Legal Question in Business Law in New Mexico

I bought a car about a month ago. When i bought this car, the deal was that i was going to get an aditional $6,500 back in a form of a check. The dealership told me that i needed to bring in $1,000 for a down payment. I borrowed the money from a friend, and took it in to the dealership, with the intent of paying him back when i got the $6,500 check back. I got a reciept from the manager with my name on it. When it came time to give me the check, they only wrote it out for $5,500. When i asked why i was only given that much, they told me that the friend i borrowed the money from owed them $1,000 and they were going to keep that thousand from my deal to pay off his debt. My friend is nowhere on my contract and i dont understand why they took the money that was owed to me to pay off his debt. Is that legal, can they do that?


Asked on 11/10/10, 1:37 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Charles Aspinwall Charles S. Aspinwall, J.D., LLC

No, it is not legal for them to do that. Your case is a prime one for small claims court. That's Magistrate Court in most counties, Metropolitan Court in Bernalillo County. They will provide the forms and instructions, but will not provide legal advice. When you have filed suit and had it served the judge will set a hearing date and you can present your case.

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Answered on 11/17/10, 12:07 pm


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