About a million cars are repossessed each year in the United States. Many of these are illegal, though most debtors (and a lot of repo agencies) don’t know it. So just what makes a repossession illegal in Alabama?
Breach of the Peace.
A secured creditor can only repossess their collateral if they can do so without any “breach of the peace.” The Uniform Commercial Code doesn’t define “breach of the Peace,” but the Alabama Supreme Court has. And they’ve adopted a pretty common sense rule: if the repo man violates a criminal statute, then they’re breaching the peace.
Despite this clear and wise rule, repossessions that breach the peace happen all the time. These really bother me because I believe that they show a fundamental disrespect for the human dignity of debtors. How? Because it should be obvious that you can’t commit crimes in order to repossess a vehicle.
“But it’s my job!” says the Repo Man.
“We have a right to get paid!” says Title Max or the car dealer.
OK let’s consider that. My job is to win lawsuits. What if I went into the law offices of my opponents and burned up their files. “I’m just doing my job.” Right? Of course not. A crime is a crime. No matter how poor or black or redneck or worthless you think your debtors are.
So they cannot break any criminal law. What does this mean for you? Here’s some examples:
- They cannot enter the property of someone who doesn’t owe money if that person tells them to go away or tries to block their entry (that’s criminal trespass). They can enter your property.
- They cannot break a lock, cut a chain, or enter your house. That would be burglary.
- They cannot intentionally damage your (or anyone’s) property. If you have a marble statue of St. Theresa of Avila in your front yard, and they drive right over it, they are breaching the peace. This is called criminal mischief.
- They cannot touch you or be violent in any way (that’s Assault).
- They cannot threaten violence (that’s Menacing).
- They can’t harm your pets (animal cruelty).
- They cannot curse you, insult your virtue, or use profanity (harassing communications).
- They cannot use false pretenses to get the keys to your car. Or to get access to someone else’s property.
In other words, missing a payment on a car note does not mean that repo men can commit crimes against you with no penalty. Despite what many creditors, banks, and “pro-business” politicians may think, a person does not become less than human just by falling into financial trouble. As I said, crimes are crimes.
Conversion.
They have to give your stuff back. That’s all there is to it. If they don’t pack it up and send it to you or let you come and get it, then they’re stealing your stuff. If they want to charge you $40 to come and get your own property that they have taken, that is conversion. They can’t do that. If they take valuable things or cash, then you can sue them for that.
Many retail installment contracts and security agreements give them the right to charge a reasonable “storage fee” for holding onto your stuff until you come get it, but even where such fees are authorized by a contract, there is no “storage fee” due unless some actual “storage” took place. If you go to their lot the day of the repo and your belongings are sitting right there in the car that was repossessed, then they haven’t stored anything for you. So no “storage” fees.
They get this one wrong All—The—Time. But it’s still wrong.
Trespass & Property Damage.
There are two types of trespass: trespass on real property (land and homes), and trespass against personal property (cars, boats, books, TVs, everything but land and homes).
Secured creditors do have a privilege to trespass on your own property and to travel on common property (like roads and public parking lots). However, they are not generally allowed to trespass into residential property of people who don’t owe them anything. For instance, if my car is in my back yard, the repo man cannot drive through the neighbor’s yard and drag it out over his grass.
Trespass against personal property generally means physical damage. If they unnecessarily damage or destroy your personal property, then they can be held liable for it.
But beware of one thing: it is also a crime to conceal collateral with the intention of hindering your creditors.
So What If They Break the Law?
A lot of people call me with tales of repossession misbehavior, and they think that if you can prove that the repo man broke the rules, they get their car back without paying for it.
That’s just not true.
Unless the repossession occurred a) when you were not in default, or b) after you’ve filed bankruptcy, you can’t get the car back without paying.
The penalty for an unlawful repossession is cash damages. Generally, they have to pay for whatever damage their misconduct caused, and in some cases they have to pay extra for violating certain laws.
A secured creditor gets to set off these damages against what you rightfully owe. So unless you’ve almost paid off your loan or their conduct was just really bad, then a wrongful repossession suit probably will not put any cash in your pocket, though it can shield you from a lot of future debt.
Example 1: You owe $10,000 on your car. It gets repossessed, and the repo man recklessly drove across your yard and crashed into your boat, causing $5,000 of damage.
They sell the car at auction for $3,000, leaving you with a deficiency balance of $7,000. If you sue them for trespass, they can counterclaim for the contract deficiency, which is $2,000 more than your trespass damage. So the court enters a judgment for them in the amount of $2,000. You reduced your debt, but that doesn’t help you very much.
Example 2. Granny owes $5,000 on a $30,000 mobile home. She bought it at high interest with $2,000 down 15 years ago. A repo man comes out with a 5th wheel and tries to haul it off, and in so doing, he pushes Granny onto the ground and knocks open a sewage pipe, causing rotten S— to fly all over poor Granny. This is a breach of the peace situation that allows for statutory damages of $12,000, plus some emotional distress damages for being such a jerk to a sweet old lady. Granny will get a cash judgment.
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I paid my loan and title max lied said I only made one well I have all my paper work so much fraud coming off that contract west texas towing the owner wouldnt look at my paper work called me a stupid bitch cause he had to leave my car n property cause I did stuff legally he didnt like that lol funny shit I have a law suit going after title max they need to b shut down thank you
There are a lot of good lawyers in Texas who can help. Go to http://www.consumeradvocates.org and find one in your area.
