I have an odd issue here, and I’m actually trying to resolve it for the person I sold my bike to, who happens to be a member here.
So to start, flashback to 4 years ago when I bought my '03 CBR600rr. The owner had a lien on it from GE Money Bank. I bought it and then he moved immediately after to Texas and paid off the loan. He mailed me the lien release, but it was only a copy. This is where I messed up…
At the time I thought having a copy of the lien release was fine for having the lien removed. I was very wrong. So I just kept that copy, went on with my life and when it came time to sell the bike I gave the new owner that release to take to the DMV. Well, obviously he wasn’t able to have the DMV lift the lien and came back to me. It had been 3 years since I last talked to the previous owner. Didn’t have a phone number for him anymore or knew an address, or anything. I called UB and had them re-activate my e-mail so that I could go back and pull up the e-mails we exchaged. E-mailed that address, no response.
I also called GE Money Bank and the CS dudebro said that the only way to request an original was to have the person who was on file for the loan request it and that I was SOL.
So to recap
-Only have a copy of the lien release
-DMV lady-girl says it’s no good
-GE Money dudebro says original owner needs to request original
-middle owner (me) feels terrible about all of this. I wouldn’t have sold it until I sorted this out, had I known.
-New owner is being understanding about it, which is cool.
So what I need is a way to get rid of this lien for the new owner without being able to contact the original owner.
Talk to someone at the bank who isnt an idiot.
I went thru it with travis’s old civic.
I had to call the bank, fax them a front and back of the title and something else.
They mailed me a lien release in less than 2 weeks, and it was a bank like fleet or something that had been sold already and had new owners.
Word if the title is in-fact free and clear just annoy the bank on the title to send over a new lein release. It’s not like there’s any money stuck on this bike… you should be alright.
just leave the lien. there is nothing wrong with having a lien on the title, especially if you know for a fact its paid off. The bank cant come get the bike if there is no money owed and you can register it just fine as is.
Idiot at the bank. I’ve gotten official copies or new lein releases for vehicles that I bought due to the prior owner just having a copy. The Bank will write you out a new one or give you an official copy of the release. Just talk with a manager if the cs moron won’t do it.
Yeah, I have called and gotten lein Releases before. i think I once was told by a bank that it would be $20 for them to send a new official one to me, but that wasn’t an issue. They wanted their name off the title as much as I did.
Leaving the lien isn’t an issue till you smash it up and try to collect insurance, the insurance writes the check to the bank… and that is realllly annoying… but ya keep annoying the bank they will give it to you eventually