Best Buy (purchase money security interest??) lawyer wants goods or cash

[jostby]

seems we must have signed something when we opened a Best Buy charge acct. We filed ch7 the first of September. Our lawyer received a letter from an attorney representing HSBC Bank saying "our client holds a purchase money security interest in consumer goods". It goes on to "advise us of intention,, 1, reaffirm. 2, lump sum cash redemption. 3, surrender the collateral.

My lawyer asked me if we still had the goods because if not it wouldn't be an issue and he would just let them know and they would probably leave us alone.

Does anyone have any experience dealing with this? Kind of making us nervous. I was out of town so I told him I would research what the purchases were and let him know (2 tv's, 2 laptops, 1 pc all bought between last Thanksgiving and Feb this year)

Thanks,
Jeff

[keepsmiling]

Do a search for Best Buy on the forum and you will see lots of posts about this. They are looking to stiff arm you into paying. They do NOT want your old, used stuff (and yes, it's all old and used by now). No one here has reported paying for or surrendering this stuff.

Ignore them, or tell them they got ruined when the cat peed on them, and they will go away eventually. Do NOT offer to bring the items to them.

[helpmeout]

First, I would make them prove that they have a perfected lien on the property, if not, well, then they are out of luck. If by chance they do have a perfected lien, I would then let them know when a good time would be for them to come and pick up the goods. Personally, I would choose Sunday morning at 9 a.m. as a convenient time for me.

[justbroke]

Store cards have an instant purchase money security interest (PMSI) -- or lien -- upon purchase. I, however, wouldn't tell them when it's convenient. I would just say come and get it. It will be on the front lawn until Wednesday when the "bulk waste" department comes to pick it up.

[ecoastbound]

HSBC attorneys emailed my attorney about 10 days ago regarding items I bought on my Best Buy card a year and a half ago. I told my attorneys legal assistant that we were no longer in possession of the items and she said that was fine, she would let them know, and they can't collect property we don't have. Haven't heard anything else about it.

[keepmine]

Your attorney is correct.
This was likely Bass and Associates. Do a search for them. They'll pester you for awhile butjust ignore them and they'll go bother someone else.

[nceguyfromne]

It seems like the people who get pestered are the ones who "take the bait", so to speak, and speak/negotiate with them. If they know they have you worried then they'll place you on their "call" list and try to wear down your resolve. My attorney got the same letter 3 weeks after I filed. He sarcastically asked me if I still had the stuff, I replied "no", he told me he would send them a letter to that effect and they were never heard from again. No clue if he ever sent a letter or not.

They're just fishing for easy money and that letterhead from a "Law Office" is all it takes to get some people to pay up. I've yet to ever hear of anyone who offered to surrender their actual stuff and got a visit from someone to collect it.

[btbeme]

Lots of posts here about PMSI, Best Buy, and Bass and Asses. A quick search will tell you what I can summarize right here... Tell them (the lien holder, via your attorney) to go whiz up a rope, because you don't have the stuff anymore. End of lesson.

[help1234]

Interesting... I just received a call from Bass & Assoc. about a Best Buy purchase for a laptop from 2009. We were discharged 8/2010. He made it a point to tell me that I owe nothing on the item, but they would like it back or to offer me a settlement amount to keep it. I told him that I no longer had it... it had broken and I had thrown it away. He said he is sending me an affidavit to certify that it is no longer in my possession, to sign and notorize and send back.

[BananaCabana]

Interesting... I just received a call from Bass & Assoc. about a Best Buy purchase for a laptop from 2009. We were discharged 8/2010. He made it a point to tell me that I owe nothing on the item, but they would like it back or to offer me a settlement amount to keep it. I told him that I no longer had it... it had broken and I had thrown it away. He said he is sending me an affidavit to certify that it is no longer in my possession, to sign and notorize and send back.

Out of curiosity, if you have already been discharged, how can they try to get it back or ask for a settlement amount now? What am I missing or don't understand? I assumed that once you are discharged then you are done. Am I wrong?

[help1234]

Good question. We heard NOTHING from them during the BK process... nothing about reaffirming, no letters to the attorney... nothing. And now almost 16 months after discharge I get this call. Maybe they are looking for Christmas money.

[Faust]

We had to pay to keep our tv. Our atty took care of the paperwork.

[help1234]

We had to pay to keep our tv. Our atty took care of the paperwork.

But, was this done during the BK process, or several months after?

[Faust]

During bk.

[nceguyfromne]

Interesting... I just received a call from Bass & Assoc. about a Best Buy purchase for a laptop from 2009. We were discharged 8/2010. He made it a point to tell me that I owe nothing on the item, but they would like it back or to offer me a settlement amount to keep it. I told him that I no longer had it... it had broken and I had thrown it away. He said he is sending me an affidavit to certify that it is no longer in my possession, to sign and notorize and send back.

I would recommend just filing their affidavit in your wastebasket when and if it arrives. If they call you again just tell them you never received it and do the same thing if they send you another one. They will get the hint and give up soon enough. There's probably no harm in signing it but you're best off not making anything "official". There's nothing they can do if you don't sign their paperwork.

By the way, they would not take your item back even if you had it. They were just looking to see how deep you'd dig into your wallet to make them go away.