The Expert Podcast

Welcome again to Car Titles. Today on the channel, we're going to talk about fake titles and how to avoid them, how to get out of a lien on a vehicle, and ways to do that. We're also going to discuss different types of events that can put your vehicle's title at risk. One of the biggest questions we see is: Does getting insurance on a vehicle help you get a title? The fact that you have documented insurance—does that put you any closer to a title?

First, we're going to talk about fake titles. There are a couple of news stories that came out. One is about a person (again, this is all allegedly—innocent until proven guilty and all that) who used an obsolete title to get a new title. This particular person allegedly used a duplicate, obsolete title to obtain a title loan. While that may not apply to you, you can be a victim of title fraud even as a vehicle buyer.

What happened was that a person obtained a duplicate title for a vehicle and then used either that duplicate title or the original title to get a title loan. Then they sold the vehicle using the other title. This is something to watch out for because even if you do everything right and you purchase a vehicle from somebody and they hand you the physical title, there is still a risk that you might lose the vehicle. If the person gave you a prior erased title (meaning the original title) and they got a duplicate, when a duplicate title is issued, the original title becomes void. If they handed you the old title, the new title takes precedent. So when you try to register it, transfer it, or sell it, guess what? That old title is not going to be any good.

So how do you prevent this? If you are buying a vehicle, you might want to take the extra step of verifying that the title you're getting is the most current version. It's an extra step and a pain in the neck, but in this case, the dealer or lender lost out on a lot of money.

Another case is about a person allegedly trying to falsely obtain a vehicle title. Here’s where this comes into play: If you have a vehicle that you're looking to get a title for and you want to look at the various methods, make sure that the way you're getting a title is legitimate. This person used fraudulent documents, and that process was discovered. If you are getting a title, make sure you're not using an incorrect title method, and if somebody's doing it for you, make sure you understand how that title is being obtained. There are many ways to get a title that are legitimate, but they can't be used in every scenario. If you're using the wrong method, sometimes that can come back to haunt you. Many vehicles have titles revoked because the method on their faces seemed correct, but later on, it turned out it wasn’t appropriate.

In this case, the person was charged with two counts of tampering with records and falsification, and the person was arrested. They were trying to get a total-loss vehicle titled after it was repaired. What happened was that they were trying to evade that process and get a clear title for a vehicle that wasn’t even eligible for a title. So make sure the method you're using is correct.

Next is how to get out of a title lien. This is out of the Attorney General's office for Pennsylvania. There were some vehicle loans that were issued that were called predatory, and those loans were reversed. The consumers will get back seven hundred thousand dollars because this company called Auto Equity Loans, which was also a debt cancellation company, was charging unlawful interest charges and had these auto loans that were improper. The case went to the AG, who erased these loans, refunded the money, and took the lien records off the titles at the PennDOT Records Division. It wasn’t the only one—this was $700,000, but they actually did other settlements with other lenders, including Approved Financial Cash Point, totaling $2.2 million and $4.3 million in debt cancellation. They were ripped off by car title lenders. If you have a certain type of loan, you may be able to remove it if it is incorrect. You may be able to remove it just by requesting it. You can see on our website that we have other methods of doing that. Vehicle title loans are very highly regulated at the state and federal levels. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has a lot of rules about how vehicle title loans have to be issued, and if they're done incorrectly, they can be removed from the record.

Next, we're going to talk about insurance. Many times, a client will have purchased a vehicle without a title, and they will buy insurance from their insurance agency. Then they say, "Well, I have insurance, so give me a title" to the DMV. The DMV is going to say, "What are you talking about? Get out of here." In most cases, you can buy insurance on any vehicle without a title—no problem. The insurance company isn't normally going to make you show a title before they sell you insurance. They’ll sell you insurance on anything—they want to take your money for a premium. They don’t care if you’ve already gotten the title transferred or not.

Many times, if you buy a car at a dealership, you just call up your insurance company from the dealership and say, "Add this car to my policy." They don’t need to see the title. If you tell them you want to buy insurance, they’re going to give you insurance and cover you. Having insurance is not evidence of ownership. Insurance companies don’t require it, so it’s easy to buy insurance for a vehicle. But in most cases, that’s not going to get you any closer to a title just by having an insurance policy that you paid for. Anybody can pay for a policy—the agent will take it. You can do it over the phone with Geico or Progressive, and they’re not going to need a copy of your title.

Don’t let having insurance fool you about getting a title or even if you’re buying a car from somebody. A lot of times, a seller on Craigslist, Facebook, or wherever will try to prove they’re the owner by saying, "Look, I have insurance; it’s in my name," and that fools you into giving them money without getting a title. So don’t be fooled—make sure you get a good, legal title document. Or if you’re getting a title on your own, don’t let the insurance certificate distract you from what you really need to do to get a title.
Check out our website, CarTitles.com, or ActualHuman.com for a live consultation.