Reaffirm w/ Ford in VA - Attorney Says NO

[AlmostAmos]

11/29 Update - Happy Monday everyone. I've cooled down since last weekend, mostly because I did NOT have any visitors this weekend looking to take my vehicle & I got to kill something over the weekend (turkey). Nothing like the woods, cold weather & guns to calm a person down!

I did end up talking to my attorney last Weds (late) and he knows that I am not happy about this mess. He told me he will get it worked out & that he knows Ford's attorney "well". So, we'll see what happens there. He told me to get names/numbers of any repo companies that show up. Not sure why.

I called Ford late Weds to try to talk some sense into them. I got some chick named Lawana who was a complete POS w/ an attitude. It seems they all act the same no matter if they are "management" or not. I'm done calling those bozos as they are not interested in working with anyone. One of the turds I dealt with DID say (under her breath) that the repo order had been canceled "because the owner was hostile toward the repo company and the local police were no help". She was reading from her computer I guess. So, I'm hostile.

OH, did I post anything about the tripwires I have set around my property/garage? That happened late in the week also. Let me tell you this - any repo guy who tries to come onto my property is going to leave w/ poopoo in his britches.

-AA

[clevelandmom]

LMAO Mr. Hostile AlmostAmos! GOOD FOR YOU! Fingers crossed that the attorneys' relationship with each other will be able to resolve this quickly. But still, it pisses me off that it takes POLITICS to fix something that should be the LAW. Bastards. All of them. I hope the Ford Turd gets fired, finds a low-paying job at the repo company, and as their "initiation" into the company has to go to your house to try and repo the car again. . . via tripwires. . .

[oregonpilot]

OR has their own car repo'd

[AlmostAmos]

12/1/10 Update - There is no update... It has been 10 days since the repo dudes showed up @ my place and the attorney has nothing to report, still. I called/emailed several times yesterday & was told Ford's attorneys have NOT called my attorney back. So, there is nothing to report on that front. Our car is still sitting in the garage, not being driven. We just paid our Dec payment a few days ago so it is now paid up through the first week of January! Will that hold off Ford, no way!

I guess this is turning into my complaint log about my attorney & Ford. Hopefully I'll have an UPDATE in the near future as this is driving me absolutely nuts. I'm going to compose an email to my, worthless (?), attorney right now.

[researchnerd]

Wow...I am so sorry you are going through this. I've been reading this thread with interest because it could easily have been us. BOA tried to repo DH's vehicle before our discharge, so the Automatic Stay was still in effect. Luckily the repo agents called ahead of time and were not middle-of-the-night terrorists like yours, or they probably would have been shot -- we live in a very rural area (in a Castle doctrine state) and people here tend to shoot first and ask questions later. DH asked the repo agent for 24 hours, and a quick call to from our attorney to BOA fixed it.

If I were in your situation I'd be incredibly pissed off -- primarily at your attorney, but also at the repo thugs. I don't understand why they think they have to operate that way. Maybe it works on some people, but it seems like a huge risk for them to take, especially if repo is voluntary in your area and the police have your back.

Love the tripwire idea! Your situation truly sucks, but I can't wait to see what happens next.

[AlmostAmos]

Researchnerd - Thanks for the interest in my situation & comments. Believe me, I know what the castle doctrine is & am a gun toting militia member according to Dear Leader & his cronies...

I sent another email to my attorney this morning & haven't heard from him since. Honestly, at this point, I feel that I am going to have to get another attorney. Is it possible to sue an attorney for something like this? I have emails about this very topic where he, obviously, told me incorrect information. This is going to end up costing me $ if (when) I have to get a new vehicle.

-AA

[BROKEDED]

AlmostAmos - Have you considered visiting your state attorney generals website and filing a complaint? You never know, what with the economy being bad these offices are on a little higher alert for companies (your attorney, and FMC) taking advantage of consumers right now.

Depending on your strategy, you may want to warn your attorney and FMC before hand or after the fact of filing the complaint.

[AlmostAmos]

No, I haven't thought about contacting the state AG. But, that is definitely something that I will be ok with doing. I'm giving my attorney through this week until he is fired & I'll move on w/o him. I called one attorney who said they would gladly sit down with me & give me a free consultation re: this mess. I don't think my current attorney knows what to do now. He advised me wrong & is unsure of what he can do at this point.

