Illegal Repossession

[tgreen]

Hi, I have a question - My son is in the USAF - A couple of weeks ago his vehicle broke down on him and was towed. While in storage the vehicle incurred storage fees. A letter came to my address referencing where the vehicle was - I, in-turn, contacted them to find out how much my son owed and had to pay at that point - At the time - nor me or my son had the monies to retrieve the vehicle so the vehicle sat there an additional two weeks - meantime, the Credit Union that financed the vehicle repossessed it from my son. My issue is this - my son never stopped paying the credit union for the vehicle - they received the truck payments as automatic drafts from his account with them - so he was not deliquent on any monthly payments. The credit union referred to this as abandonment because he had not retrieved the vehicle. But he was trying to come up with the monies and means to do so via retrieve the vehicle. The vehicle stayed in storage incurring fees for about 3 weeks. Is this a case and grounds for "Illegal Repossession" against the credit union? Please advise.

Thank you.

-Tonya

 

[CdwJava]

What state did this happen in?

Note that the lien holder of a vehicle may incur fees on a stored vehicle if the fees are not paid. Depending on the laws in your state, it is possible that the tow company had already initiated a lien sale of the vehicle and that would have put the lien holder at risk of losing their entire investment - the car AND the payments.

I suspect that this repossession was perfectly legal, but your son is free to consult an attorney if he chooses to do so.

- Carl

 

[tgreen]

Tks. Carl. This is good to know.

 

[tgreen]

Oh, by the way - I am in Florida.

 

[calalily]

Check laws for service members, have him go to JAG office and see if their any special protections for him.

 

[tgreen]

Thank you for the information and will let my son know to do this.