#car repossession

Repossession under hire-purchase/loan agreement Whether the transaction between a financier (eg. bank) and a purchaser/hirer is a hire purchase transaction or a loan transaction (collectively referred to as “finance”), is determined principally from the terms of the agreement. Under the former transaction/agreement, the financier is generally the (registered) owner of the vehicle in question…

You have the opportunity to be a better bank; to distinguish yourself as a bank for the people rather than merely another capitalist enterprise whose sole purpose is to profit off of people’s suffering so your shareholders and board members can make another few million dollars.

You have an opportunity to really stand out as a customer-oriented enterprise and set a good example for all those “too big to fail” businesses which only live to bleed its customers dry.

Note: I am obviously not free from any blame in this story. I am the one who fell into default on my car loan and I am the one who, in my frustration and depression (and dislike for phones), did not reach out to you to find a resolution. Even so, I think you guys really failed epically in your legal conniving and I think milking a father of three who can barely survive as it is for added “fees” is very Thenardier of you. (For those who don’t know, Thenardier is a conman in Les Miserables. He is not a good guy.)

That said, my story, as I shared it with the national Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (@CFPB):

[Late December 6] my vehicle, a Mazda5, was repossessed by the lien holder, Fifth Third Bank. This is our only family vehicle. It gets me to work and all five of us to various errands and functions. As of December 3, I was past due on three installments (excluding the 10-day grace period). That’s all fairly understandable, but…

Fifth Third Bank has theoretically been contacting me. They have been doing this via several phone numbers from different non-Ohio area codes that did not list the business name as they came in. Ninety-five percent (a guesstimate, I admit, but it was a definite majority) of these calls came in during the day, when I’m at work and unable to talk. Even so, I do not answer phone numbers that I don’t know or recognize the area code at least as someone I might personally know or be doing business with. I do not know people in New York, Houston, or Atlanta who would know my phone number and want to call me, so I didn’t answer. On top of that, these numerous unrecognized calls only attempted to leave a voicemail [a total of two times]. One “voicemail” was one second of nothing. The other “voicemail” was over two minutes of utter silence - no beeps or chirps or clicks, no words mumbled or clear, no sound at all. I would still not know who was trying to call me if I didn’t sift through several Google searches after my vehicle was repossessed. This inability to communicate properly I find unacceptable on the part of a billion-dollar financial company.

Now yes, I probably should have called them, not that a depressed person with no money available to pay a bill (who dislikes phones anyway) really wants to speak to a likely foreign national with poor English whose only job is to get you to pay a bill you can’t pay. I did actually speak with one such person once over a month ago, but was instructed to call back when someone was actually in whatever department that could discuss and approve the payment plan I had requested.

On top of all of this, Fifth Third Bank never once attempted to call the cosigner on my loan (my mother, who happened to sacrifice part of her day to drive me around today). There is a reason to have a cosigner, yet they did not call or write her even once. (Although they did send me a letter Nov. 18.) [If contacting the consigner, which, to my knowledge is a quite common occurrence in such instances, isn’t a legal requirement, it certainly should be.]

At any rate, last night while the repo company was hooking up my vehicle, I tried to call Fifth Third Bank. After two dropped calls on their part, I finally got through to another person with tolerable English in a foreign accent who eventually told me the account was now with the Repossession Department, which closed at 5pm (it was around 8:45pm when the repo crew arrived, 9pm when I started calling Fifth Third Bank), and I would have to call them back the next day.

[The next day, Dec. 7], while at work, I got a call from a phone number I did not know. [This time] I googled it right away and learned it was yet another Fifth Third phone number. They called twice during the day, then finally called a couple of hours ago.

