When you’re facing financial difficulties and having a difficult time paying your bills, the last thing you need is for your car, truck, auto or boat to be repossessed or to face the threat of it being repossessed right out from under you.
Did You Know that You be able to Save Your Vehicle?
If the lender or financing company which loaned you the money to buy your vehicle in Massachusetts has violated Massachusetts law by not giving you proper notice of their intent to repossess the vehicle, you may be able to save it from repossession. If the lender did provide proper notice of repossession, they may not have provided proper post-repossession notice, and/or a notice of deficiency which would also be a problem for the lender. You may have a claim if the lender did not provide such notices to you.
Proper Notice
If a lender is thinking about repossessing your car or truck in Massachusetts, they had better follow the rules.
1. The lender cannot send you a notice of repossession until after 10 days of you failing to make a payment, no sooner than that.
2. The notice must be entitled “Rights of Defaulting Buyer Under the Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Installment Sales Act.” Please note: this notice does not need to be sent to you by the lender if this is the fourth time that you have received the same notice.
3. The notice must have a due date, the date when your payment is due, and must inform you how much money is due.
Getting your car returned to you, once repossessed, (if none of the above apply) is generally going to require you to pay all arrearages owed on the vehicle, or pay the entire balance, or they may reinstate the loan and return your car to you upon request.
More Repossession Problems
While a repossession agent can repossess your car if they follow the rules, what they can’t do is threaten you or use force to repossess the vehicle. Also, a repossession company cannot enter your home or private property without your permission to get your vehicle. Note: They can get it from a public street. Further, repossession companies are very aware that they cannot breach the peace when repossessing a vehicle.
If you think a repossession situation became out of control, the agent may have breached the peace which may create liability for that company. Another concern is if your repossession company failed to give proper notice to the police department in the city in which the vehicle is located, typically within one hour of repossession, that company may have some liability for their inaction.
Consult with our attorney if your car is about to be repossessed or has been repossessed to see your available options. It may be possible for you to catch up on your payments through reinstating the loan, or to force the repossession company to allow you to by filing for bankruptcy in severe cases.
DISCLAIMER:
The information provided in the pages and posts of this website are for general informational purposes only. The information presented on this site is not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is formed by the use of this site.
