“Dear Steve,
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Due to some financial challenges, I have been behind my car note for almost 4 months in the State of Tennessee and the Credit Union wants to repossess the car. I told them I’m not in town because right now I’m in another state (Maryland) with the car for a program. They called me and requested to tell them where the car is so that they can come and pick it up. I’m trying to make arrangement with them, but they don’t want to accept that. My question is can they repossess my car in another state?
Can my creditor repossess my car in another state?
William”
Dear William,
There seems to be no doubt that you are delinquent on the car payment. The issue becomes really complicated for you if the lender feels you are intentionally hiding the car to avoid repossession. If it is determined you are then you may be guilty of a fraudulent conversion or removal of property to avoid repossession and that can land you in court. If the lender asks, you must disclose where the car is now. They will probably hire a local repo agent to come and get it.
The sooner you hand the car back at this point the less additional fees and charges will be added on.
Can my car be repossessed without notice if it was brought in Illinois but I moved to Iowa and updated my address
Here is a good link to the Iowa laws regarding repossession. It explains what can and can’t happen in Iowa. http://www.iowalegalaid.org/resource/can-they-repossess-my-car
Find a school in FL where it’s next to impossible to garnish wages- just don’t keep any money in your bank account!
so my question is this i had a car repossessed a week after i had surgery. the car was not in my possession at the time because i could not drive. it was at a friends house. i told the repo guy where car was and was as cooperative as i could be. i lived in wisconsin and that is where car was registered. i was attending school in minnesota and just finished when i had the surgery so i was staying in minnesota. anyway when the repo guy came to get car i had no idea it was going to happen i got no notice or call even though bank had all information. because of surgery i fell behind on agreed payment. i called the bank and asked why i was not notified because wisconsin law says they have to give a written notice 30 days before repossession occurs. they told me because i was now in minnesota that they did not have to give me notice because of minnesota repossession laws. my car was registered in wisconsin i was still a legal resident of wisconsin and everything related to the car was wisconsin. but because i had a minnesota address because of school they said they didn’t have to follow wisconsin repo laws but instead minnesota. is this correct and if not what can i do if anything thanks in advance for any help
so my question is this i had a car repossessed a week after i had surgery. the car was not in my possession at the time because i could not drive. it was at a friends house. i told the repo guy where car was and was as cooperative as i could be. i lived in wisconsin and that is where car was registered. i was attending school in minnesota and just finished when i had the surgery so i was staying in minnesota. anyway when the repo guy came to get car i had no idea it was going to happen i got no notice or call even though bank had all information. because of surgery i fell behind on agreed payment. i called the bank and asked why i was not notified because wisconsin law says they have to give a written notice 30 days before repossession occurs. they told me because i was now in minnesota that they did not have to give me notice because of minnesota repossession laws. my car was registered in wisconsin i was still a legal resident of wisconsin and everything related to the car was wisconsin. but because i had a minnesota address because of school they said they didn’t have to follow wisconsin repo laws but instead minnesota. is this correct and if not what can i do if anything thanks in advance for any help
Legal trouble.
Just out of curiousity – What are the consequences for deliberately avoiding repossession in Maryland?
This is the ONLY website that I found information on a similar situation to mine. And in two replies, Steve, you still didn’t answer the question. William, like myself, would like to know if the lender can repossess a car in another state. Stating how the lending system works isn’t helpful. It seems your advice was judgmental and speculative of something William wasn’t implying (hiding the car). This is by far the worst advice I’ve ever seen on a website.
Yes, a lender can reposses a car, truck, boat, plane, etc. In another state.
Steve
Just out of curiousity – What are the consequences for deliberately avoiding repossession in Maryland?
Legal trouble.
What about a different country, let say Canada?
This case description is from 2013 and is directly related to a US-Canada repossession. Ultimately, you would need an opinion issued by a licensed attorney for definitive legal comfort.
— Summary —
In a recent case before the Alberta Court of Appeal, Houle v BMW Financial Services, a couple who had bought a car in the United States and took it with them when they moved to Alberta sued after the American dealer repossessed the car in Canada. The Court upheld a decision dismissing their action for an order cancelling and reversing the seizure of the BMW car. They had bought it in California under an installment sales contract, then had fallen twelve months behind on the payments. After several months of inquiries and searching, the U.S. dealer found the car in Alberta and, through an affiliated Ontario company, re-possessed the car. The owners then proposed to pay the arrears to get the car back, but the defendant refused. The car’s owners made much of the fact a non-party had seized the car, presumably hoping for a ruling that only a party to the car sale transaction can seize back the car, and that that party would not be permitted to enforce a U.S. transaction across the border in Canada.
The facts presented legal issues of two kinds: the substantive issues (did the U.S. dealer have the right to refuse payment of the arrears, seize and keep the car , or did the owners have the right to pay those arrears and regain the car?) and the procedural issues (what requirements apply to the seizure?)
The contract had a choice of law clause: the law of California governs substantive matters and the law of the place of seizure governs procedural matters. This is the same as what the Alberta conflict of laws rules provide.
The need to prove the content of the foreign (California) law as a fact can potentially be a difficulty in cases of this size, given the cost of bringing in an expert or other witness to testify on California law. Here, neither side did so; instead, a copy of the relevant excerpt of the California Civil Code was given to the Court, and both sides argued from that, probably in order to minimize costs. The court applied the presumption of similarity: it presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that California law (including their principles of statutory interpretation) is the same as Alberta law. The court found the defendant had a right to seize and re-sell the car.
The governing law as to procedure is the domestic law; the law of Alberta says that if the owner is in default, the manner of seizure is irrelevant and does not provide a ground for attacking the seizure or sale. The court had little to say about the fact the search and seizure was directed from outside Canada, without the knowledge or consent of Canadian authorities – apparently that was of no consequence for the court.
Evidently, the Canada – U.S. border is not itself a big obstacle to a foreign party’s enforcement of a security interest, in Alberta at least. – Source
The fact is that is true that I’m not in town. I drove the car down here and the transmission is mess up so I can’t even drive the car back until is fixed. I told them the situation of the car and explain to them that I’m trying to fix the car and drive it down and give it to them or pay the past due. The car has 130,000 miles on it and told them I’m willing to work with them to finish the payment of this loan because even if they repossess the car they may not get much money out of it and I will still own them, so why not work something out with me. I really need your advice, Steve. Thanks in advance.
William,
That’s not the way the system works. The lender at this point is probably happier about you defaulting so they can repossess the car and go after you in court for a huge judgment. That judgment will be legally binding and may lead to your wages being garnished and they will get paid. There is no motivation for them working out a “deal.”
They know they aren’t going to get a lot of money out of it and to them it doesn’t matter since you’ll have to pay the difference between the little bit the car sells for at auction and the amount you owe.
Steve
Find a school in FL where it’s next to impossible to garnish wages- just don’t keep any money in your bank account!