-AA

[BROKEDED]

I filed a complaint with my states Commissioner of Banks and they fired a letter off within a week of my complaint. My servicer had my mod application for 3 months and then conveniently misplaced it a few weeks before my sale date. After the letter, my file was strapped to a rocket and what I was told was a minimum of two months to get done was done in less than a week. I'm thinking your attorney should either work for you until this is fixed on his dime OR offer you a significant refund for his screw up that you can use towards a different attorney.

If he is unwilling to compromise with his services then I would consider filing a complaint to the state bar for his failure to safeguard his client's (your) property, especially after repeatedly being asked to perform a simple service on your behalf, according to you. I don't mean this as an insult to any attorney's on this board and don't mean this as a generalization but I learned along time ago that there are idiots in every profession. Growing up I use to have great respect for the professions that kids were taught took great smarts and lots of schooling...and made lots of money....but as I grew older I realized that the percentage of idiots remains the same no matter what profession they're in. It's a real kick in the teeth when you find out you got the short end of the stick at $300 per hour. I think it's even worse when the idiot has an ego.

Without going back through this thread to see if you answered this, do you have a backup plan in case this can't get resolved? Do you have equity in the vehicle? If so, could you possibly take it to Carmax and sell it or trade it or at least get a value for it from them and trade it at another dealership with something that can hold your family. Until you get this legally resolved I can't imagine you would feel safe driving the vehicle anywhere which makes it completely useless to you. If you have equity in it you should at least try to sell it and get your money out of it to keep from giving that to FMC if things don't work out.

Good luck to you! I hope you get this resolved soon.

[AlmostAmos]

DONE - FORD WINS / AlmostAmos WINS

12/6/10 Update - BIG NEWS, Get a drink and prepare for a read.

This past Friday started off pretty pitiful. My attorney called to tell me that he FINALLY had a conversation with the attorney who represented Ford (locally) during our BK. Their attorney told mine that he was NO LONGER working for Ford as they had paid him for debt recovery services during the BK ONLY. So, my attorney explains this to me & tells me that he needs a name/number/etc. of the person/people @ Ford who are responsible for the repo & that he is throwing in the towel until he gets names from me. I told him that Ford told me they were going to put off the repo & let their legal dept handle it (ie sue me). He said "That would be great, because then I would have somebody to fight instead of this ghost @ Ford who is trying to repo your car". I kind of agreed with what he had to say actually.

So, I got off the phone w/ him & told my wife the news. She was PO'd as this was her birthday & the car in question is hers. She thought it was over @ this point. Me, I felt motivated to go for blood.

I spent the next 30 minutes trying to get somebody on the phone @ Ford who would 1) listen to me or 2) give me the name/number of somebody who could actually talk with me about my case and/or have the authority to talk with my attorney. It was a worthless attempt, they kept forwarding me around the phone tree. I left a few voicemails but that is it...

I sat there, pondering life & wondering what I should do next. I was thinking that my attorney wasn't going to be much help from here forward, it was time for me to take matters into my own hands. I spent he next 2 HOURS researching the corporate structure of Ford Motor Credit and Ford. I gathered the names/positions of the entire leadership of the companies - VPs, Sr VPs, President, CEO & Board Members. You know where I'm going with this, huh? Then, I spent a TON of time Googling these various people & creating email lists/phone numbers for this list of people.

Then, came time to compose an email to the list of my potential saviors/allies. I wrote a brief email, only 7 or 8 paragraphs. I first apologized for contacting them direct as I am aware they are extremely busy people. Then, I gave them a brief, but detailed (executives!), summary of my problem. Lastly, I gave them my opinion on the mess and explained to them why it was in both of our (mine/Ford) best interests to allow me to keep this vehicle and continue paying for it. I signed it w/ my name/account number/telephone number.

I was sitting there thinking, geez, what a waste of time. Like this is actually going to do anything. I know how large companies work. Ugh. Well, always swinging for the fence, I pushed on. I customized the email for each person & HIT SEND!

I shutdown my computer and headed off to get a Christmas tree w/ my wife & kids. Screw the stresses of bankrutpcy, reaffirmations, attorneys, etc. We were gone for several hours & I never thought about it once!

