SOLVING THE POA MYSTERY

There was a big question asked about HSMV 82995

Secure P.O.A. at the FIADA’s Annual Convention and no one was sure how to answer it...until now.

By Terry Myers

e all love solving a mystery. PART ‘B’ of the Secure P.O.A. HSMV 82995 can be a mystery until the solution is revealed. Let us try and do that here.

Indicia, ‘Proof,’ must be in the Deal Jacket before the dealer may offer the vehicle for sale. Until that Indicia/Proof arrives, there needs to be a NOT FOR SALE sign on that vehicle if it is in an area where the customer is allowed. Otherwise, the dealer needs to set that vehicle apart in a no customer allowed area. Your Compliance Officer is able to better guide you, if needed.

If it were me, and the vehicle was accessible to the customer, I would place a sign that says NOT FOR SALE, Ask Me

About our Deposit Policy. (You may want to refer to a past article about deposits.)

The HSMV 82995, Secure P.O.A. may only be used on vehicles that are less that 20-calendar years old and 2011 or newer. The document is used when the customer is here on the lot, the vehicle is here on the lot but the title is missing.

Two reasons the title might be missing? One, it is a paper title and it is lost. Note: you cannot lose an electronic title. The Secure P.O.A. may be used in this case to order a ‘Duplicate Title’ to work from. The second reason, there is a Lien Holder in control of the title until the lien is satisfied. Florida Statutes 319.24(5) (a) requires the dealer to arrange to satisfy the lien within ten business days. (b) requires the lien holder to release the lien within ten business days of ‘cashing the check’, (accepting payment). Unfortunately, not all lien holders are in Florida. Not being bound by Florida law, some like to hold a payment for 30 days (+/-), just to be certain the payment goes through.

Simply put, ‘Indicia/Proof’ requires the title be present when the Owner(s) signs over (opens) the title to the purchaser and the purchaser signs acceptance (closes) the title. One duly assigns over to the other. The other accepts assignment and a duly assigned certificate of title. The dealer has the privilege to Re-assign to another using the reassignment slots on the back of a paper title or HSMV 82994 if the back of the paper title is full (or) in the case of an Electronic Title.

So, when, and how does the HSMV 82995, Secure P.O.A. enter into the equation? The title is not present at the time of the sale or trade. The vehicle owner(s) and the dealer representative capture the date of the transaction and go to the vehicle to obtain the odometer reading. (I suggest you also take a photo of the reading for the file.)

HSMV 82995 has a PART A, B, C. In part A the dealership enters the date of the transaction and the odometer reading. The seller(s) NAME(s) is printed into the ‘I/WE (Seller’s Name) APPOINT (Dealer’s Name). The odometer reading and date information is entered and both parties print and sign their names.

It should be noted that the P.O.A. is given to the dealership, not a specific person. One representative of the dealership may accept this for the dealership. Later when the title is released, a different representative is able to act as the P.O.A. for the seller(s) and also accept the title for the dealership.

When the title is released. The dealership representative takes the information in Part A of the HSMV 82995 and transfers it to the title, exactly. The representative prints the date the P.O.A. was initiated, prints the seller(s) name/POA in the printed name of the seller section and in the seller(s) signature section signs their representative name/POA. This opens the title. The representative prints and signs their name in the Printed Name, Purchaser Signature, area. This closes the title. Next the dealer representative goes to Part C of the

HSMV 82995 and prints and signs their name, along with the date they carried out this duty. The dealership now has a ‘duly assigned title’ supported by the HSMV 82995 and can put the vehicle up for sale.

WAIT A MINUTE! What about the PART B? PART B represents the rear of the title where the dealership reassigns ownership to the next owner. Pay attention to the following from the statutes.

