Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

I am owed money

I let a ''friend'' use my credit card as collateral to rent a car. After 2 weeks he obtained his own credit card and told me that I was taken off of the account. At completion of his rental period (about 2 months) I found that the rental company charged me $450. The charge happened near the end of the rental. He had been paying with checks, and they claim that this was additional money that he owed them and since he did not pay they charged me. This friend is no longer a friend, and I cannot get him to straighten out the mess. He claims they are wrong and has obtained copies of his cancelled checks but simply won't work the situation out. I am in the middle, don't know who to believe, and want to know if I have a chance with either of them in court to get my money back. I had no other involvement with the rental of this car, only to help him get it. Thank you very much. -CK


Asked on 7/14/03, 6:41 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Jason Hsu Una Law Corporation

Re: I am owed money

When you allowed your friend to use your credit card as collateral you took on a risk that there may be charges if your "friend" shortfalled in payments.

There is always the possibility of reimbursment from your friend as you did not specifically authorize charges, but your allowing your friend to use the card as collateral in of itself suggests you assumed a risk. If anything, you may have a case against your friend depending on the promises your friend may or may not have made with you.

The information provided to you is of a general nature. We hope this information has been helpful to you, but you should always obtain competent legal counsel who is familiar with your specific legal issues to determine the best course of action. If we can help you in the future with anything, please feel free to email or contact us at www.unalaw.com

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Answered on 7/15/03, 2:30 pm
Joseph Richardson Borton Petrini LLP

Re: I am owed money

Doesn't matter who you believe. The friend owes you. If you can't resolve it informally, take him to small claims court. Leave it to the friend to get the rental car people involved if he needs to. That's not your problem.

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Answered on 7/17/03, 10:45 pm


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