..........have you ever traded cars with a dealership?

Chances are that you have on multiple occasions. I recently traded my Dodge 1500 truck into the local Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep dealership for a Jeep Wrangler X. We made the transaction on December 31, 2007. I did the usual things: drive the car I wanted to buy, let them take a look at my trade-in, sit and make the deal, turn my vehicle over to them, and sign all the necessary paperwork. At this point, we have closed a loan on the truck; and we've opened a new loan account on the jeep. All is well, right? Not so fast! The loan for the truck is in my name. The dealership holds onto the money that was granted for my trade-in (actually a stealing from Peter to pay Paul situation) and doesn't pay off my loan. What the heck? I start getting collection calls from the bank on a truck that I haven't had possession of for almost two months! I call the dealership, and much to my amazement, they haven't paid it off! I give them the benefit of the doubt and asked that it be taken care of immediately. I guess immediately to them is a little different than my interpretation. I've been calling the bank and the dealership in question for a total of two weeks now. After two checks were lost in the mail (ha, ha, ha), we finally were successful in getting a check to the bank today. So, all's well and good, right? Wrong again! Now the bank has sent a bad rating to the credit report people. I muster up my worst attitude possible and call the bank! It doesn't matter. The account was past due, in my name, and the bottom line is all that matters. Now I have to go through a "process" with the credit reporting agencies to get this removed from my report! Once again, "Joe Consumer", following all the rules has to bend over and......well, you get the picture! My advice to all of you BOTEITG readers out there: the next time you trade in a vehicle, ask the following questions: 1) How much is the payoff on the vehicle I'm trading in?; 2) When will you be sending payment to my bank?; 3) Can we make that payoff right now? Give the dealership a specific date that this loan must be paid in full (give the dealership a date that is a week earlier than required). Call the bank and check for yourself to see if payment has been made. If not, start the process then by telling the bank of your situation, and have them put some pressure on the dealership along with some of your own pressure. I wish that I had not been so trusting of others in my situation. Remember, the individual will be the one to take the fall even it you're not to blame!!!!