 days is more the norm these days.  The collection process is going to take longer unless by chance you happen to get a call tomorrow from an agency.

Best of luck to you....

I agree this poster isn't the most reliable borrower on earth, but come on. Calling him a disgrace was kind of over the top.

He offered to give them back the truck on a silver platter. Having foreseen he'd not be able to pay on the loan going forward, it seems to me he was more than fair with the lender. No car loan is a guarantee on either side. It's normal course of business for a lender to incur some risk. His lender declined to take the vehicle back. The borrower did his due diligence in the matter.

Now to the title. Okay, I buy the argument that the owner of the debt basically owns the title.

So the current owner of that debt should either come pick up the dad blasted hulk, or give the poster what he needs in order to properly dispose of it. The truck shouldn't just be left in legal limbo.


Now to the poster. While I feel you were jumped on too harshly here, in the manner with which many arrogant deadbeats are legitimately taken to task, you are unreasonable in expecting this default not to affect your credit. It apparently remains an open default against you, and you need to find out whether that debt remains legally secured by the dead vehicle, or whether its now just unsecured debt on which the statute of limitations for collection is either approaching, or has passed. That is probably determined by the date of last contact between you and the lender. If you've acknowledged this debt in any way to the current owner, then you probably started the clock over again and can be pursued. Just requesting the title from them might jumpstart that clock again. Sad as it may be, given the measly dollars involved, you might need to check with a lawyer.

Were you offered a reasonable payoff quote that might allow you to put this affair behind you for keeps and clear your credit?

In 2005, the vehicle was in good condition and had value.  THEY refused to reposse it.  Consumers do have the choice of "voluntary surrender" of a vehicle.  I may have still owed some money but they could have recouped some of the money.  Also, you are right, the only thing I can do with an inoperative vehicle is to junk it.......which requires a title.

In fact, don't talk to them at all; I believe that once you do so, some statute of limitations runs out (someone correct me if I am wrong). As it stands, you stopped paying around 7 years ago; I know that after 7 years bad marks are removed from your credit report, I don't when that starts from. 

In any event, you got a better deal than most people who stop paying; you got the use of the truck for 7 years, whereas if they HAD repossessed it, you wouldn't have, and you would still have a black mark on your credit report (a repo does not eliminate your debt, it just reduces it somewhat). 

BTW, what year did you buy the truck; was it new? $500+ per month is a lot of cash for a used car. 

"will not release the title to the vehicle "

Finance companies require full payment of the vehicle before releasing the lien. You ripped off the finance company and then posted a Ripoff Report against them. You are a disgrace.

"This is the only thing on my credit report that prevents me from purchasing another vehicle."

You earned that negative mark on your credit report. Paying off the amount due will not remove the negative mark on your credit report but it may no longer be noted as a charge off.

What do you intend to do with a car that can't be traded-in or sold without the title?