Repossessed
Car Debt
Due to the irregularities in
car payments, the creditor may take possession of your car
without notice. Unless the contract gives a grace period,
the car can be repossessed if you are only a day late. You
are not required to give the car to the creditor, but they
may take it from the street or a parking lot. Concealment of
the vehicle with intent to hinder the creditor is a crime.
If the car is repossessed, the creditor may sell the car at
an auction, and you may still have to pay the balance
remaining on the loan after sale of the vehicle, plus the
creditor's collection expenses.
If a car has been repossessed but not sold by the creditor
when the case is filed, the court may order the creditor to
return it to you, provided you have cleared repossessed car
debt.
Under the repossessed car debt consolidation provision,
interest charges may be reduced, and your monthly payments
can often be lowered. You may be able to keep the car by
paying its real value, even if this is much less than the
loan balance. Thanks to this provision, you pay for the car
in a single monthly payment that consolidates all of your
bills. Often this one payment is lower than your old car
payment alone. An expert attorney can give you an estimate
of what this monthly payment would be in a free, no
obligation conference. Actually your creditor holds the key
as when you finance or lease a car, truck or other vehicle,
your creditor holds important rights on the vehicle until
you've made the last loan payment or fully paid off your
leasing obligation.
These rights are established by the signed contract and by
state law. For example, if your payments are late or you
default on your contract in any way, your creditor may have
the right to repossess your car. In many states, creditors
can do this legally without going to court or warning you in
advance, as long as they do not breach the peace. In
addition, your creditor may be able to sell your contract to
a third party, called an assignee, who may have the same
rights and responsibilities as the original creditor.
However, some state laws limit the ways a creditor can
repossess and sell a vehicle to reduce or eliminate your
repossessed car debt. If any rule is violated, the creditor
may be asked to pay you damages.
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