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Well they haven6come after mine yet but I called them and told them that my debit card was fraud locked and just as soon as they unlocked my account I would pay my bill and I’m drawing A SSI CHECK AND MY VARO BANKER SAID IT WOULD TAKE 8 DAYS ARE LESS TO REOPEN MY ACCOUNt.thanks Bryan wright from Alabama
Title max called an toldme to come to there office in semmes when i got there they had me wait to talk to the manger when i did get to talk with the manger an it was said to me i had till wensday of the following week to pay my note so as i was leaving .my daughter called and said a tow truck was hooking up the car that was at my dads house were we are living .and then they gave me 4 different numbers to pay to get it back an when i brought it up to them they said the car was sold online the week before ..and they wouldnt tell me the name of their boss are # and when i called they keep saying one are the other manger wasnt in but i could call on a unknown number an get threw an they would hang up.andy personal property that was in there no one seems to know were it went .i got a lettter zaying to come pick it up and when i went up there they blamed it on the towing company an then the towing company blamed the auction place i was lied to every step an my tools for my job that i was supposed to start that monday was taking ..is there any thing i can do to get these thugs from doing someone else like this ..
3 months ago I was involved in a high speed chase with a guy trying to repo my truck. This lasted 45 min during which he repeatedly tried to wreck me and he rear ended me and threw bricks and busted my back and front windows. I was on the phone with the cops Tue entire time. I pressed charges and he was arrested. He was the mechanic for the car lot where I bought the truck. Do I have a case against the car lot?
April,
That sounds like a real repo horror story. I’m glad the cops arrested him. Whether or not you have a case against the car lot depends on a lot of factors. Mostly, was he acting under the dealer’s authority when he did all of that crap to you? If you live in Alabama and you want to talk about this, give me a call. 251.272.9148.
JEC
Hi. Did you ever get a settlement? This just happened to me last week.
Repo man damages or vehicle. We paid what the manager to rod, half of the damages to their vehicle. For they took responsibility for half. They release the vehicle back to us, but refuse to pay for our damages as they said stated they would. I’m in Al, what can i do? They said what we agreed on basically had no barring on our damages???
Stephenie,
I don’t quite understand your situation. If you want to call and make an appointment to discuss this, call my office at 251.272.9148.
Apologies for my typos
My car was paid. My next payment was not due for 25 days. I separated from my husband and then closed the insurance on the truck and removed the tag. He was going to try and pay it off. The loan, insurance, tag, and contract were all in my name alone. They repossessed the vehicle for lack of insurance within 24 hours. They then we’re contacted by me and the repo agency and told not to let anyone including my husband take anything off of or out of that car. The car lot actually called my husband and told him to come clean the car out. Do I have a case?
April,
In order to figure out if you ‘have a case,’ I’d need to know a lot more information. You can call my office at 251.272.9148.
I work for the postal service and my car was repo out of their parking lot did they have the right to do so if its private property? Mind you they stole my personal property out of the car when it was cleaned out by their workers…
Ishama,
Generally, they can go to your place of employment to repossess your car, if you are in default on the contract. They cannot steal your personal property from the car, though. They must make it available to you at a reasonable time if you demand your stuff back. Even if your contract says that you have to pay a reasonable fee for storage, it should never be more than $75 or so.
I just received my car back from the dealer 25 days ago. I only had it a month before it needed a major repair. The dealer took 40 days to repair the intake. My payment is due on th 5th and I have until the 15th before it is considered late. On th 13th th dealer sent a repo man to my home saying I was 2 months behind. However during the 40 days he had it he told me not to make a payment. Again i have had it back 25 days so how can I be 2 months behind? Also, im not late until after th 15th. It is just th 13th. Is that legal?
I owe a title loan from a year ago. They tried to repo it last and i jumped in my truck. The tow truck tried to latch me and i tried to drive away. In the process my mothers house was damaged. I got away. Tonight i was in my vehicle on the phone and I felt a jerk and felt the truck move, (from the same company and people from last week), then seen a woman run in front of my car. I blew the horn and waved at her. She told them i was in the vehicle and they said no i wasn’t and told someone to get a flashlight. During this time they continued to lift my truck up with me in and the whole time the police watched. I was moved halfway to the street even after they were told i was in the truck. Is this illegal? I reside in Ohio.
Ms. Shonta,
I am not licensed to practice in Ohio, but it doesn’t take an Ohio bar admission certificate to figure that there’s something way wrong with a repo man hauling a car off while you’re in it. That is incredibly dangerous; I mean, what if you’d fallen out? That’s just crazy. In Alabama (which ain’t the most consumer-friendly state in our union), that would most definitely be illegal – what we call a “breach of the peace.” I’m pretty sure that in Ohio, a repo man can’t do crap like that.
So you need to call an Ohio auto fraud lawyer ASAP. Go to http://www.consumeradvocates.org and use the Attorney Search form to find a bona fide consumer protection lawyer in your town.
Best of luck.
Hi. I just have a couple of questions in regards to what may be considered legal in your opinion on repossessing a vehicle. My wife is a GA resident but I am an Alabama resident due to a circumstance that made it necessary for me to move in with my parents in order to provide care for my father who recently suffered a stroke. The town my wife lives in borders the Alabama state line so there are many people who either live in one state and work in the other and vice versa.My wife fell behind in her car payments due to unexpected other expenses related to my father’s stroke but was in communication with the lender and making negotiated payments each month as she could. Last Sunday she awoke to find that the car had been repossessed overnight without any warning and with no attempt by the towing company to inform her they were taking the vehicle which had all of her personal belongings in it including her work I.d and no attempt to ask for the cars keys which we would’ve voluntarily gave to them since we were aware that the payments were behind and we don’t deny our responsibility for the debt regardless of the circumstances that led to us getting behind. My questions are 1. Since my wife lives in a gated community is it considered legal for the tow company to enter the property to reposess her vehicle despite clearly posted signs alerting anyone entering that it is private property and anyone who is not a resident or has prior permission to enter will be trespassing and could face prosecution? 2. Since they did not alert her they were taking the vehicle is it legal for them to now charge her to retrieve her personal property inside the vehicle? They have now informed her that she must pay $25 in addition to any storage fees and set an appointment to retrieve her belongings. Also the lender has sent a letter titled notice of intent that says if we don’t redeem the vehicle within 10 days it will be sold. The letter states it must be redeemed no later than the 15th which would satisfy the 10 days according to their date of the letter which was dated the 5th. The problem is that we did not receive the letter until 2 days ago which was the 10th, depriving us of half of the time we were supposed to be given to remedy the situation. Is that legal and\or customary?