After we returned home, I was getting all of my "stuff" out of the car & pulled my cell phone from the console in the car (didn't have it in my pocket while cutting a tree down). Hit a button & saw "1 Missed Call / 1 New Voicemail". Huh, must have called while I was making merry... I didn't recognize the number but decided to listen to/delete the voicemail as it was probably something stupid like a life insurance company or something. "Hello, this message is for Robert Meredith. This is IMA ANGEL with Ford Motor Credit. Please call me at your earliest convience as I would like to discuss your account with you. My number is <beeeeeeeeep> (voicemail got cut off before she could say her entire number)". UGH UGH UGH. Oh well, I figured it was somebody from the BK Legal Dept who was going to threaten me with a lawsuit. I deleted the voicemail and decided to get the Christmas tree setup - it was 5:30pm afterall!

I was in the garage getting my saw when I heard the phone ringing again, my wife answered it & told the person to hold on. She handed the phone to me & I thought, great - now I get to handle this crap.

The person on the other end introduced herself & began telling me that she received a call and a forwarded email about my Ford account. I said "Hold on a second, where did you hear about this". I figured she was returning one of the voicemails I left @ the Ford BK department. She proceeds to tell me that she is calling because of the email I sent to Mr. Mulally (the President & CEO of Ford ). She says "When Mr. Mulally receives and email about something like this he takes it seriously." At this point, I am totally blown away that my email was actually read! So, to make a long conversation SHORT:

1) When you email the President & CEO, board members, member of the Ford family, etc., things are going to happen.
2) The executives @ Ford ARE concerned about things like this.
3) Things happen at large companies that do not make sense but sometimes it just takes 1 person bringing it to the right person's attention to make things happen.
4) WE GET TO KEEP OUR CAR (providing we continue paying for it of course).

Yep, there you have it. Our problems with the reaffirmation, or lack thereof, are OVER. The executives at Ford really helped me out with this one. I had a NICE conversation with a really important person at Ford & have a totally different opinion of them now. Corporate policies are instituted for a reason but they sometimes have to change for reasons that "just make sense". And, get this - BEFORE this person called me, she had ALREADY called my attorney to explain to him what I had done & what they were going to do for me. She explained to my attorney how they (Ford) work & what he could do in the future to protect his clients interests... She knew he was a bozo when it came to how he handled this. As of 9:30am, 3 days after the call, he has STILL not called me to THANK ME for fixing this FOR HIM! Since Friday, I have received several emails from Ford executives telling me "Thanks for contacting me about this, I have been advised this issue is resolved" - or similar. Talk about cool.

AlmostAmos' OFFICIAL Ford Recommendation. Buy from this company. They make a great product and have an executive leadership that is interested in delivering a great product to consumers AND helping them when they get in a bind. No, they probably won't warranty your blown engine when your car is 2 years out of warranty with 200k miles on it. AND - They are not living off of government handouts. As a tax payer (and BK filer) - that should impress you!

AlmostAmos' Advice for BKForum Readers/Members. If you think you know more about BK than your attorney does - you probably do. Although they have experience with the courts and the process - information/rules DO change over time and you may be more up-to-date than your attorney is. Clearly, my attorney did NOT know the best way to handle this situation, even if the local BK court does not agree. If you don't receive the answer you are looking for, keep looking. Go to the top and do NOT give up until you win. Somewhere along the line, you will find somebody who listens to you. Lastly, sometimes you need to do things for yourself. Ultimately, you are the only person who has your interests on your mind @ all times.

Whew, I'm out of breath. But, I have my car, my wife had a great birthday & my Christmas tree turned out beautiful! Merry Christmas!

-AA

[Pandora]

glad to hear it all worked out AA - however.... did you request for something in writing to the effect of what was said? Email alone, while nice - to me isnt enough - I want it signed, sealed and delivered. I wouldnt trust anything unless I had it in writing from Ford. Stranger things have happened.

[BROKEDED]

Awesome ending. Good save! (Christmas card to attorney - Merry Christmas...Thanks for NOTHING!)

[clevelandmom]

FAN-FRICKING-TASTIC!! I like Brokeded's Christmas card idea! LOL So glad it worked out for you. I think after all my research here I'd still be better off to just get into a different car with lower car payments. I'd love it to be a Ford though. Maybe my thoughts about them won't be as tarnished now.
Looking forward to the CNN Headline about how Ford is changing their repo policies with BK customers. Thanks for all the hard work Amos! Merry Christmas!

[researchnerd]

Wow, great work! I love happy endings. Congrats!

[mommi2many]

That is so cool! I'm really glad things worked out for you. You have showed us all another route to retain and pay. Way to go! I have always believed in the power of a letter. I'm glad your wife's birthday got so much better. She deserved it after all that you two have been through lately with Ford.