Car included in BK & 7 months later it hasnt been picked up?????

[Anonymous]

First time poster. Long time lurker.

Filed BK7 in September and was going to keep the 06' Acura financed thru DT until I read the Reaff agreement decided against it (unsure why ANYONE would sign that thing if they actually read it, but i digress).  Tried to negotiate with DT for more palatable terms to no avail.  

Added vechicle to the BK and it discharged in 1/2015.

To date they have not come to pick the car up!  I offered to surrender but attorney said to wait until they come get it.  In 2/2015 i purchased a MB financed thru Chase.  

My question is:  can i still drive the Acura?  what happens now?  what should i do with this thing????  can i go to jail or get in trouble for not "surrendering" (dont laugh this is a real question lol)

Sorry for sounding paranoid.  I dont want any trouble.  Any insight is greatly appreciated.  I am in VA.

[StartingOver10]

When I filed and was discharged, I contacted the lender and made arrangements for the vehicle to be picked up on a specified date and time. I didn't want the vehicle picked up at my home or place of work, so we agreed on a place and it was picked up one day after discharge. 

BTW, i did reaffirm one vehicle loan because it had equity and only a few payments left. I changed the reaffirmation agreement before I signed it. I changed the interest rate, the payment, the remaining term, title issuance terms, reporting terms and then signed it. The lender signed it too.  Just because changes aren't encouraged doesn't mean you can't make changes and once you get the agreement signed by the parties, then that is the agreement that is followed. i had zero issues with the reaffirmed loan.

[DaveInAZ]

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@Anonymous wrote:

First time poster. Long time lurker.

Filed BK7 in September and was going to keep the 06' Acura financed thru DT until I read the Reaff agreement decided against it (unsure why ANYONE would sign that thing if they actually read it, but i digress).  Tried to negotiate with DT for more palatable terms to no avail.  

Added vechicle to the BK and it discharged in 1/2015.

To date they have not come to pick the car up!  I offered to surrender but attorney said to wait until they come get it.  In 2/2015 i purchased a MB financed thru Chase.  

My question is:  can i still drive the Acura?  what happens now?  what should i do with this thing????  can i go to jail or get in trouble for not "surrendering" (dont laugh this is a real question lol)

Sorry for sounding paranoid.  I dont want any trouble.  Any insight is greatly appreciated.  I am in VA.

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To addess your specific concerns - sure, you can still drive the Acura (of course you'll want to have it covered with insurance). And yes, you absolutely can get into trouble for not 'surrendering' the vehicle - I bought a car last Feb and financed it throuigh my local CU. They must have a recent problem as they had me sign a sepoarate addendum that said if I tried to hide the car while they attempted to repo they would file charges of car theft against me..Usually the lender contacts you to set a time & location they can come pick it up; if you refuse that's 'not surrendering'. Sometimes they'll just someone to repo it without telling you, I assume ou have parked at a location they have on file, such as your residential or work address? If so, thats not 'not surrenering'. If you tried hide it - park it at a friend's house or somewhere they dont' know about, that's 'not surrendering'.So, just make sure it's usually in a location they know bout, home/work and you'll be OK. (Don't leave anything in the car you want in case they pull a midnight repo)

Personally, I don't like things hanging over my head, and if it were me I would contact them and ask when they plan on coming to get the car. A 9 year old Accura is only worth maybe $3-4k (repos sell at wholesale auction, the rock bottom price) and they may not be thinking it's worth their trouble. If you think it's worth it and have the $$$ you might make an offer to pay them off and get the clear title.

[beezer32]

Under no circumstance can a lien holder (lender) file criminal charges for 'theft' if they cannot locate a vehicle that they intend to repossess. When you finance a vehicle, you literally purchase and own the vehicle and the lien holder only has a title lien on the property for purposes of reclaiming it under default. You cannot be charged with 'theft' of your own vehicle. Period. It's a civil matter at most.

Now, on the flipside, you CAN get into a World of trouble by failing to surrender under a bankruptcy order. Again though, we aren't talking about criminal charges, at most you're case would be thrown out, stay lifted and the lender has carte blanche rights to come and find it. The judge may even hold you in contempt but I wouldn't expect to be locked up in Pelican Bay over it.

You do not want to try and hide a vehicle under surrender agreement. Again though, under no circumstances can a lien holder get you for 'theft' criminally. Its an unfortunate collection tactic to tell folks that in order to scare the vehicle back into their possession.

[beezer32]

Also, if your car is not worth it to the lender, they won't come and get it. You can Google and read many instances of this happening and its becoming more frequent. Typically, if the lender believes that it's not justifiable to them to spend the expense of recovery, they won't come and get it. It does happen. Also, your attorney can petition the bankruptcy court to reopen the case and file a motion to redeem the vehicle for as little as one dollar ($1). If the lender doesn't respond to the redeem motion, in some situations the judge will grant you release of the lien/title for $1.

[DaveInAZ]

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@beezer32 wrote:

Under no circumstance can a lien holder (lender) file criminal charges for 'theft' if they cannot locate a vehicle that they intend to repossess. When you finance a vehicle, you literally purchase and own the vehicle and the lien holder only has a title lien on the property for purposes of reclaiming it under default. You cannot be charged with 'theft' of your own vehicle. Period. It's a civil matter at most.

Now, on the flipside, you CAN get into a World of trouble by failing to surrender under a bankruptcy order. Again though, we aren't talking about criminal charges, at most you're case would be thrown out, stay lifted and the lender has carte blanche rights to come and find it. The judge may even hold you in contempt but I wouldn't expect to be locked up in Pelican Bay over it.

You do not want to try and hide a vehicle under surrender agreement. Again though, under no circumstances can a lien holder get you for 'theft' criminally. Its an unfortunate collection tactic to tell folks that in order to scare the vehicle back into their possession.

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Well, I'll see if I can dig out the loan docs with that "theft" addendum as I remember it quite clearly as I thought it was pretty insulting. Here I am signing loan docs getting their best interest rate for having 'A" credit rating, seting up the payments for auto debit from my savings account, and the loan officer is having me sign something that said I could be charged with criminal theft if I ever attempted to evade a repo. It's a small CU in Douglas AZ, on the Mexican border, so maybe they have a higher instance of folks facing repo hiding the car by driving & parking it across the border.