Joseph,
First, I can’t give you specific legal advice, as I’m not licensed to practice in Georgia, and Georgia law will govern sales trasactions that take place on Georgia soil.
When it comes to repo agents charging storage fees for personal property, the law is sort of a grey area. They don’t have the right to just keep your stuff, but they can generally require you to come get it at their location during business hours. On the face of it, $25 doesn’t seem like a terribly unreasonable fee. If the repossession was lawful in the first place, then even if they’re not entitled to that $25, are you really going to sue them for it? If you wanted to do so just to prove the point, I understand. But if it was me, I would pay the $25 to get my stuff back ASAP. Then if you want your money back, you can consider taking them to small claims court for it.
Sir, my name is Steve, I am a recently retired (20 years) Army veteran and live in Huntsville Alabama. My family has recently been through a rough few years with my transition to civilian life and we had no choice but to have to file chapter 7. Now im not complaining about the process, only the way my vehicle was taken from us. Our bankruptcy just finalized July 13 and today August 15 we had the misfortune of meeting a repo man in our driveway. We were well aware that we were going to have to surrender our vehicle so this was not a huge surprise but how we were treated shocked us. As the wrecker was lifting the back of our car, I calmly walked out and said to give me just a second to remove all of my wife’s personal possessions and to remove the window vents that I had bought her for her last birthday. These window vents were not expensive, just double sided tape held them on but since it was a birthday gift, I wanted to remove them with the hope of someday getting the same model car and putting them back on. Since these window vents were not permanent and did not come with the vehicle, and did not damage the vehicle when removed, I thought this would be a reasonable request. At this point, the repo man went into a wild 10 minute tangent about that its against Alabama law and he would not let me remove them in which I ignored based on my belief that it didnt come on the car when I bought it. I maybe wrong but I still did it. Now, the repo man is becoming more and more hostile, screaming obsencities, and pointing at me, and I still kept my cool by the grace of God. Now what really got me steamed was when he went into another 10 minute rant about how I am a terrible soldier, a dead beat, scum, cant pay my bills, and with no honor. Normally in this situation, I would have stomped his guts out but this was broad daylight with my kids, their friends, and several neighbors outside at the time, all standing there watching and I had to show restraint, and I am still not sure I made the right decision. When this was all over, I had two kids crying, my wife in tears, and a neighborhood in shock. Needless to say, this situation has left some scars. To set the record straight, I am a multiple decorated combat veteran that has served my country proudly and honorably. After 20 years of military service, 3 wars, and to many sacrifices to list, I feel betrayed by the very people I and my family has sacrificed to protect. We dont deserve this kind of treatment and I hope someone can make them accountable for their actions. Sir, I dont know if there is anything you can do but if this guy did this to me, I can only imagine what he does to everyone else. Sorry for the long story and Im sure I left a lot of things out but this is all I can fit right now. Thank you for your time.
Steve,
That sounds horrible. For one thing, they shouldn’t be repossessing any property after you file bankruptcy at all. Have you spoken to your bankruptcy lawyer about this? I would be happy to discuss your situation in more detail. You can call me at 251-272-9148.
i let a cousin put his truck in my name and take out a title loan on it . he has failed to pay the title loan and has hidden the truck what can the title loan company do to me
If you are in Alabama, they can sue you for the balance of the loan. Co-Signing is dangerous.
What rights do I have if a repo man comes onto the wrong property? In other words, what if he’s at the wrong house, and I believe he’s a burglar with intent to harm me?
Unless the car he is authorized to repossess is on your property, he’s just a normal trespasser.
Hi. Praying someone can help me. I live in NH. My car was repoed from my work now 3 days ago. I handed my keys over (now stranded at my job 45 min away from home.) walk inside call bank pay them the $540. Bank tells me now call REPO co to make appt to pick up my car. I do so and am told “ok well bring a tow truck cause your car is now. It moving under its own power” I said “WTF are u talking about I watched your three minions drive my car away” now the REPO company is lying saying the never DROVE MY CAR that they towed it. Um that’s is a LIE and I have at least three witness at my work that that’s a lie. Didn’t get even out of my works road and they broke down on the side of a major road not even on my works property and then call a flatbed and loaded up and take it away is what they tell me that they’re not responsible for anything it’s on me normal wear and tear and they’re not doing shit the bank tells me I need to wait 7 to 10 days to hear from their legal team so I’m out of car after I paid for it they broke it and now what I missing more work and I got a wait a week and a half !? This cannot be legal can it!?!?
Jenny,
I’d love to help you, but I don’t know much about New Hampshire law. You’ll need to call a local lawyer on that question. Best of luck!
Hi was wondering if my vehicle is up for repossession but I made the payment to keep them from towing the vehicle but it takes 24 hours to clear the repo!! If in yard behind gate closed do they have a right to come on private property behind the gate and get vehicle???
In Alabama, they can open a gate, but not pick a lock or cut a lock or fence.
If I chain my car to my house can they cut it and take car?
