car repo'd please help

[Anonymous]

hi, my name is crystal. im new to this board as it was suggested to my by a friend. anyhow, here is a back drop on my situation. im currently 9 months pregnant and have been on bedrest since the day i found out i was pregnant ( severly high risk) therefore, leaving my husband to pay all of the bills. he recently got laid off and had to get a new job which put us behind. he also had to get a 2nd job to catch up. we have been deliquent on our car notes and just last week, they tried to repo our car but went to our old address ( when we lived with our MIL) we called honda finance and  i asked if they could hold the car until we come up with the money to pay it current ( behind $1,100)the guy told us that the account had been closed and we would have to make the full payment within 10 days or the car goes to an auction and we will be forced to pay the difference. we owe $10k on the car. the car is scheduled to get repo'd today. is there anything we can do?? or is it just too late?

[Anonymous]

What state do you live in? Most states have specific statutes regarding your situation, but we can't figure that out without knowing your state!!

EDIT: Forgot to ask: has your car already been repo'ed? Or has it just been attempted?

Message Edited by Wonderin on 05-30-2008 07:31 PM

[Anonymous]

I would contact the financing company and speak with an account specialist or collection specialist, anyone but the average customer service rep that answers the phone.

I honestly don't know if there is anything you can do at this point. I've never been in this position.

If you actually had the money to get caught up right now, they'd probably work with you more.

I do not know if it is the same in all states, but some states require that they notify you of the date/time/place of the auction and you have the right to watch it sale and/or bid on it.

Do you have anyone in your family that can maybe get a loan for you or help you? Do you have a contact at a local bank that may help you?  I know you mention being late for a few months previously, but not sure what your overall credit is like.

I'd be trying to get ahold of someone at the financing company who might be able to help on one phone while trying to come up with a way to gain the full amount with another phone.

[Anonymous]

I forgot to add that depending on your state you may be legally allowed to forestall the repo by simply asking the repo agent to leave. Obviously that would only work for a day or so ... you would have to go to the bank the very next day and pay the amount owed!!

I'm by no means trying to tell you how to break the law ... denying the repo man your car (IF it's allowed in your state -- some don't have that provision) DOES leave you you open to lawsuit and/or the sheriff coming after it.

But it could buy you a teeny amount of time -- perhaps long enough to do as Sidewinder says and get a loan from a family member!

[Anonymous]

thank you all for the advice. sad to say , they came and got the car today.

what i forgot to add was, when we talked to the finance company last week, they gave us a deadline of this past wednesday. and after that, im guessing the account was going to be closed ( was unaware of that until we called them today) . (i live in louisiana BTW). so, being that the account was closed on us, we are responsible for the whole $10,000 balance on the car IF we want to keep the car. we would have 10 days to come up with the money or it goes straight to the auction. there is no way we have any relatives or a bank that will loan us that money. dh had been late on a few payments due to our financial strain. so , i guess my next question is, how in the world do we improve his credit again? he had strong credit but every since our hardships, it has sunk. any suggestions? like i've said , the kelly bluebook value for that car is a bit over $9k. do you think the auction will accept less than that?

[Anonymous]

---

crystalM wrote:

thank you all for the advice. sad to say , they came and got the car today.

what i forgot to add was, when we talked to the finance company last week, they gave us a deadline of this past wednesday. and after that, im guessing the account was going to be closed ( was unaware of that until we called them today) . (i live in louisiana BTW). so, being that the account was closed on us, we are responsible for the whole $10,000 balance on the car IF we want to keep the car. we would have 10 days to come up with the money or it goes straight to the auction. there is no way we have any relatives or a bank that will loan us that money. dh had been late on a few payments due to our financial strain. so , i guess my next question is, how in the world do we improve his credit again? he had strong credit but every since our hardships, it has sunk. any suggestions? like i've said , the kelly bluebook value for that car is a bit over $9k. do you think the auction will accept less than that?

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I'm sorry to hear.

As for accepting less than bluebook, they have been known to do that. However, I've heard of people getting out of paying a portion of the remaining debt due to being able to proof the vehicle was worth much more than it sold for. However, in the particular case I know about, the company did not make an effort to sell it for what it was worth.

As for repairing his credit, I'd suggest starting a new topic that list what bad accounts you have, if they've gone to collections, are now caught up but have past lates showing, etc.

You will find lots of information here and many people who are willing to share their experiences and help you.

Hope things improve for you.

