Ok, I really need and would appreciate some advice:
Background:
I recently picked up a used bike on eBay from Kentucky. The owner bought the bike in Ohio (Cinci) new from a dealer last year. He did not pay taxes on it a he was an out-of-state resident of KY. He never transferred the title to KY. Title has his name and KY address on it, his (un-notarized) signature on the back, the odo reading, and my name as the buyer. He did give me a complete bill of sale with his signature on it. The transaction was smooth with no issues in the beginning.
Issue:
I now have the bike sitting in my garage and have the title. PA (my state) will not transfer the title without it being A: notarized from OH (which won't work as he's not a resident I presume) or B: titled from KY with the correct info on it.
He sold the bike as he couldn't afford to pay the taxes to retitle it, which I learned AFTER I had the bike and title. He now has my money (which is probably already gone) for the bike which is more than enough to pay the taxes to transfer it to KY and then send it to me to be transferred to PA, the way it should be done. Now I have a bike, that I don't own, in my garage that I can't do a damn thing with.
I know he has two options:
- Transfer the title and pay the KY taxes, then send the KY title to me.
- Give me my money back and he gets the bike back.
If he hesitates about either, I'll be reporting this issue to eBay. I'm guessing I'm protected under the eBay Buyer Protectoin, but not exactly sure. He did state on the listing that it had a clear title, but didn't state where it was from.
Does anyone have any input on this? Suggestions? I'm about ready to explode >:(
Could you possibly have him change the address to his old Ohio address, and initial the changes?
If you can't get cooperation from him, just make the changes yourself. It's not strictly legal, but sometimes the DMV, etc. just make it impossible to do it by the book.
Tim,
I'd call sue's notary. Those ladies know what they're doing and how to get stuff done.
Ask what the process is and then follow those steps to the goal.
I would also get in touch with ebay to see exactly what "buyer protection" means.
If you borrowed money to buy this bike your bank may want to know what's up. They may swing a bigger stick than ebay.
Good luck mang
Quote from: A.duc.H.duc. on March 29, 2011, 03:07:02 PM
Could you possibly have him change the address to his old Ohio address, and initial the changes?
If you can't get cooperation from him, just make the changes yourself. It's not strictly legal, but sometimes the DMV, etc. just make it impossible to do it by the book.
He never lived in Ohio, so he can't change the address. I don't want to get involved with "title jumping" either, so I won't be making any changes though. Thanks though.
Quote from: Monsterlover on March 29, 2011, 05:12:06 PM
Tim,
I'd call sue's notary. Those ladies know what they're doing and how to get stuff done.
Ask what the process is and then follow those steps to the goal.
I would also get in touch with ebay to see exactly what "buyer protection" means.
If you borrowed money to buy this bike your bank may want to know what's up. They may swing a bigger stick than ebay.
Good luck mang
Thanks man. I called them and they said I can't do anything until the title is notarized. Not sure what other options I have there. I may call again just to see if there's ANY chance. The seller hasn't said anything yet, so I'm not taking any action as of now. If I don't hear anything positive soon, I'll be making a move.
So.... was he riding the thing around without plates then?
Quote from: Punx Clever on March 29, 2011, 06:50:43 PM
So.... was he riding the thing around without plates then?
Basically. He was riding it with T-tags. It only has 770 miles, so he barely road it.
I know PA titles require notary when selling, but does the Ohio title state that it requires a notary?
Not every state requires it. I know for a fact that NY, WI, CA, NJ, TN, VA, and MD titles do NOT require a notary on sale.
If it doesn't require a notary on the Ohio title, then you need to talk to a supervisor and point out to them that Ohio does NOT require a notary and you can't easily go back to the seller.
If it DOES require a notary, then you have to mail it back to the seller and have him get it notarized. He doesn't have to go to Ohio to do it, any notary will do.
The original taxes are not your responsibility, nor should PA care about them. As long as you show up with a valid title signed over to you and a bill of sale, you should be ok.
Ohio does require a notarized signature.
Just spoke with the seller. He's getting his signature notarized by a KY notary. We'll go that route first. I was under the impression he had to go back to OH to get it notarized.
A notary is a notary. As long as he's the legitimate owner, he can transfer the title regardless where he gets it notarized.