Cash Advance, Dealership check bounce?
Tony Lee asked:
Can someone help me here, I cash a check awhile ago at some cash advance place, It was a check for selling my car for 4000 to a license dealership but not too long ago the cash advance called me and told me that the dealer check bounce and want me to return the money plus a fees and i do not have cash on me now. What do i do? Will they go after me or the dealership? If they come after me will it ruin my credit or do i have to go to jail? i try to look for the owner many times and he seems to ignore me. Someone please help me.
sadly says that a lawyer will cost me more than my car.
I think you may have been scammed. Sure the dealership was licensed? If so, you have to engage a lawyer.
They will go after the Check maker, but see an attorney anyway.
Tony, this is not legal advice but just an opinion. If it happened to me, I would not get a lawyer at least just yet. As long as I had received the check in good faith from a "legitimate" business, I did not commit fraud ( a crime). The only legal thing the cash advance company can do is file a suit in civil court against me, and IF they did, I would generally have 30 days to decide my next move. Whether the cash advance company has any claim at all will depend on many things, including the way I signed the check over to them and what other documentation I signed. Also, the actual time between "awhile ago" and "not too long ago" will be important.
The dealership on the other hand has a bigger problem. If they knowingly issued a bad check, it's called "uttering" and it's a crime. If they went out of business (find out right away) because you have become a creditor.
If they indeed are a legitimate "licensed" and operating business then they are registered with the Secretary of State of your state and have what's called a Statutory Agent. That person is designated to receive notices for the company. Write to that person and demand your money. If you don't get it, take them to small claims court (law students at a local school can be gotten to help for free).
Not to be mean, but the fact that you took the check to a cash advance place probably means you have no banking relationships and no credit rating to trash so don't worry. And NO…you will not have to go to jail!!!
The cash advance place will come after you. You cashed the check and accepted responsibility for it. They will probably file a small claims suit against you. You have to go after the dealership. You can hire a private investigator to help you find the dealer and their assets.