I’m told that I have to find a Western Union (a very rare sight in Ohio’s Amish Country) and pay an initial $897.76 (my original car payment of $275.92*3 - that’s reasonable) in cash via a process through them, then call Fifth Third back [to let them know] and then wait another two days until my vehicle is released, after which I have to pay the repossessor their fees to actually get my vehicle back. Then there’s still $70 in late fees to pay plus some other fees (she had quoted some $1,100 total at one point) PLUS [another] $500+ in [Fifth Third] repossession processing fees beyond that. That is utterly insane and unacceptable highway robbery.

I despise this con game. It needs to stop, however legal it may be. I offered $621.84 (two months payments of $310.92, including late fees), but it was not acceptable to them. Why does a billion-dollar company need an additional hundreds of dollars on an interest-bearing loan? They DON’T and I am outraged.

ADDENDUM: I am obviously not arguing about the original amount of money I owe Fifth Third Bank or that I am in default and they have the legal right to confiscate “their” property. I am simply arguing that they: – Need better communication practices and ability to help customers in need. Community outreach and helping fundraisers is all well and good, but a billion-dollar bank can also afford to go above and beyond and work with and help individuals who are struggling; – Absolutely should be transparent and list its business name in Caller ID so that I know to answer; – Can afford to and should have all relevant departments open at the same time while making more calls (with Caller ID enabled) at non-standard hours; – Always should contact the cosigner. This is common practice, but if it’s not required by law, it should be; and – Should not be allowed to charge exorbitant fees on top of what is already owed. Another $500 or $700 and change is ridiculous.

Am I right? Kind of right? Absolutely wrong?

http://credit-counseling-us.blogspot.com/2016/10/car-repossession-united-states_58.html https://creditcounselingusa.wordpress.com/2016/10/17/car-repossession-united-states/ https://creditcounselingusa.wordpress.com

Stop vehicle repossession in United States call (888) 505-2369 free attorney consultation get your car back after repossession file bankruptcy lawyer Chapter 7 law chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyers liquidation under the bankruptcy code, individual debt adjustment, Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy law, servicemembers’ civil relief act, bankruptcy credit counseling options to get your car, van, truck, or other vehicle back after it has been repossessed. Which option is best for you depends on how much money you have, your state’s laws, your loan agreement, and the car loan lender’s willingness to work with you. The most sure fire way to get the car back is to pay off the loan. This is called exercising your right of redemption. To redeem the loan, you must pay back the entire balance of the loan as well as certain fees and costs (such as repo and storage fees). You can redeem the car at any time prior to the private sale or auction. The bank is supposed to send you written notice that contains the information you need to redeem. If you haven’t received that notice within five days of the repossession, contact the creditor right away to get the payoff amount and instructions for redemption. Your right of redemption ends when the car is sold. Reinstatement (If Applicable) If you don’t have enough money to redeem, then another possible option is to reinstate the loan. With reinstatement you bring the loan current by making up all of the past due payments, including applicable fees and late charges, in one lump sum. The right of reinstatement is only allowed in some (not all) states, or by the terms of your loan agreement. If you can and are able to reinstate, you should act quickly. Usually, you are allowed only a very short time after the repossession (sometimes 15 days) to reinstate the loan. If your right of reinstatement is based on the loan agreement, then the time period may be more or less, depending on what the agreement says. Buy the Vehicle Back at the Auction If the car is going to be sold at public auction (the bank is supposed to give you notice if it is), then you can attend the auction and bid on it yourself. Talk to the Bank If none of the above options are doable for you, don’t rule out trying to negotiate an alternative arrangement with the creditor. For instance, if you owed three payments but only have enough funds to pay for two, you could negotiate a partial reinstatement and pay the rest of the past due payments later. You could also try to work out a new payment plan or even refinance the car loan. Talk to the bank and find out what it would agree to. (Of course, all of these options are more feasible if you try to negotiate them before your car is repossessed.) If you have reason to believe that the bank violated your rights during the repossession, such as breaching the peace, you could use this as bargaining leverage to get the car back.  

    DC

from Credit Counseling | (800) 254-4100 http://consumercounseling.org/car-repossession-united-states.html New York