This is almost too embarrassing to ask about, but here it goes. My company received a payoff for a vehicle loan from an escrow company. The escrow company used the wrong account # as a reference, and we posted the payoff to the wrong account. The customer for that account then called to make her regular monthly payment. Our intrepid Customer Service person refused to take the payment, saying the account was paid off. Upon hearing this news, the customer then put pressure on our Title Dept to release title, which they did.

A few days later, the escrow company notified us of the error, and we reversed the payoff out of the wrong account and posted it correctly. Now the cusotmer on the wrong account has her title and refuses to pay. This is in Idaho. We tried to use the DMV to fix things, but the customer disputed our claim and refuses to give the title back. Furthermore, she claims that according to "Fair Credit Law," once a creditor refuses to take a payment, they are in effect bringing the account down to a zero balance, regarless of whether it is an error or not.

I am wondering if there is such a law, and how some of you might handle this situation. Thanks.

Best advice I can give is to consult an attorney - of course this kind of customer really pisses me off, and if it were me, I would probably repossess that car today.

Unfortunately, this has happened several times to us. Some of these people actually believe they don't still owe the money. There is a section of the law that relates to "unjust enrichment" in that since there was nothing equitable given by the customer in exchange for the title and, in fact, it was a simple clerical error, the customer cannot profit from that. I usually check the courthouse to see if our lien is still noted on the title. If it is, I order a duplicate title to essentially render theirs void. If they did rush in to get the lien released, I would send a certified letter to the customer formally requesting the return of the title and give them 10 calendar days to reply. Failing that, I would send a Right to Cure (assuming that they are past due and have not yet been cured). When that expired, and they still refused to comply, I'd file suit. 25 years of collection experience and still, the absolute gall of these kind of people never ceases to amaze me!