Couple fighting back after credit union repossesses paid-off vehicle


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STATELINE, Nev. — A Nevada couple is battling against Mountain America Credit Union. They say the credit union wrongly repossessed their truck, even though they didn't owe anyone a dime.

It was an unwelcome site for Dorothy Dean. "We got up yesterday (Thursday) morning and Bob, my husband, said, ‘The truck has been stolen."

They later found out the truck was repossessed by Mountain America Credit Union, which was especially concerning since they paid for the $35,000 truck in full.

Dorothy says they got no warning from Mountain America, and their Christmas presents were inside the truck when it happened.


The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles Criminal Investigations Unit informed us that, for all practical purposes, the truck was stolen by the credit union." -Dorothy Dean, truck owner

"The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles Criminal Investigations Unit informed us that, for all practical purposes, the truck was stolen by the credit union — because we have a bill of sale, we have a cancelled check, and we have been registering the truck in our name and insuring it in our name for the last year," Dorothy said.

The couple was able to get the presents and the rest of their personal possessions out later.

The Deans bought the truck from Allison Automotive Group in Reno. Dorothy said the company went out of business shortly after they made their purchase.

The company's listed phone number now leads callers to what sounds like a busy signal, and its website appears to be shut down.

Both the Deans and Mountain America Credit Union feel Allison Automotive is in the wrong, but the Deans feel it's also wrong for the credit union to come after them since they didn't break any rules.

"Their dispute is with Allison Automotive Group, not with us," Dorthy said.

Still, officials with Mountain America Credit Union say Allison Automotive wasn't legally allowed to sell the truck in the first place. They were forced to either take the truck back or stiff their own members out of money.

Mountain America CEO Sterling Nielsen said that is a lose-lose situation that they wish never happened. "It just makes you sick to see and watch these cases go through," he said.

The credit union is not allowed to divulge details of this specific case, but Nielsen says there are cases where a dealer will get the title to a vehicle while they still owe money on it.

MACU Chief Operating Officer Nathan Anderson said the dealer can't legally sell the car until they pay off any liens against it, but consumers can look at the title to see if there are any lien holders.

"If they're purchasing it from a dealership or from an individual, and [see] the individual's name there, and there is no lien holder listed, they should be good to go, usually," Anderson said.

Email: pnelson@ksl.com

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