[Anonymous]

If your car's been repo'ed and you have no way of coming up with the balance of the money, I'd really strongly suggest that you check out legal forums (rather than credit forums). I've seen a lot of helpful advice given at www.freeadvice.com (NAYY).

I personally would think that your current credit scores and future credit scores not be the most important thing to be concerned about. I'd worry more about XX lender/bank coming after you with a judgment, or worse!! Not all lenders/banks will seek judgment -- some are content with destroying your credit for 7 years -- but some DO.

Please, please, please go to a legal advice forums -- they'll have a good idea on what you can do legally to avoid the worst!! They'll also be able to advise you in the event that you're served with court papers!!!

I really wish you the best of luck!!!

EDIT: I'm not trying to scare you by ANY means -- I think you're under enough stress as it is -- but I do think that forewarned is forearmed.

And no matter what, just remember: this, too, shall pass!! It DOES get better!!!

Message Edited by Wonderin on 05-30-2008 10:08 PM

[llecs]

---

crystalM wrote:

thank you all for the advice. sad to say , they came and got the car today.

what i forgot to add was, when we talked to the finance company last week, they gave us a deadline of this past wednesday. and after that, im guessing the account was going to be closed ( was unaware of that until we called them today) . (i live in louisiana BTW). so, being that the account was closed on us, we are responsible for the whole $10,000 balance on the car IF we want to keep the car. we would have 10 days to come up with the money or it goes straight to the auction. there is no way we have any relatives or a bank that will loan us that money. dh had been late on a few payments due to our financial strain. so , i guess my next question is, how in the world do we improve his credit again? he had strong credit but every since our hardships, it has sunk. any suggestions? like i've said , the kelly bluebook value for that car is a bit over $9k. do you think the auction will accept less than that?

---

The same thing happened to DW and I a few years ago. It is not a fun thing to have happened. In our case, we had the money but we were bad with on-time payments. We only owed about $2500 on it out of $15k org. owed, so we were close to paying it off. Americredit allowed us to redeem it by paying a past due balance plus fees. Everything totaled about $1000 so we took that deal. Got the car back and continued with the loan until it matured a year later.

Legally, some states, and I don't know how LA is, will allow you to redeem. Some car lenders will allow you to do that on your own. In our case, I went through a dozen people before I found an upper level manager who helped us out. If this isn't an option for you, the car will be auctioned off and you will owe the difference. Some lenders will allow you to continue making payments on the balance owed without any major damage to score and others will demand payment in full.

Score-wise, damage isn't as bad as you may think. I don't know what our FICOs were before all of this, but the gurus over at FICO hosted a seminar last month and brought up damage from a repo. They said a recent late is far more harmful that a repo that is 3-4 years old. On our reports, TU does not recognize the lates or the repo. However, EX and EQ does. But my scores are within a few points of each other.

Besides, think about the insurance you will be saving. Think about those stupid monthly payments you don't have to make anymore. I bet that car had one quirk or noise that bugged you. Gone.

[Uniqua]

I had a very similar situation, crystal, so I understand. However, my situation was 5x worse. At the time they took my vehicle, I was 8-9 months away from paying it off. And was I p*ssed!

Anyway, the only way I could get my vehicle back and stop them from demanding full payment was to file Ch 13 BK. I got the vehicle back immediately without paying a dime, and the fees they were trying to extort from me were some how "forgiven." I wondered why! Perhaps because they were illegal to demand anyway. I owed a past due balance of $700 but they wanted $2,500 for me to get the car back. My attorney called them and they acted as sweet and as loving as hummingbirds. They told him they were trying to help me, lying through their teeth. But, my attorney and I knew better. Plus, I recorded these "loving" conversations.

I have paid off the vehicle since this time (in my Ch 13 plan). Filing BK is probably the hardest decision for anyone, but it was the best possible choice for me given my situation.

I am now back on the road to recovery. My FICO scores are 670+.

Get a lawyer on the phone immediately. Don't wait any longer. Once the car is sold, any remaining balance you will have to pay.

All the best!

[Anonymous]

My MIL...had her car repoed in January...DW is fixing her credit now...and it show REPO...NOWHERE on her reports...it just says the account is closed(paid)...with $3878 written off...I know when she called...they said she couldn't pay...the car was scheduled to be in the auction....and it was eventually sold at the auction...I don't know if that means she owes the difference...or the rest was written off...know NOTHING about repos...you need to call...after it sells...and see what it was sold for...GOOD LUCK!!!