My question involves bankruptcy in the state of: California
Purchased car in 1996 and was paid off in 2002. Car title wasn't sent but was never sought after either. In 2004, filed Ch. 7 Bankruptcy(no attorney representation) and listed the car as an asset. August 24th the car was in a mild accident. Insurance requested it to be taken to a body shop for an estimate to fix. The car was considered totaled. To receive the payment the insurance needed the car title. They called Toyota Financial Services to request the title and was informed about late payment fees and penalties. Toyota said that these would have to be paid before the title was given. I was never informed about any fees or penalties and when I asked Toyota for a detailed explanation they said "The debt was too old and no longer available in their system". So the insurance had to deduct that amount from the claim payment.
Q: Should my claim payment have been deducted for a debt no longer in Toyota's system? Shouldn't I have been notified of these debts and provided with that detailed explanation? Can I be entitled to a refund of what's been deducted?