Dear Sir my 2009Ford F150was taken by South port repo approx one month ago. Thry tried to charge me $50 to get my stuff then hiked it to $75 because of my attitude(i wasnt being nice).when i asked them if the bank didnt pay em enough just to tow it. I read, read n reread what you said about conversion. I then read it to BUBBA the owner of southport n he said that it was untrue and that all the repo men charged to get ur stuff back. Time past where southport would not answer the phone and after a cupla weeks they answered n said the truck was returned to Navigator credit union in moss point ms with all my belongings in it. Navigator said the truck was taken to auction.and that southport was supposed to box my things up n return them to me . The auction company said there wasn’t anything in the truck and told me the same thing you n the bank said bout returning my stuff. It was a work truck and had alot of tools and my birthcertificates. Drivers licences. Imade a list of what i know for certain was in the truck(without embellishing) then got online to estimate the cost of replacing my stuff which came to $800. Please advise!!!I am thanking you in advance for any assistance you render me in not allowing those shysters to get away with this. I am markoppie@gmail.com
Mark,
I can’t give you specific legal advice because you’re not a client of mine, but I can say that Repo men do charge bogus and arbitrary fees ALL THE TIME. Most of them actually believe that it’s perfectly legal. As pervasive as this practice is, rarely do people sue over it because the value of the property at stake is usually too small to justify a lawsuit. If they’ve only taken $200 of stuff, you’d have to pay just about that much to take them to court. So most people just don’t do that. Yes, this allows them to get away with bad behavior, but that’s the reality of things.
Is it legal for the repo man to charge you to get your personal belongings out of the vehicle
Can they take your car from your work?
David,
In Alabama, they can take a vehicle from any publicly accessible place of employment. Unless they are breaking a lock or opening a secured gate, they are free to take it from a normal parking lot. Even if the lot is restricted to employees.
My car was repossessed from my work parking lot on June 2nd. The lein holder had every right to do, so I get that.
I was in the process of filing chapter 13 when this occured. I waited a few days to call Nissan to inform them I was filing 13 to take care my default. Nissan informed me it could not be sold at auction etc..Until June 20 of who repoed my car and gave me location and phone number. Upon contacting the company, she said it was scheduled that day June 5th to transport to auction. On June 11th I officially filed with a claim number. I was contacted by recovery company, stating my car would be back in thier possession in 2-3 days and I could pick it up yay! Well today I arrived and got into my car, but it wouldn’t start. The anti-theft immobilizer was activated because someone tried to start the car with a wrong key(I had the only FOB keys).
I contacted the local dealership where I purchased the vehicle 2015 Nissan Rogue. The service guy said have it towed to Nissan which was free under my warranty. Tow truck came took my suv to dealership. I was informed by service that someone had tried to start it without FOB key, either with a wrong key or jimmied..that is the only way the antitheft could be activated.. Why would the company holding my car unable to sell it, need to start it???? Well It cost me $200 to have both the fob keys and system reset. This happened today June 14th..6 days from june 20th..what do I do?
April,
I can’t really give you legal advice because you’re not a client and based on the fact that they returned your car after the BK was filed, I can tell you aren’t in Alabama. Honestly, it sounds like it could just be an error by the repo company losing your original key or something like that. I guess you might could sue them for negligence, but I doubt that $200 is worth a lawsuit.
Doesn’t a repo need to indentif him or herself?? They attached my car while my son and I was in it . I got out of car and proceeded to approach him as he wrote out the window and told me he was calling nine-one-one. My whole front end came off he claimed that there was damage Done To His tow truck who’s responsible for this ,do I contact my insurance company or his insurance company or both. He proceeded to leave with the car as my bumper set in the middle of the street. What do I do next??
Michaelene,
I can’t advise you since I don’t know if you’re in Alabama or not. But here, repo men don’t have to say anything to you. If he damaged the truck, you can’t be held liable for the damage, and if you ever get sued for the loan balance, you need to make sure that you plead that he damaged the vehicle.
JEC
Perplexed parent from Texas
I cobought a car with my 19 year old daughter. She started speeding 85-93 mph in a 65-70 zone almost a dozen times, documented by our Verizon Hum device. She knowingly overdrafted her checking account two different months to make the loan payment, hasn’t paid me two months worth insurance I took out on my policy, got a failure to stop at stop sign citation, and earned a parking violation in a different city.
Other motorists are at risk because of her reckless driving, and I fear a civil suit against me from anyone she might hurt or damage. My credit is at stake, because her payments are late when they’re not overdrafted. The other city is going to assess the fine and fees against my license instead of my daughter’s if not paid quickly.
I decided to take the car back after issuing multiple warnings over four months.
She lives at her friend’s mother’s house so she doesn’t have to be stuck with my rules. I ran up the 50 foot driveway of the mother’s house when I knew she and her friend were shopping. No one knew I was doing that. I brought the car back to my locked garage.
Do I have any legal ability to get my daughter to sign her name off the cobought title so I can sell the car? I’m even willing to take a loan to pay the $7000 still owed after selling.
Or am I just a lawless, mean old parent guilty of a state felony because when/if I sell the car, I’m not willing to give my daughter the $3000 down payment back that she’d given the vehicle when we bought it?
Any wisdom is appreciated. Thanks from Texas.
Lisa,
I can’t advise you because I’m not licensed to practice in Texas. You may be able to sue her for an order for possession of the vehicle, but I don’t know if Texas allows that. You may be better off letting it get repossessed, then you won’t have to get your daughter to sgin anything. If she cares about the car, she’ll pay for it. Your credit will take a hit, but that’s better than getting someone killed, isn’t it?
Best of luck, ma’am.
JEC
My wife and I owe less than $600 on our Toyota And it was repoed last night the repo company said that we have to pay a $75 fee to get our personal belongings out of the vehicle. Is this legal.
Christopher,
In Alabama, they’re not allowed to hold your goods hostage for money. However, most contracts do say that they can charge you a reasonable storage fee for your stuff. What’s the difference? If you follow the repo man to their lot and immediately request your belongings, they can’t charge you for storage because they haven’t stored them. In which case, $75 is just extortion money. But if you wait for a week and then go and ask, then they’ve stored them for a week and $75 isn’t that crazy.
