FLA: live in girlfriend ran off with car, can it be recovered? Repossession Law Florida ?
LA: live in girlfriend ran off with car, can it be recovered?
Repossession Law Florida ?
I really don't know the answer to this one and no friends or family can
really help either. Since I love Usenet so much and have used it for the
past 20 years, then perhaps Usenet could help me when I need it the most,
by finding people that are educated in legal matters to seek their opinions
and advice. I don't even know if this is the right newsgroup for this
question but it might be, here goes.
I live in Florida and had a live in girlfriend of 5 years. We had planned
to marry and have kids (Her idea, music to my ears.). I work hard and pay
the mortgage, she worked in a grocery store and gave her paycheck every
week to pay the bills. Both of our paychecks got used up every month for
the bills. After 5 years and with no warning, she takes the one and only
car that we have, a ten thousand dollar Honda Civic and drives away to
never return. I find out that she has run off to become gay, apparently she
met someone at work who is gay and the girlfriend had gay friends and she
is convinced this is the life for her. Whatever.
I finally catch up with her two days later when she returns to work at her
job in a supermarket. I ask what happened and got "I need space to find my
identity", etc. Whatever. So you took the car and you have to return it.
She refuses. She did not pay for this car, it was financed and she did use
her paycheck to pay all bills but our payments were minimal and I had the
loan paid off by refinancing my home. So I, in other words, own this car
and have to pay for it. She refuses to return the car for real and the car
is insured so I call the cops to report the car stolen, what else can I do?
The car is really gone now. The cops tell me that it is a domestic issue
because she had use of the car at the time it disappeared and that they
cannot consider the car stolen. The girl never came back and will never
come back so at what point is this car really stolen or can be reported as
such for insurance? The cops say to file a civil lawsuit and it takes
forever, maybe 6 months to a year, and let a judge settle it. She may not
even be here in 6 months! It seems that possession in this case is 100% of
the law.
The car is in my name and I hold title for it. She has hidden the car and
does not take it to work at her job. If I knew where the car was, I would
drive it away and change the locks or sell it and get a different car. I
have no car now and cannot afford to replace it.
I asked this girl what she plans to do with this car, she has no title for
it, cannot sell it, and can not legally drive it when my registration runs
out in January. She says to just "give it to her". Oh for Pete's sake! So I
tell her that I cannot do this as I have to pay for it and cannot afford to
replace it. She says well what about me, I have no car (She is the one that
chose to leave without saying anything, had she told me this, we could have
worked it out or gotten her a car or something.), she says she paid for it
too. Well, not really, her paychecks and mine all went to bills and her
paychecks are quite a bit smaller than mine are and the household bills are
quite high; there is the mortgage on a two bedroom house with central air,
laundry room, dishwasher, yard and sprinklers, broadband Internet, phone
bill with 2 cell phones, etc., electric bill, gasoline, car insurance,
water bill, grocery shopping. We really did not pay much on this car with
the original financing of $75 a week, had the house refinanced after just a
couple of months to pay it off, the mortgage is mine.
I offer her $1,000 to bring back the car, take her clothes, take the
computer that she loves so much, and be done with it. She has to talk to
"her adviser" first. This girl is very pretty but dumb as a post, she
apparently has someone, maybe her new "girlfriend" giving her advice and it
is all "man hating kill the guy" advice. I took this girl in with the
clothes on her back (literally) and provided a home, got her a driver's
license, got her a good job with full benefits at the grocery store chain
that she likes, provided food, shelter, affection, all amenities including
broadband Internet with home LAN (That is what started all of this, a few
years ago. She found a circle of friends that were all supportive and
openly gay and confided in them and cyber romanced a few of them as I found
out.), cell phones, and the whole bit. She offered marriage and children on
her own, that is why she stayed with me. She is very much younger than I
am.
So she returns after talking to her advisor and refuses the offer and ends
up after days of negotiating, wants the car title free and clear, all of
her stuff that she left behind (Clothes, personal effects, computer.), and
then wants back every bit of money that she paid for bills etc., for the
past 5 years! Says she won't pay my mortgage (Fine, then she has to pay
rent, she does not want to hear it.) and demands back all of "her money".
Christ, what the hell now?!
I walked out of the store where she works and told her that negotiations
with her were futile and that I give up. Every day the demands become more
extreme. She still wants her stuff back and became very upset and angry
when I refused to give them to her if she did not give back the car. It is
like the car issue does not exist to her, it is hers and that is that, or
is a separate issue, just give me all of my stuff.
Anyway, I really don't know Florida law. Can she really do this? I know
that there is such a thing as common law marriage but isn't that 7 years?
She has not mentioned "common law marriage" but with the help of her
friend, they are acting like the "divorce lawyers from hell". Can I recover
the vehicle somehow? How does one locate a missing vehicle as a private
individual. All repossession companies that I called only work for banks or
finance companies. I do not have a vehicle to try and tail her myself, that
is why I am trying to get the car back, she would recognize me, and I am
not exactly the "James Bond" type. I tried to call a private investigator
to tail her when she leaves work to find out where she goes and then see if
they can locate the missing vehicle. The PI guy wants a minimum of $1,500
and told me to get a repo guy. Yeah, good luck with that. The car may not
even be stashed where she is staying, maybe the hid it somewhere else. How
come on TV the PI is such a useful and helpful guy that tails the
unfaithful spouse and gets the incriminating photos to seal the divorce? In
real life, can't they even locate a missing vehicle for a reasonable and
fair price?
So I am really stuck now guys, what do I do next? I have to pay for this
car on my mortgage, I have to pay full coverage insurance on this car and
it is expensive, especially for a car that you do not have. The cops won't
go get the car, I cannot report it stolen without a police report, and this
dame is trying to demand not only the car title, but thousands of dollars
for what she paid to live at the home, we both paid a lot, that kind of
home is not cheap.
I am not a rich man, I have a modest skilled labor job and live paycheck to
paycheck as the bills on the home almost equal what I make for a living.
This girl and her friend are acting like they are on the show "Dallas" or
and are trying to divorce J.R. Ewing and crush the guy and take him for all
he's got and more. Scary man. I have been nothing but good to this girl but
her gay friend or whoever is helping her, really is out to get me or all
men, and for what reason?
Also, now I have a vehicle with my plates, registration, and insurance on
it, out and in the free world, out of my control. What if something happens
like a hit and run, what would happen? How does one not be responsible for
something like this when they own the car and hold registration yet do not
posess the actual vehicle?
Somebody please help, it has been 8 days and I don't know what to do, I am
a bit frightened by all of this and need advice quick.
- File an insurance claim. The company may think that there must be a police
report, and they may be right, but that doesn't stop you from filing the
claim. The claim, whether they like it or not, sets up the possibility of
collection. Might n