Warning - DOCUMENT YOUR BOAT! and request for advice

[SeattleSailNPow]

Originally Posted by FlyMeAway

I'm curious -- how was this resolved?

I'm out $10k and MANY hours, the perp walks around like nothing happened, the DOL goes on with "business as usual". I have my boat back, with a few missing items and unknown damage.

I wonder how many boats have gone off to mexico this way. The atty told me it probably wasn't worth pursuing and I should probably just give the guy my boat and all my possessions. This system is seriously sick. I think the bankers and creditors and repo guys have totally corrupted the system. It would be SOOO easy to force repo guys to put up a bond or have their docs reviewed or show that there was some notice to the owner - but, naaa, DOL just hands it over and assumes the thief is honest.

[Richard_W]

Originally Posted by SeattleSailNPow

I called and called and emailed images of the documents and on and on and they just gave me the facepalm and said, sorry, it's a civil issue and you have to get a lien release from the perp to get your boat back.

This is sick ... maybe it's a civil issue to go after them too. I do not know who regulates the lien process and DOL, probably the state laws. Why don't you write a nice short summary and send it out to your so called representatives, and to all local media.

Glad it is over ... and you have your health and your boat back!

[Lake-Effect]

Assuming you now have a civil judgement in your favour, that bolsters the likelihood of fraud. Have the local police taken up the fraud investigation? Fraud is criminal, innit?

[FlyMeAway]

Have you spoken to the DA? Satterberg is supposedly a good guy and well respected in the legal community. His Economic Crimes unit might be seriously interested in taking this case; it's bread-and-butter for them...

Here's their contact info. Strongly suggest a phone call:

Criminal Division Overview

Too bad this isn't a jurisdiction where I actually know a few of the lawyers in the DA's office; would love to help out here!

[mischief]

Well I'm glad this is all over.

Something like this happened to me but in a much smaller scale.
I was rooming with a mate after a bad breakup and stored my Gsxr 1100 Motorcycle there. I then moved but as I was still good friends with my mate and I had no room at my new place I kept my bike there. A few months passed and my mate went off the rails and disappeared leaving his residence with unpaid rent. So the landlord confiscated my bike.
I approached the landlord after I learned my friend disappeared and he had my bike. I showed him all the documents and asked for my motorcycle back. He said no he was keeping it. We went around a bit but he refused to care that I had nothing to do with the place was not on any lease (he didn't even know I crashed there for a short while).
So I went to the police I mean he's essentially stoled my motorcycle right! Wrong when I tried reporting it stolen they went to his place and after he explained hime self the police said I would have to take him to court and the burden of proof was on me etc.
I contacted legal service and they explained the process and saying I'm better off just walking away.
This was in Ab Canada BTW.

Well I fought fire with fire and figured if the law was on the side of unscrupulous deeds then that's what he would get.

I took all my paper work with me and went to the landlords house where he was holding my bike in his garage. I went in the yard opened the garage a pulled my bike out. If he would have called the police I would have kept my words to a minimum and showed I was the owner. There's no way the police could have reached me by the time I would have had my bike on the street. Then what? My word against his and no apparent crime he could only say I broke in but if they searched me I only had my possessions and so nothing is stolen. The burden would then shift back to the landlord.
At any rate I took my bike back and never heard from him again and no police came knocking.

So if I was in the other situation I may have very well made my own lease release paper and went and got my rego back and put the burden back on the crook. Meanwhile transfer the rego or something into someone else's name or to another state. I'm. It sure how it works there. But that's the way I roll when I have to.
Just ask my pshyco first wife that tried to have me framed for abuse lucidly the cop saw her hit herself and trying to bruise herself while making a statement and could tell it was a set up. Later she tried to clean me out with legal fees. Instead I refused to hire a Lawyer and did as much as I could on my own. Only when everything looked right did I get a lawyer involved. Her costs trying to screw me around would have been well over 10k in the end when I thought we were done she fired her lawyer and tried to start over thinking she would have me in fees this time around. Instead I went bush for 2 years and when the legal length of sellers thin was sufficient without reconciliation I finished the divorce one sided.
I should mention this was after I gave her everything in the beginning house car everything just so I could make a clean break.

Ah so glad that part of my life is over. Anyway the point being is sometimes you have to take advantage of the system when the system is letting you down. I'm not saying be a bad person I'm just saying when you are getting screwed over because that's the way the system is sometimes using the systems weakness for justice may work YMMV.

Okay I hope I don't get flamed.