I’m in Texas. My dad is really upset about how the car dealership handled this transaction. My mom went to the dealership to look at buying a car and trading in our old one. That same night, my mom came home with a new car, and the loan was $10,000 more than my dad was ready to pay. She signed a Power of Attorney (PoA) for my dad without him knowing. They also got a copy of his driver’s license for the PoA. The signature line on the PoA document has my mom’s name but no signature from my dad.
Does my dad have any way to get the loan canceled?
A Power of Attorney (PoA) can’t just be signed by one person for someone else. That would be considered fraud, and it’s illegal everywhere I know of. Are you sure this is what happened?
Often, car dealerships ask for a PoA so they can prepare the paperwork for the buyer, which is legal as long as it’s signed by the buyer themselves.
A PoA without a signature isn’t valid anywhere, though.
@Lyric
The PoA was for the trade-in title. My mom says she didn’t realize that’s what she was signing. The finance manager had her sign the tablet digitally, telling her to just click through the boxes until the digital signature part. I’m not really involved, but that’s what the documents looked like. The dealership tricked her into signing the PoA without her understanding.
@Beck
That’s illegal. A PoA has to be signed by the person it’s for. Since your dad didn’t sign it, it shouldn’t count. The car should be returned, and any payments made should be refunded.
Shai said: @Beck
That’s illegal. A PoA has to be signed by the person it’s for. Since your dad didn’t sign it, it shouldn’t count. The car should be returned, and any payments made should be refunded.
If the PoA was just for the title of the trade-in, it might only need one signature (either mom or dad). If that’s the case, the paperwork could be fine legally.
Shai said: @Beck
That’s illegal. A PoA has to be signed by the person it’s for. Since your dad didn’t sign it, it shouldn’t count. The car should be returned, and any payments made should be refunded.
@Beck
One thing to keep in mind: your mom needs to be more careful about signing things without fully understanding them. Just signing when told to is not a good excuse.
Uma said: @Beck
One thing to keep in mind: your mom needs to be more careful about signing things without fully understanding them. Just signing when told to is not a good excuse.
Yeah, she’s getting older and seems to be losing her touch.
@Beck
Sorry to hear that. I went through something similar with my grandparents. It’s tough trying to protect them while letting them maintain their independence.
Uma said: @Beck
Sorry to hear that. I went through something similar with my grandparents. It’s tough trying to protect them while letting them maintain their independence.
We’re not too far into it yet, so she’s usually okay on her own.
@Beck
Often, car titles for married couples are marked as ‘OR’ instead of ‘AND.’ If it was marked as ‘OR,’ then either one of them can sign over the title. If it was ‘AND,’ both would need to sign. If your mom signed for your dad, that would be considered fraud.
@Lyric
Even if the dealership ignored ‘AND’ in the title, the DMV would probably just reject the paperwork. Even shady dealers know that would cause too many problems.
@Beck
If the dealership used the PoA to put the loan in your dad’s name without his knowledge, that sounds illegal.
However, if the car title was in both of their names, and it was marked ‘OR,’ then your mom could sign over the title alone. The PoA would only be used to submit paperwork to transfer the title. The real issue is that your parents weren’t on the same page about buying the car, and now your dad wants to cancel it.
A PoA has to be agreed upon by the person it’s made for. If your dad didn’t know about it, the transaction could be canceled because it didn’t happen with his consent.
It’s not clear from the original post how your mom bought the car or if she’s on the loan. If your mom is on the loan, paid a deposit, and now holds the title, it’s unclear what the PoA was used for and why it was needed. Was the loan in your dad’s name only, with your mom using the PoA to apply for the loan for him? That would be fraud, and your mom would be complicit. A PoA is only valid with the consent and signature of the person it’s for.
If your mom put your dad’s personal information on the loan application without his consent, that could be considered fraud. But if the PoA was only for signing the loan, then it’s illegal.
I think the key question is whether they really needed the PoA to do anything. It could be that they just planned ahead in case it was needed, but since it wasn’t signed by your dad, it shouldn’t have been used.
Were both your mom and dad’s names on the old car title? Was it ‘Mom AND Dad’ or ‘Mom OR Dad’?
If it was ‘AND’ and they forged your dad’s signature, that’s definitely illegal.