Received a notice of lien / notice of sale in the mail....should I be worried?

I just received notice that a past boat of mine was towed from a local college and apparently the guy that bought it never put it in his name. They want $388 for me to get it back which I have no interest in doing. I sold it for $50 just to get it out of my friends yard.

I am worried however that this will end up going to collections and affect my credit score. I do have the bill of sale and the transfer of title copy from when I sold it. Any thoughts / suggestions? This is in Florida if that helps at all.

Was there a "release of liability" form that you sent in as part of the transfer? If so, then you shouldn't be liable for the costs. CA does this, I don't know about other states.

I once got a similar notice from the US Customs Dept, notifying me that the Border Patrol had seized my former car at the Mexican border because someone was running drugs in it!

if you don't reply they sell it or junk it. i don't believe it has any effect on anything of yours.

i would make contact though with them to let you know it was sold. I got a notice that my car was impounded 3 months after i sold it. the guy kept getting temp tags on my title signed to him, so when the police looked it up it still showed me as the owner. I almost went to go get it, but figured he blew the engine because it required 5 quarts of oil a week...

Straighten it out with the authorities because it'll end up on your credit report. OR, they'll pull the money out of your income tax refund.

Enyar wrote: I do have the bill of sale and the transfer of title copy from when I sold it.

I would contact the government entity that sent the letter and get it straightened out, since you have documentation it shouldn't be a big deal.

stuart in mn wrote:

Enyar wrote: I do have the bill of sale and the transfer of title copy from when I sold it.

I would contact the government entity that sent the letter and get it straightened out, since you have documentation it shouldn't be a big deal.

This. It's a good thing to CYA. Eventually you'd be found not at fault no matter what, but going to court is lame, unless it's on Felony Friday, then it's REALLY funny.

If it doesn't sell at auction for enough to cover the fines, they can bill you for the rest of it. I'd get it straightened out.

Double post, the connection at my parents house is being flaky.

Called them up and they said they don't go after people for the amount due because it wasn't a police impound? Not exactly convincing and he wouldn't write me a letter stating this.

I'd fax them a copy of the bill of sale and tell them I am not the owner.

Had the cops call me once at around 9:30 PM because a motorcycle I'd once owned had been found on the side of the road with no sign of anyone nearby. Turns out the buyer hadn't registered it. I wasn't sure if they had found it rubber side up or down. But I suspect if it had been rubber side up, they'd have waited until the morning to call. I gave the cops what contact info I could find for the bike's new owner. I hope the kid was all right, but never did find out what happened.