Please help! My car was repoed and this is what shows on my credit report.

[ah32]

I lost my job due to an injury. I had to have surgery and got a staph infection that required intense iv treatments and I was out of work for 5 weeks. My employer fired me unjustly. I'm currently seeking an attorney. I was in the final phases of my credit repair from years ago and now this. I've managed to keep a couple cards current, but lost my battle with three cards and my car. They finally came and took it. This is what shows on my credit report. Do creditors see this as a repo? Thanks for any advice. Balance: $0 Date Updated: 06/2008 High Balance: $29,933 Past Due: $0 Terms: $607 for 73 months Pay Status: >Charged Off as Bad Debt Account Type: Installment Account Responsibility: Joint Account Date Opened: 07/2006 Date Closed: 06/2008 Loan Type: Automobile Remark: >Profit and loss writeoff Estimated date that this item will be removed: 11/2014

[Anonymous]

yes, this is a repo.

Once it is auctioned off you will be contacted in regards to the balance that is left over.  If by then you are on your feet and can get it pay it in full, you might be ablel to negotiate them to change the accoutn to paid in full/paid as agrees.  This will only likely happen if you can prove you had a hardship, that you were fired unfairly, and you are able to pay in full.  They are nor required to do this, but in a case with such circumstances you might have a chance.  Use the saem route with the credit cards as well.  Try to negotiate a pay for delete and if they agree, the cards will be deleted from your history.

[tri3nity]

I am trying to get an answer to the same question. Mine showed as a repo for 3 years and I received an alert today that the account had been updated to this and my score dropped 4 points. I know that an alert isn't always the cause in a score drop, but the update concerns me. This is the way it is showing on my cbr now. Previously reported Newly reported Balance: $0 $10,480 Past due: Not Reported $10,480 Status: Repossession Bad Debt; Placed for collection; Last activity: 3/1/2005 4/1/2005 Description: Involuntary repossession Charge off account Auto loan Auto Loan Where it used to show $0 for an involuntary repo, it now shows a balance as a co

[ah32]

I wasn't sure how most repo's are reported on credit reports. Unfortunately, it was sold at auction for a ridiculous price. Wells Fargo's people are idiots. They now say I owe them $17,000 and I no longer have the car. It's out of my hands now, as I'll never pay them 17k for a vehicle I no longer have. I couldn't afford that even if I wanted to pay. They were mean on the phone and could have cared less that I almost died when I was trying to work with them to keep the vehicle. Is it now impossible going forward to get a car loan? I have no intentions in the immediate future, but perhaps once I get back on my feet. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Just remember that just because it is a repo and has been auctioned does not mean that you are off the hook.  they can and will come after you for the difference  (17K in the one case).  This can get reported as a collection (again damaging your score even further) and eventually a lawsuit/judgement.  Once it has hit the judgement part, your credit is really screwed and they can attempt to garnish wages for the balance.  Your best bet is to try to find a way to make some sort of settlement with them for a reduced price and then, with your reasoning documented as to why you were behind in the first place, attempt to have the accoutn removed or changed to piad as agrees 

[aquatic1]

---

@ah32 wrote:
I wasn't sure how most repo's are reported on credit reports. Unfortunately, it was sold at auction for a ridiculous price. Wells Fargo's people are idiots. They now say I owe them $17,000 and I no longer have the car. It's out of my hands now, as I'll never pay them 17k for a vehicle I no longer have. I couldn't afford that even if I wanted to pay. They were mean on the phone and could have cared less that I almost died when I was trying to work with them to keep the vehicle. Is it now impossible going forward to get a car loan? I have no intentions in the immediate future, but perhaps once I get back on my feet. Thanks.

---

Hello,
From what I have heard, Wells Fargo would have to show that they at least attempted to get a reasonable offer for the car at auction. An example is the car has a blue book value of 12000 and they got 10000 at auction. That may be considered a reasonable price . But if the car is worth 12000 and they get 2000, that is not reasonable. They would only be able to require you to pay a certain amount that is "reasonable". That is how its basically written up in NY state. I would suggest that you google the information for your state on repossessions and paying the balance if the automobile goes for less that the blue book value. Good luck.

Oh yeah you may want to contact a lawyer and possibly get a free consult to ask for assistance.

[Anonymous]

reasonable price is covered if it is sold at a public auction.  That statute is mainly to prevent them from giving the cars away cheaply to people such as friends, employees, etc like a once a month "employee" auction where employees bid on the cars for cheap and then the bank passes that difference on to you.  If the auction was advertised and public, it is fair market price.   

[ah32]

Thanks for the advice! It was sold for 10K, but I looked up the value today and it was 14K.  The car was sold in auction in August I believe.  Plus, it didn't allow me to add a few options I had including electric start and a spoiler.  I guess I'll do some more research on this and call Wells Fargo.  Again, thanks!

[Anonymous]

I've been having similar problems with a voluntary repossession (still shows the same on your cr). When I turned the vehicle in, it took them 3 months to figure out that they had the vehicle. They started calling again 2 months after I turned it in talking about repo. Someone told me that they thought the company (it was CarMax) had to auction it within 30 days of the date I turned it in. I have looked for law related to that and can't find anything. I live in SC.  I do know that the bit about the judgment is absolutely true, the second CA it was sold to threatened me with that. That hasn't happened, but it has been sold again twice. I have tried to make payment arrangements with these various agencies twice and have paid $1500 of the $7400 deficiency and am getting nowhere. They made promises like "no more interest will accrue", etc. I decided I'm not paying anything else till I find some answers, because I'm not getting anywhere in satisfying the debt and it's still killing my score.

[MattH]

---

@ah32 wrote:
Thanks for the advice! It was sold for 10K, but I looked up the value today and it was 14K.  The car was sold in auction in August I believe.  Plus, it didn't allow me to add a few options I had including electric start and a spoiler.  I guess I'll do some more research on this and call Wells Fargo.  Again, thanks!

---

It is entirely possible 10K actually IS a fair market price for that car right now. 

In the current market, many cars have dropped in value and lots of people are finding themselves unable to sell their cars for what they think they are worth.  With a declining economy, tight credit, and high fuel prices very few cars are selling for what they did six months ago.  Just like houses.  The various guides to used-car prices may not reflect current market reality because their numbers are based on past sales which means there is an inherent lag time in a declining market.  Anyway in most States the burden of proof is on the borrower to prove the auction price was dramatically out of line with the market, and especially right now that is a very high burden of proof.

You have my sympathy, but legally the lender is not obligated to take your personal situation into account so you will need to be very persuasive when you talk with them, and almost certainly you will need to pay them at least a substantial fraction of what you owe or they will do things like file a lawsuit and garnish your wages.  And once you are beyond the current situation, you should take steps to protect yourself from back luck in future: build up an emergency fund, but also make sure you are never again upside-down on a car by never buying a car unless (1) your downpayment plus trade-in come to at least one-third of the purchase price and (2) the loan term is 48 months or less.  For a used car, it might be OK to put one-quarter of the purchase price down, but not less than that.