I purchased a wedding ring on a same as cash plan, almost paid the ring off and got divorced, all the interest from the purchased kicked in. After the divorce bills started pilling up so I sold the ring to help out and used some of the funds to pay on the ring as well, I continued paying the debt plus the interest. There were some months that I could not pay the full monthly payment however I did pay something. Last month I attempted to make a payment and the owner refused to accept the payment and told me to bring the ring back and take it as a loss, I told him that I did not have it. The owner then told me that I had committed a crime, it was theft, and that he was going to call his attorney and threatened jail time. I told the owner that I had every intention of paying my debt but he refused unless I paid the debt in full or several thousand dollars. I called the owner several days ago to try to make a payment again; he refused and told me that his attorney and the police will be contacting me. I would like to know if this can be done, I have a contract and receipts; I have had business with this store over the last several years, should I seek an attorney?

Thanks

Since I don't know what your contract says, that would be a very loud YES, seek an attorney. You made a fatal error in judgement selling the ring to an outside party without having it paid off in full, and then using the money that you received from the sale to pay off third parties. You have a serious situation on your hands if the owner decides to press charges or sue you.

It is very possible what you did was sell the collateral of a loan and did not pay off the entire amount owed on the ring.

What you were suppose to do if you sold the ring, was to take all the money you paid for it, and pay the ring off, not use the money for "other bills"

Just subsitute the word CAR for the word ring and then you can understand the situation.

But again it will depend on the exact terms of the loan but I will assume the ring was used to secure the debt.

Father Chuck is right. If I didn't make myself clear enough, ethically you were obligated to pay off the ring first, prior to paying anyone else that you may have owed money to. Contractually, without seeing it, I would assume the same applies. Please contact an attorney.

So could I be arrested, even if I have been making payments in the past and now my payments are being refused? I spoke directly with the owner and explained the situation and that I wanted to pay the debt but he told me that the only way he would consider accepting a payment is if I pay several thousand dollars or the entire amount, he even suggest that I take a second mortgage on my home just to pay him.

Thanks

Without knowing what is in your contract and all that has occurred between you and the jeweler, I am hazarding a guess based upon the info you are giving me. He can't just have you arrested. He could sue you. Please, speak with an attorney and bring all your paperwork (contract, cancelled checks or receipt of payment, jeweler's letter refusing payment,. ). Most of the time they don't charge for initial consultation. Your attorney may be able to draft a letter that will get the guy to start accepting lesser payments as an alternative to suing you. Believe me, the guy doesn't want to lose any more money by paying court costs. Sounds like he is using intimidation tactics on you to scare you into paying him in full. He is probably extremely angry that you didn't pay off the ring when you sold it. If he could have taken it back, he would have made more money by keeping the money you had already given him AND reselling the ring.

Glad I could help. Good luck!