{"id":1173,"date":"2019-08-21T14:44:31","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T14:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/?p=1173"},"modified":"2020-06-02T18:29:19","modified_gmt":"2020-06-02T18:29:19","slug":"5-things-to-do-after-your-car-has-been-repossessed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/5-things-to-do-after-your-car-has-been-repossessed\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Things to Do After Your Car Has Been Repossessed"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
\"Car<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Your car is hooked up to the tow truck. You\u2019d been struggling for months to make payments, and now the thing you feared most has come true: repossession.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And you think to yourself:\u00a0 What do I do now?\u00a0 Where is my car?\u00a0 Is there some sort of car repossession look-up service that can track it down?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We\u2019ll start by telling you that it\u2019s your lender\u2019s responsibility to notify you after a repossession about the status of your car.\u00a0 If you find that your vehicle is missing, you have two choices.\u00a0 First, you should call the lender .\u00a0 Second, call the local police department.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Beyond that, there are laws to protect you without having to file for bankruptcy, and some things you can do to protect yourself and potentially recover your car.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1. Find out why it happened.\u00a0 Was it taken by mistake?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If you\u2019ve fallen behind on your vehicle payments, repossession might not come as a surprise.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not always the case.\u00a0 Sometimes, vehicles are repossessed by mistake.\u00a0 It\u2019s worth calling your lender to find out where your vehicle is, why it was taken, and the steps for you to get it back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

2. Can you get it back?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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\"\"<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

After a repossession, the lender must provide written notices to the borrower.\u00a0 In many cases, the bank, credit union or financial institution may require a borrower to pay back the loan in full \u2013 plus repossession and storage costs \u2013 in order to get the car back.\u00a0 In other cases, they may allow the borrower to pay past due payments to reinstate the loan.\u00a0 If the borrower can\u2019t meet the terms, the lender will take steps to sell the vehicle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

3. Make sure you know your rights<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If you\u2019ve read our last blog posts about car repossession, you know that consumers have a few basic rights, even if they defaulted on their auto loan and had fallen behind on payments.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For example, after the repossession the borrower is entitled to receive notices from the lender.\u00a0 The first notice called a Notice of Intent to Sell Property, details terms that will allow the borrower to recover the vehicle and retrieve any personal items left inside the car.\u00a0 It will state the payments required, a time period to act, the date of a sale and location of the vehicle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\"Auto<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If the borrower can\u2019t get the car back and it\u2019s sold at auction or private sale, the lender must send a second notice confirming the sale price, repossession and storage fees, plus any remaining balance owed on the loan.\u00a0 This second notice is called a Notice of Deficiency.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Beyond these notices, it\u2019s important to remember other rights during a repossession such as, the repo agent being barred from using physical force, entering a closed garage to access your car, or damaging your property or your car.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Equally important, the police are not to aid in the repossession of a vehicle. If called to the scene, they are to help keep the peace and protect anyone from being harmed. However, if they threaten arrest or command the keys be turned over to the repo agent, they may have crossed the line from keeping the peace to breaching the peace.\u00a0 At this point, the police may have violated the borrower\u2019s constitutional rights.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

4. Find out if you still owe money after the car is sold<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Lenders sell repossessed vehicles at auctions or private sales so they can recover their losses.\u00a0 Often, the vehicles may sell for less than the amount owed on the loan.\u00a0 This is what\u2019s known as a deficiency balance.\u00a0 If the borrower fails to pay this balance, it can lead to contact from debt collectors, possible legal action, and negative credit reporting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

5. Repossession and your Credit Reports<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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\"\"<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Car repossessions stay on your credit reports for up to 7 \u00bd years from the date of default. Not only do they impact credit score negatively, but they may affect existing accounts by increasing interest rates or lowering amounts of available credit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Repossessions may factor in the bank\u2019s denial of an application for new credit such as a mortgage, car loan, or credit card.\u00a0 As well, they may keep an employer from hiring or promoting you, or a landlord from approving your application for a new place to live.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Get Legal Help<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Often, someone that has had a car repossessed feels defeated and does not know where to turn for help.\u00a0 If you suspect that your rights have been violated by the lender or the repo agent during the repossession, and do not want to file for bankruptcy<\/strong>, contact the experienced consumer protection law firm Flitter Milz, P.C.\u00a0 We have a proven track record of pursing individual and class action lawsuits against banks, credit unions and financial institutions for improper repossession practices.\u00a0 Whether you have fallen behind on payments or not, contact us today to see how we can help you.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your car is hooked up to the tow truck. You\u2019d been struggling for months to make payments, and now the thing you feared most has come true: repossession. And you think to yourself:\u00a0 What do I do now?\u00a0 Where is my car?\u00a0 Is there some sort of car repossession look-up service that can track it … <\/p>\n

Continue reading 5 Things to Do After Your Car Has Been Repossessed<\/span> →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,3],"tags":[38,36],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1173"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2093,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173\/revisions\/2093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}