{"id":423,"date":"2019-02-27T08:43:42","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T08:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/?p=423"},"modified":"2020-06-02T21:07:32","modified_gmt":"2020-06-02T21:07:32","slug":"know-what-to-expect-before-during-and-after-a-repossession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/know-what-to-expect-before-during-and-after-a-repossession\/","title":{"rendered":"Repossessions: Know What to Expect &#8211; Before, During and After"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p>\u201c<em><strong>A<\/strong> <strong>Record 7 Million Behind on Car Loans<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u201d, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2\/13\/19<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that, \u201cA record seven million Americans are 90 days or more behind on their auto loan payments.\u00a0 Despite a strong economy, economists are warning that Americans are struggling. Although a car loan is the first payment people make because a vehicle is critical to getting to work, when car loan delinquencies rise, it is a sign that many American are under duress.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>BEFORE a Repossession:<\/strong><!--more--><br \/><strong>1) Prepare yourself.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/contact-us\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2078\" src=\"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Contact-Us-Button-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"265\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/strong><br \/>We all know that when a borrower falls behind on payments or breaks the terms of an auto loan agreement, the lender, whether it\u2019s the bank, finance institution or credit union, is entitled to repossess the vehicle. \u00a0These terms are stated in the loan agreement, or <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/assets\/Uploads\/68011b4f4d\/CarRepo-RISC1.pdf\">Retail Installment Sales Contract<\/a><\/strong>, that is signed at the time of purchase.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Repossessions can occur at any time of day or night &#8212; while at the supermarket, taking the kids to school, at a relative\u2019s home for holiday dinner, or while\u00a0 asleep. \u00a0Even if a borrower anticipates a repossession may occur, it never happens at a good time.\u00a0 <strong>Prepare yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>With a little forethought, you may be able to ease the stress caused by a car repossession.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve fallen behind and believe your car may be up for repossession, make a plan to handle daily chores for you and your family.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>Ask for help<\/strong>.\u00a0 Contact your family, friends and neighbors and find out who may help. Inquire about their work schedules and daily commitments. Let them know you may have an emergency coming up and need their assistance.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Organize carpools and babysitters. <\/strong>Develop a network of friends that can step in to cover demands of the household.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Arrange for delivery<\/strong>. Call your supermarket or pharmacy to find out if they are able to make deliveries to your home.\u00a0 Inquire about the cost and delivery schedule.<\/li>\r\n<li>\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>2) Clean out the car.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><br \/>Before your vehicle is taken, gather items from your car and store them in a safe place.\u00a0 If your car is taken unexpectedly, you may not have a chance to remove all of your personal items.\u00a0 Often, the repo man may not allow you time to remove everything. And, remember, once out of your possession, these belongings may be lost \u2013 <em>forever<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Pre-Repossession Check List<\/strong><br \/>_____ Buyer\u2019s Agreement <br \/>_____ Loan Agreement <br \/>_____ Odometer Statement <br \/>_____ Vehicle Registration <br \/>_____ Warranty Agreement <br \/>_____ Auto Insurance Policy &amp; Card <br \/>_____ Auto Insurance Payment Record <br \/>_____ Vehicle Service Records <br \/>_____ Loan Payment History from Lender <br \/>_____ Loan Payment Records <br \/>_____ All Correspondence from Lender\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Vehicle Photographs <br \/>_____ Car Interior &amp; Exterior\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <br \/>_____ VIN# from Inside Door <br \/>_____ Odometer Reading <br \/>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<br \/>\u00a0Removal of all Valuables<br \/>_____ Wallet\/Purse\/Cash\/Paycheck<br \/>_____ Medications\/Prescriptions <br \/>_____ Work-related items<br \/>_____ Laptop computer<br \/>_____ Phone <br \/>_____ Child Car Seat<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>DURING a Repossession:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The lender will hire a repossession company to retrieve vehicles scheduled for repossession. The repo-man cannot use physical force, threaten you, or enter your property without permission.\u00a0 If you believe the repo-man mishandled the repossession, take steps to document the event.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Prepare a written statement with date, time, repo company &amp; agent, &amp; events.<\/li>\r\n<li>Photograph the scene.<\/li>\r\n<li>Repo agent\u2019s truck and license plate.<\/li>\r\n<li>Your vehicle, interior, exterior and odometer reading.<\/li>\r\n<li>Damaged property, i.e. garage door, fence, other vehicles, lawn, etc.<\/li>\r\n<li>Obtain witness statements.<\/li>\r\n<li>Request the police come to the scene. Obtain a police report.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Police Involvement:\u00a0 Keep the Peace or Breach the Peace?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>It\u2019s not uncommon for the police to become involved during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/practice-areas\/car-repossession\">car repossession<\/a>. Sometimes the repo agent or the borrower will ask the police to be there to diffuse a potentially volatile situation. The police may assist in keeping the peace.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If the police get involved in the repossession of the vehicle, they may have crossed the line from keeping the peace, to breaching the peace.\u00a0 The police may not threaten arrest, or damage to the vehicle, or command the vehicle or keys be turned over. \u00a0If this occurs, the borrower\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/cases\/hyman-v-devlin\">Constitutional rights may have been violated<\/a> and a lawsuit against the police, repo agency and\/or lender may be filed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>AFTER a Repossession:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The borrower is entitled to receive notices from the lender after a vehicle is repossessed.\u00a0 The first letter is a repossession notice called a Notice of Intent to Sell Property, which details terms for the borrower to retrieve the vehicle.\u00a0 This notice will detail payments required, the time period for payments to be paid to the lender, and the repo lot location for retrieval of the vehicle and any personal property.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If the borrower is unable to get the vehicle back, the lender will arrange to sell the it at an auction or a private sale.\u00a0 Once sold, a second notice is sent to the borrower confirming the selling price of the vehicle and any remaining balance due on the loan. This notice is called a Deficiency Notice. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>FREE LEGAL HELP:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Flitter Milz is knowledgeable about the laws governing repossessions of cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats and RVs.\u00a0 If your vehicle has been repossessed, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/contact-us\/\">CONTACT US<\/a>. \u00a0We will review the details of your case at no cost to you, and evaluate whether your consumer rights were violated.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/contact-us\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2077\" src=\"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Contact-Us-Button-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"265\" height=\"125\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cA Record 7 Million Behind on Car Loans\u201d, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2\/13\/19 The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that, \u201cA record seven million Americans are 90 days or more behind on their auto loan payments.\u00a0 Despite a strong economy, economists are warning that Americans are struggling. Although a car loan is the first &hellip; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/know-what-to-expect-before-during-and-after-a-repossession\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Repossessions: Know What to Expect &#8211; Before, During and After<\/span> &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[36],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423"}],"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=423"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2095,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423\/revisions\/2095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}