Quick Answer: Car surrender helps avoid repossession costs but doesn’t eliminate debt, as lenders can still sue for deficiency balances after selling the vehicle. Credit unions retain the right to pursue wage garnishment, bank account levies, and property liens through court judgments even after voluntary surrender.
“Dear Steve,
I took out a car loan with my credit union and i had a hardship and they were able to lower my loan. However it was not lowered enough to satify my ability to afford the monthly payments. Therefore I contact the credit union for further help and they were unable to further lower my paynents.
My payments were current at that time but I could not afford to continue the monthly notes due to hardship. Therefore, I surrendered the car back to the credit union. Now I am recieving letters from attorneys offering to help me with recovery because they noticed that there is a sue against me that was filed with the county from my credit union
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Can I be sued? Can they put a lein on my house? Can they remove funds from my bank acct. or income tax?
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Sweetpea”
Dear Sweetpea,
Can the credit union sue you for failure to meet your obligations under the agreement? Absolutely.
If you bank at the same credit union the credit union agreement may say they can remove funds from your accounts there. But if the sue you and win. They will then go for a judgment and could go for a wage garnishment or even put a lien against the home.
Your best bet at this point would be to consult with an attorney that is licensed in your state and get legal advice to better handle this situation.
Please post your responses and follow-up messages to me on this in the comments section below.
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