That havnt stored anything that jest picked up the vehicle last night so legally can I go get my stuff with out paying them $75
Our daughter was one month behind on her car payment and was at our house(in alabama) due to her dad having a heart attack,the repossession man came onto our property at 4 am waking everyone up to get her car. The property is posted private . Can he legally come onto land where she is just visiting ?
Denise,
I’m sorry to give such a stereotypically lawyerish answer, but the question of whether a repo man can come on someone else’s property depends on some of the circumstances of the repo. Did he damage anything? Did he leave soap on the driveway to make the wheels slick while he pulled it? Was there any sort of objection or confrontation? Can you send me a photo of the Posted or No Trespassing sign? Was it prominent enough so that it was impossible for the repo man not to see it? Did you or your husband know about the car being on your property? Were you aware of the lien on the vehicle at the time of the repo?
I have a question for you. I defaulted I. My car loan of 1000. I was in my vehicle earlier about to pull out of my driveway to get my daughter at school… with my 1 Year old and 2 year old sons in their car seats..the vehicle was runnin bcc and I was I. Reverse…when the repo man pulls in behind me. Rearends my van….obviously sees me(9months pregnant screaming in fear and confusion) and my now screaming children in The car..he comes to the window..asks for my name and goes to his truck and . continues to hook my car to his tow truck and lift it into the air…while its running and with us all inside off it. He then Tells me i need to get out of my vehicle that it was being repossessed..or he would block me in there all.night long and that no one was going anywhere. I called the police…who knew this repo man by name.they told me I should nust let him take ny vehicle and that repo men played dirty and that I will loose in the end..they were very rude. I asked if I was breaking any law and they said no amd they left.this man threatened me several times and would not let unhook my car for almost 4 hours while j was inside of it. I was terrified that the wires wojld harm me or my babies if we even moved(read horror stories online while waiting) it was a terrible experience. And after 4 hours of him harassing me while my car was hooked to his amd he was shaking and rocking it over and over and starting his truck and revving his engine repeadidly..and I was stuck..and uncomfortable and in pain…he finally yelled some profanities….unhooked my vehicle and drove away…….this is a breach of peace correct?
Tiffany,
That’s definitely a breach of the peace. And also, at least in Alabama, that would be a false imprisonment case as well. Possibly also assault. They cannot do that. The fact that the loan balance was only $1000 doesn’t matter much, but it does make his behavior look all the more unreasonable.
I think you definitely need to hire a lawyer and take legal action.
JEC
Im going thru the same situation and need to hire a lawyer
Jamie,
If you live in Alabama or have a case here, call my office at 251.272.9148.
JEC
Ok, this is going to be a strange question. But are repo men allowed to contact you (via text), just for “conversation”? This happened to me today. First, he sent me a text asking me if it was ok to text me but I didn’t have his number saved so I asked who he was. When he said he was the repo man, I said “Yeah, that’s fine.” I thought maybe he was going to ask me when I was going to come get my belongings, because it had been three weeks since the repossession, and I couldn’t find the info for the place it had been taken. But as the conversation went on, it was clear he just wanted to talk to me for a different reason. He even asked if I could call him. I mean, who does that?? He eventually said he was just “checking on me”…ok?
Wait a minute. Am I reading this wrong, or is the guy who took your car romantically interested in you? That’s really wierd. I don’t know if it’s illegal, though. I mean, he’s not asking for money or bothering you. You could always block his number. That is, if his affections are unwanted.
A friend had her car repossessed in Huntsville, AL. She found out from a neighbor that it had been towed. She eventually got a paper saying she had 10 days (?) to pay total and get her car back. She paid total amount she was told was owed (got $1700 from relatives, etc). However the repo/finance Co. moved her car out of state to Atlanta and didn’t return it – sounds like they told her she had to go from Huntsville to Atlanta to get her car now or it would be sold at auction. It appears to be a scam (common?) where finance company doesn’t want to return the car, because it is worth quite a bit more than the $1700 owed on it. The $1700 she paid hasn’t been returned either. Assume they will try to charge large storage costs and pocket as much as they can from the sale at auction. Is this “theft” legal in Alabama? I suggested she call the police to see if they would take any action. If not, then contact channel 19 (CBS) to expose what happened to the public and legislature – if either is interested.
Daryl,
That doesn’t sound right. I think that your friend needs to call me. Let me see what I can do about this.
JEC
Today while on the phone with car lender they were repo my car. I webt to get into my car and it was gone and i called them and yes it was them. My purse is in it and it has my money my id everything. Im in cleburne tx and they took it to abilene. They tell me i have to go to abilene to get it. I have no way and no id please help i will pay for it to be sent to me….
Sherri,
Unfortunately, I can’t advise you because you’re in Texas, and not only am I not licensed to practice there, but I don’t know Texas law well enough to tell you what your options are. You need to call a consumer rights lawyer. Try http://www.consumeradvocates.org.
OK so here is what just happened to me. I have a car with a sub prime lender. We have been paying on this car for 3 years and only been late one other time. The current payment was due on the 1st. My wife made and arrangement to pay by the 15th. Well crazy world happens and we called and made another arrangement to extend this by one week. She made this arrangement on the 16th. On the 17th the car is repossessed in the high school parking lot where my kids had parked it because they drive it to school. We immediately went and had the payment plus the repo fee paid (so I was told) by 4pm that afternoon. The finance company could not get in touch with the repo man (so they say) that afternoon and asked us to call back at 9am. When we called back we were told that the car was in transit to a “storage facility” call back after 2:00. We were then told we could go to the repo office and collect our personal belongings for $25. We go to the repo office and collect our belongings which we were fortunate enough to not have to pay the $25. I was told where the car was transported to and proceeded to go to that location. When we get there the car was not released for us to collect. We were then told we would have to pay auction fees for the auction place where they were “storing” the car. So it is now 2:00 the day after repo and my car is in the auction yard and I have to pay auction fees on top of the other fees. Which we were told would be another $1000 to be added to our payment for the next 10 months. Is there anything in this situation that sounds unusual to you. Remember the payment wasn’t even 20 days late.
