“My Car is Gone!”
Could there be anything more unnerving than looking out of your window one morning to find your vehicle missing? Chances are, if you are behind on your car or truck payments, you saw a repossession coming. But, what if you didn’t realize your car was going to be repossessed, or what if you did, but, the company that repossessed your car, truck, or motorcycle did so without letting you know about it?
M.G.L. Chapter 255B, Section 20B is the section of Massachusetts general law that deals with the repossession of a motor vehicle. The law is very clear in this section about identifying the proper notice that a Massachusetts resident must receive from a lender and what rules the lender needs to follow in repossessing a vehicle. The law is also clear as to the rules a car or truck repossession company must follow when repossessing a vehicle. Our attorney would like to see the notice you were given by the lender or finance company as this document, if not property meeting all of the requirements of Massachusetts law regarding repossession of motor vehicles, can be the key to getting your car returned to you.
“Isn’t the Repossession Company or the Lender Supposed to Notify Me that they are Coming to Repossess my Car?”
The short answer is yes…a lender or financing company which has provided money to you for the purchase of a motor vehicle in Massachusetts is supposed to give you notice before they repossess your vehicle. There are situations, however, where the lender does not have to send you notice (where they have sent you notice of a pending repossession three times in the past and you avoided repossession by paying off any amounts owed). But, in most instances a lender or financing company will be required to send you a notice prior to any attempt to repossess their collateral for a loan, that is, to repossess your car or truck in Massachusetts.
Did You Just Receive a “Rights of Defaulting Buyer under the Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Installment Sales Act” notice?
The notice entitled, “Rights of Defaulting Buyer under the Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Installment Sales Act” is the “big-boy” of notices that all financing companies or lenders are required to send to Massachusetts residents prior to their repossessing a motor vehicle. This notice must be sent to you at a specific time, starting from 10 days on nonpayment on a monthly bill due. If this notice is sent earlier that 10 days, the finance company or lender may have violated Massachusetts repossession laws. Also, the notice must inform you clearly as to exactly how much money you owe, how much money you are in arrears. Again, our attorney would like to review this notice if you have received one, to determine if the lender or finance company has followed Massachusetts repossession laws and to preserve your rights under these laws.
Other Notices Required
Massachusetts repossession laws also require notice to you after the finance company or lender has repossessed your vehicle. Consumer protection laws in Massachusetts are established to provide some measure of protection from lenders that might attempt to take advantage of the consumer. Your lender or finance company, in order to be in compliance with Massachusetts law on the subject, requires that they inform you of your rights following a repossession. You have a certain period of time in which to cure the default, in other words, to repay any money owed before the lender can sell your car or truck at auction. If a lender fails to explain these rights to you, the lender is in violation of Massachusetts repossession laws and our office wants to get involved to protect your rights.
Deficiency Notice in Massachusetts
Another type of notice that a lender or finance company must give to a Massachusetts car or truck owner is a deficiency notice. Massachusetts consumer protection laws have set a dollar limit under which the lender is not allowed to pursue a Massachusetts resident. When you owe on the balance of the loan under $2000 in deficiency, the lender cannot send you a deficiency notice attempting to collect this amount. However, when you owe over the $2000 deficiency limit as proscribed in Massachusetts General Laws on repossession, the lender will send you this deficiency notice. Still, exactly what amount of money you owe on the vehicle must have, as part of the calculation of exactly how much money you owe the lender, consideration of the value of your car or truck.
“Still More Notice?”
Yes…if the lender or finance company has sold your vehicle it must provide you with notice of the sale. The lender or finance company has similar rules to follow as to those applying to a deficiency owed on the car or truck and must notify you accordingly.
“But I Need My Car Back Now!”
Fair enough. And not only might you need your car back so that you can get to work and do all of the other things you need to do to support yourself and your family, but you need to get it back within the 21 days that Massachusetts repossession law requires the lender to hold the car or truck before selling it. These laws are in place, the 21 day hold law, that is, to protect you – to give you time to fix the problem by repaying any amounts still owed on the vehicle so that it may be returned to you. However, once the 21 days have past and if you have not repaid the amounts owed on the vehicle or the lender has failed to provide adequate notice in some way, you may not ever get the car or truck back. Repossession of a vehicle requires you to act fast to preserve your rights.
Your Options to Get Your Car Back
The first and probably the easiest option when your car has been property repossessed under Massachusetts repossession laws is to attempt to negotiate with the lender to reinstate the loan. Typically, reinstatement of a loan is going to require you to pay any arrearages due under the loan. A bank is not necessarily required, under Massachusetts repossession laws, to reinstate your loan. However, our offices may be able to negotiate on your behalf to enable a reinstatement when you have the money to pay arrearages and are unable to negotiate a reinstatement of the loan on your car or truck on your own.
The next option, although probably an unlikely option, is to redeem the full amount due on the loan. This option is unlikely because if your car is being repossessed due to a failure to pay, money is probably not one of the things that are easily acceptable to you.
When no other option is available, and you are reacting within the right amount of time, it may be possible to declare bankruptcy as a means of getting your vehicle returned to you. Filing bankruptcy in Massachusetts initiates what is known as the “automatic stay”, which is a hold on all proceedings to collect a debt of the person who is filing for bankruptcy. Once the automatic stay has been initiated, a lender must temporarily stop all collection activity. If you file in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the automatic stay does take effect, but your car or truck may be liquidated to pay off some of your creditors. However, if you file Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Massachusetts, not only do you get the benefit of stopping creditor collection activity but you can set up a repayment plan which allows you to pay the amount that you owe on the vehicle over a 3-5 year period.
Our attorney is well-versed in Massachusetts car repossession laws, in bankruptcy, and in consumer protection issues in Massachusetts and ready and willing to help you in any car repossession matter. Contact our offices to find out what options are available to you and we will provide you with an analysis of your current rights under Massachusetts car and truck repossession laws.
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.