320.27 Motor vehicle dealers (7)CERTIFICATE OF TITLE REQUIRED.—

For each used motor vehicle in the possession of a licensee and offered for sale by him or her, the licensee either shall have in his or her possession or control a duly assigned certificate of title from the owner in accordance with the provisions of chapter 319, from the time when the motor vehicle is delivered to the licensee and offered for sale by him or her until it has been disposed of by the licensee, or shall have reasonable indicia of ownership;;; [a copy of a canceled check or other documentation evidencing that an outstanding lien on a vehicle taken in trade by a licensed dealer has been satisfied and that the certificate of title will be, but has not yet been, received by the dealer;]

Florida Statutes 319.24(a)

Part B Represents The Rear Of The Title Where The Dealership Reassigns Ownership To The Next

requires the dealer to satisfy the lien within 10-business days and part (b) requires the lien holder to release the title within 10-business days of cashing the check, (accepting payment).

This is where the PART B comes into the equation. PART A is complete. The payment has been sent, received, and cashed (accepted). The dealer obtains physical proof of the payment acceptance. This might be a physical or digital copy of a canceled check or other instrument. Dealership waits at least 10-business days for the title to be released. f.s. 320.27(7) reads indicia to include: a copy of a canceled check or other documentation evidencing that an outstanding lien on a vehicle taken in trade by a licensed dealer has been satisfied and that the certificate of title will be, but has not yet been, received by the dealer. My best ‘guess’ is the state’s assumption that since the payoff has been accepted and the lien holder will release the title within 10-business days, the dealer should be able to sell the vehicle and still apply for a new title in time and stay within the required 30-days needed to complete getting a new title to a new owner(s).

Let's walk through an example. A dealership swaps out the NOT FOR SALE sign for a FOR SALE sign. Larry and Luciele Lunchbucket decide they want to buy that vehicle. Since the title is still not in the dealership’s possession, PART B of the HSMV 82995 Secure P.O.A. may be activated.

Larry and Luciele give P.O.A. to the dealership. Paperwork is created. A 30day temporary tag is placed upon the vehicle and they are on their way with the legal promise the dealership will get their new ride tagged, titled and registered within 30-days. Supporting documentation waits within the deal jacket for the lienholder to actually release the lien and title.

Hopefully, the release takes place within that 30-day timeframe. When it does, the dealership representative completes the transfer of information from PART A to the title and completes the appropriate print/sign as the dealer rep and prints the seller’s name/POA and then prints and signs the dealer reps name/ POA in the printed name of the seller(s) area. The representative then scoots down to the PART C, Certification by Attorney in Fact, and completes printing and signing their name again and the date he/she carried out these actions.

Now that a Duly Assigned Certificate of Title from the seller to the dealership has been created, the dealer representative scoots over to create a Duly Assigned Certificate of Title from the dealership to Larry and Luciele as their P.O.A. All supporting documents need to find their way to the tag office and have a new title created to Larry and Luciele.

Hopefully, all this takes place within the required 30-day legal promise the dealer made to Larry and Luciele.

What if the lien holder drags their feet and the title does not get done within the 30-day time frame? That is the legitimate reason a second Temp Tag may be issued. Note: the dealership still broke their 30-day promise to the state, Larry and Luciele.

What if the title is still not released within the second 30-day time frame? May the dealership issue a third Temp Tag? Absolutely not! The dealership needs to contact his/her Compliance Office and ask them to issue a third tag. It better not be the dealerships fault it took this long.

Ever make a promise to someone based upon a promise made to you and have it go wrong? We all have. The decision to use PART B is up to the dealership. The 30-day rule is the 30-day rule.

Do not take this as legal advice. Please confer with your legal counsel, compliance officer, f.s. 320.27, etc. before you decide if or to implement PART B.

TERRY L. MYERS is the FIADA Director of Education and Development. Feedback is appreciated and encouraged. Terry can be reached at (727) 804-7375. Email: TMyers@FIADA.com

HSMV 82995 can be found online at www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/82995.pdf. Instructions on page 2 of the form outline who is authorized to use it, when it should be used and when it is not required.

Filing instructions require an original copy to be attached to the Certificate of Title when obtained and is to remain with the title until the application for title is made for the purchaser. A second copy should be retained by the dealer for a period of five years. A third copy is to be given to the seller who completed the Power of Attorney in Part A.

If the motor vehicle is being sold out of state, the Florida dealer must photocopy the completed original of HSMV 82995 and mail directly to the department within five days after the Certificate of Title and Reassignment Form are delivered by the dealer to its purchaser.