Robert,
I assume you’re in Alabama since you’re posting on my website. Whether or not they can charge you the $1000 depends on whether the auction actually charges such a fee when the car arrives but before it’s been auctioned off. Keep in mind, though, that under Ala. Code 7-9A-623, you have a right to redeem, but only if you pay the reasonable repo and storage fees plus the ENTIRE balance of the loan. Not just the missed payments.
If they agree to release the car from repo with just the amount you’re behind, then you can’t hold them to that unless you actually pay them that money and they accept it.
If you can’t determine whether the $1000 auction fee is legit, then you may just want to consider small claims court for the repo fees you’ve already paid.
Can I remove the GPS device put on my car by the finance company?
There’s no way I can know that. Does your contract say you can? If not, then you probably can’t. Generally, installment contracts forbid you from tampering with the vehicle or removing any part. Even if it were legal, I think this would be ill advised regardless. I mean, what honest motivation for doing this could you possibly have? Doing that is just an indication that you intend to keep the vehicle without paying for it.
I have a friend who couldn’t make payments on his car and it was repossessed while he was asleep one morning. He (not thinking very smart) had left medication in his car that he has to take every day and the prescription cannot be replaced by the pharmacist or the doctor. Because his medicine was in the car, he needs to get his property out promptly but the creditors claim his contract says he must pay them $200 to get his personal property back. Is this legal to withhold medication from someone? He is unable to pay $200 until he gets paid so he is having to go without medication for a week or more.
Lynn,
That sounds horrible. Even if the creditor could do that, why would they? That’s just evil. But, some repossession agents are evil.
I’m assuming you’re in Alabama since you’re posting on an Alabama lawyer’s website.
Generally, they are allowed to charge a reasonable fee for the storage of the goods. Meaning that if they’ve taken your stuff and held it for a week before you asked for it back, then they can charge a “reasonable” fee for that. Whether or not a fee is “reasonable” depends on the situation, unless a specific fee is listed in the contract.
However, if you have asked to come get your belongings (in this case, medication) the same day or morning after the repo, then no storage ever happened, so there shouldn’t be a fee. Ultimately, it will depend a lot on what your contract has to say about it. The contract may not even allow a storage fee. It’s best to make a documented demand for permission to retrieve your goods from their location during normal business hours. Hopefully they won’t try to extort money from you if they know that you’re prepared to take legal action.
JEC
My car was repossesd and I have since gotten it back. After getting it back I can tell that somebody with the repossession company was driving my car for personal use. Half the gas was gone, radio changed, and baby bottle in the back seat with milk still in it. I’m in the process of filing a complaint with the BBB. I’m assuming that they broke a law here, but I wanted to confirm.
Taylor,
I can’t tell you that was illegal. A lawful repossessor has some license to use the car. They may, for instance, have to drive it from a public street to their impound lot. Or they may have to drive it to move it from one spot to another in order to get another repossessed car off their lot. The real question here is: how has this harmed you? Unless they caused damage that cost lots of money to fix, I don’t see the real issue. Sure, spoilt milk is stinky, but unless they drenched the car with rotten milk or something outrageous.that isn’t something I’d consider lawsuit-worthy. But feel free to complain to the BBB or Google or whoever.
JEC
We recently filed for bankruptcy and it was discharged in March 17’. We got affirmation letters from our bank affirming that we were keeping our car and they would allow it. We had a possible pending lawsuit so the trustee had not sent out assets paperwork yet to our creditors we did not include in the bankruptcy, even though it was already discharged.
The issue is we cannot make payments on the car. BBVA will not accept our money. They put us on hold, hang up on us, transfer us to the recovery dept and we have left 2 messages a day for the past 3 weeks. No return call. Our credit report recently changed and next to this debt it says “including in bankruptcy $0 balance”. 2 weeks ago it said “charged off” which was why we started calling 3x a day. We think that has something to do with why they won’t take our money. We cannot make contact with the bank to find out what happened -and why this was charged off with our case. Our bankruptcy lawyer has called numerous times herself and she gets the same thing. Can a company legally just ignore an order signed by a federal judge like this? Can they legally just not take our calls and refuse to give us an explanation? Our lawyer says she has never seen this happen in all her years.
Hello. I went to court because i was back on auto payments due to surgery so i told the judge i no longer wanted the vehicle because i was out of work. When the tow truck company came to my house (along with another individual in another vehicle) i was not informed. I was in my house and heard noises outside so i looked out of the window. I saw that the vehicle he came to get was already on the flatbed and saw the tow truck driver inside my other vehicle in my yard. He was walking back and forth acting strange. I continued watching and wrote down the license plate number along with the name of the towing service. The other vehicle remained in my yard also. I didn’t go out because just in case something was done to the vehicle, i didn’t want them to say that i was trying to prevent them from towing the other vehicle. After they left i went outside and found a huge dent along with deep scratches on the passenger side door. i called the towing company right after and asked what happened to my truck, he said that he was trying to see if i wanted to sell it. I told him that i was watching him go in and out of my vehicle, walking around my vehicle and that he was wrong and should have left after having the other vehicle on the flatbed. He said he knew that and hung up on me. I have no trespassing signs up. There was no problem for them coming to get the other vehicle but i do have a problem with them sticking around afterwards to do what they wanted to do. I filed a police report and the tow truck guy refuses to give me any information, he just hangs up evertytime. What can i do?
Tracy,
I assume you’re in Alabama. Have you tried mailing an actual payment? It’s common for a creditor to stop allowing online payments after a bankruptcy, and they generally don’t have an obligation to keep an online or phone payment access open. However, if you mail them an actual check or money order, then they have to accept it. The bankruptcy judge’s order just says that the debt is valid after the bankruptcy. It doesn’t say they have to allow phone payments. If they’re physically returning your payments by mail, then that’s a problem. But if you haven’t even tried mailing the money, you may want to consider that.
JEC
Anita,
This sounds strange, but I can’t advise you because
A) I don’t know the real status of your case, because you said that you’ve been to court on this. A repo conducted pursuant to a court order is different from a “Self-Help” Repossession; and
B) It’s not clear to me if you’re in Alabama or not. Property laws very from state to state and I can’t advise you on any laws outside of Alabama.
Best of luck with this.
My truck is paid for I have tittle and bill of sale and the individual that sold it to me repoed it and the cops won’t do any thing
Christian,
That definitely sounds fishy. If you live in Alabama, I’d like to talk to you about this. Call me at 251-272-9148.
I live in a rentàl house and the hom3 owner has rented part of the property out to a towing company that repos cars. The towing company operates 24-7.coming and going all day all night with no regard to our home or our peaceful enjoyment of our family they also have a used car blowout sale about 3 weekend a month of the vehicles that have repossessed and directly in front of our house therefore people come to buy these cars think we are the tow company.and have mistaken our private residence as the tow company. Numerous times people have just walked right into our house thinking we are the tow/used car lot pissed off cuz they’ve been ripped off or are mad that their repossessed car is out in front being sold and they don’t believe us that we are not the tow guys can they do this legally in front of a PRIVATE RESIDENCE IN cal.?????
Sandy,
I can’t advise you as to California law, but that sounds like it could be a breach of your right to quiet enjoyment of your rental property. You need to speak to a California property lawyer about this as soon as possible.
JEC
they repo my storage shed i had been calling them for two weeks no answer i have a 60,000 motorcycle in my shed i drive big trucks over the road so i always put my pickup in front to keep people from stealing it.they dragged my truck down the hill i had no trespassing signs up picked shed up and my bike fell down
Michael,
That definitely sounds like what here in Alabama would be called a “breach of the peace” repossession. If you’d like to talk about how their conduct may have been illegal, call me at 251-272-9148.
JEC
My truck was taken last night by I’m guessing a repo. I am behind on a title loan with Alabama Title Loan, but had made arrangements with them to catch it up this Friday. I was awake but did not hear anything, nor see anything. Even my inside dogs that bark at every vehicle that pulls in my driveway did not hear nothing for they remained quite. No one came to the door asking for keys or to let me get my personal belongings out. I am disabled and had medication and other valuables like tools and stuff inside the truck. The truck was locked up and they did not have a key. I contacted Alabama Title Loan and they will not tell me who took my truck. They told me that everything that was inside the truck of my personal belongings becomes the property of the truck and they have the right to do with it as they see fit. Is this true? I thought I had the right to my personal belongings. The way this was handled to me was illegal and theft of property.
Robin,
In Alabama, they don’t have to accept any payments other than what is in the written credit agreement. But they do have to give your personal belongings back. They do not “become property of the truck.”
The title loan place will not tell me who got my truck, nor will they return any of my phone calls. I have called twice asking for info on who got my truck and where it is at so I can get my belongings and they won’t tell me anything, only that any property left inside the truck is now theirs. How do I go about to get my personal property back?
Is it legal for the repo company to get my truck and then immediately send it to auction to be sold? I thought in Alabama I had 30 days to be able to get it back? Plus they are sending it to Birmingham and I have to pay the shipping fee as well. How is this legal? The repo company also is charging me $40 for my belongings and I have 24 hours to pick up or loose everything. I don’t have transportation for they took it. I live in a very rural area, it all cow fields and country out here. I don’t know anyone to take me places, and this just is not right!
The repo men ran over over my dad’s leg and pinned it between the bumper of the car and the hydraulic lift in their hurry to tow the car away but my dad and I were arrested instead. They never showed any paperwork for picking the car up, openly verbally mocked us, punched my dad several times (once in the crotch) and attempted to break his fingers. My little sister had a panic attack and fainted because of all of this and hit her head on the concrete parking lot. I can give the full story over the phone.
Teri,
I’ll be glad to talk to you to discuss your rights. Call my office this afternoon at 251.272.9148.
JEC
Sir you seem to know the laws quite well. I would love for you to call us and give us some advice because our car was repossessed by ford credit like 5:00 in the morning. Although we got it back after their threats
It was fix where we can’t use it. Also found out from ford dealer they stole many parts when they towed it
Off. It’s been an on going thing since March 27th 2019.
I received a Car Title Loan in California a while ago and defaulted on the Loan. But the repossession was unlawful. The tow truck driver hit me with his vehicle, threaten to beat my ass and pushed me into my own gate on private property. Hit my 2016 Ford Fusion that was parked next to the collateral and damged my whole carport. Broke my phone when it fell after he hit me with the tow truck. Caught on video. I did nothing wrong here but just laugh and tell him I know the law and your wrongfully repossessing my vechicle. ALL CAUGHT ON VIDEO. I stated he was trespassing and police came out as well. I sent a Demand letter wanting my Vehicle back plus $5000 in damages. These Lenders are responsible for the recovery services actions of “BREACHing the PEACE” The public should be aware of some of the SHADY tactics these companies use against mostly the poor, which most of the time dont know they’re rights. This conduct was oppressive, highhanded and recklessy unmindful of my constitutional and consumer rights. Trading Financial Credit Company is the Lender. Title Loan Company And Afterhours Recovery is the Repo agency involved here. I live in Oakland. I sending a compaint over to the Department of Bussiness Oversight for the Lenders complaint. Thank You! The Oakland Police Dept took a report.
DJB,
That sounds like a shady breach of the peace repo. You need to talk to a California lawyer about this issue. Best of luck!
JEC
I have never paid more than 30 days late, I had an agreement because I do contract work that the vehicle loan company would not attempt to repossess unless more than 30 days late…. I put $10,000 down… it has been exactly one year, never been more than 30 days, not even close… my vehicle was repossessed by them at 16 days passed due date,the next day when I went down to make payment and talk to them with my family(wife and 4 month old). I asked the finance manager and salesman who sold me the vehicle about why this was outside our agreement, They said I could only talk to the owner, later that day the owner called me and said we were being unreasonable (fabrication) and if we came back he would get the sheriff involved for trespassing… then I received a letter today that was delivered Friday that today they are selling truck at private auction and if I want payoff amount I need to come by and give them a $10 fee… I’m pretty sure I am being taken advantage of illegally…. some advice?
Joe,
If your payment was late as defined by the written contract, there might not be much you can do about reversing the repossession, but I would need to know more to figure out what your rights are. Feel free to call my office at 251-272-9148 to discuss this.
JEC
Hello, I live in Alabama & was driving my mom car (with permission). I was in the nail shop & the worker screams somebody’s car is being broke into….I look out the window & see a sketchy man putting a slim jim thingy in the door. I ran out bare foot & grabbed his arm asking what he was doing, he pushed me & a tussle ensued. I thought he was trying to steal my purse which was on the front seat….which had a bank deposit in it from my job! I was able to get in the car still not knowing who he was, I had no cell phone or shoes on. Next thing I know the car starts moving! I never knew or saw the tow truck! He drove/towed me & the car to an abandoned parking lot unhooked my battery so I couldn’t use ONSTAR to call 911 & parked there for 2 hours demanding that I get out the car which how could I do that with no shoes or anywhere to go! It was 102 degrees that day & I can’t even crank the car for air I began to get sick & overheat. He finally called the police 3 hrs later & he told the police that he had a court order to repo the car, I asked to see the court order & they said they didn’t have to show it to me & arrested me for failure to obey. I told them I was a licensed agent with State of AL and needed to remove the State belongings from the car they said NO & hauled me to jail! The next business day I was allowed to get things from the car which I took my boss with me because everything belonged to the company & I needed to save my job, and wouldn’t you know it! The money was gone…I was provided a video of the agent cleaning out the car and I see the agent pick up the bank envelope but the envelope nor the money is returned to me….what can I do???? Can they involve the police in a civil matter? Does a repo agency get a court order? Could he move the car with me in it? Did he need to tell me who he was? Sorry for the long story but I wanted you to know the facts…
Taylor,
Call my office at 251.272.1948. We may be able to help you.
JEC
My sister (Army veteran) brought her car to my house and parked it behind my back gate (behind my house, one way in one way out). Gate is locked with “No trespassing” signs. I personally do not owe any money on the vehicle.. she is using my car until she can catch up her payment. My sister just had a huge medical emergency (lost her child) which has caused her to get behind one month. She plans to make the makeup payment off her next paycheck next week. If they cut the lock on my gate and take the car can I legally sue them for entering private property? She tried to file for a deferment to the loan but they didn’t apply it for some reason. (Montgomery, AL.)
Amanda,
They’re not allowed to cut the lock on your private property. If they did, you could probably sue them for trespass in Alabama.
I agreed to sell my car to this guy for 1,500 so he transferred 1,000 in my sisters acct and said he put the remaining 500 on a chime account but it was going to take 3 to 5 business days to clear so I allowed him to drive the car well I have not been paid the 500 dollars and he still has my car .The guy won’t give me the cat or the 500. I have sent off the title to get it inmy name I have bill of sale where I bought it and insurance is in my name .The guy has cut muffler off spray painted a door red and took the hood off and he ran from the cops and got away but won’t pay me or give me my car back he says I owe him the 1,000 dollars he paid on the car.Please help I need to know what to do legally I live in Al
Jerri,
I can try to help you, but I’ll need to know a lot more about your case. Call my office at 251-272-9148 so we can set up our appointment.
Thanks!
Can a repo agent remotely track your mobile phones, and pretend to hit on your 17 year old daughter, follow your vehicle too closeley all in the attempt to recover a vehicle for GM Financial? My daughter doesn’t know, but she was harassed by this older guy who was clearly the repo agent i have identified before. Her phone is also hacked by these by any means necessary agents. I am about to file a formal complaint with GM Financial.
I can honestly say that I’ve never heard of the repo man using a romantic overture to repo, but that is probably illegal in Alabama.
Question: If money is still owed on a car loan and they mistakenly tell you to come pick up your title and you do, can they later come back after you?
I still owe but just got a call that said my title was on her desk and i can come pick it up!
Thank You Sir
Good Lord – we don’t WANT their stuff! I promise that I would MUCH rather them remove every penny and scrap of paper, prior to ME having to clean out some of these units. Then we have to store it for FREE and pay for certified letters to notify them that they left their junk in a car that they did not pay my client for – so no honey, it’s not “your” car. I hit the door as much as I can, unless the neighborhood is just terrible and I get the “uh oh” feeling. I can PROMISE you this one thing – I haven’t seen anything in a unit since I was running around here in diapers over 3 decades ago, that would be worth losing one of my clients over. I have literally removed a single mother’s car seats/purse etc, from a unit on a Saturday morning, running on a cat nap and coffee, and took it to her and hour away because she did not have any other car seats for her 3 kids. They barely fit in my little single cab snatch truck. So PLEASE if you get behind on your payments, (life happens and it’s not as shameful or rare as you think)… just go ahead and get your stuff out of the unit. Thanks!
Can a repo man come on private property of a motel and get your car the owner of the motel says they know it’s private property and how long after bankruptcy do they have to repo your car