You may have missed payments on your car loan only to wake up and find your vehicle repossessed. This hardship can bring on a slew of issues, but you may be surprised to learn that repossession companies must follow certain laws when repossessing vehicles. If a repo company fails to do so, you may have a wrongful repossession case.
Our Missouri wrongful repossession lawyers from Sue the Collector can help. Call us at 877-BAD-REPO if you suspect you experienced an illegal repossession. We can fight for the compensation you deserve when others break the Missouri repossession laws.
Having a Vehicle Wrongfully Repossessed Brings Different Consequences
When your vehicle is illegally possessed, you can face various difficulties that can quickly escalate. You could wake up only to realize you cannot get to work or school. Missing a shift or a class may not seem too bad, but your transportation issues will only continue. If you can’t make other transportation arrangements, your situation could get so dire that you lose your job or fail a class.
Even in emergencies, you need your car. If your family member is in trouble or a natural disaster occurs, you depend on your vehicle. You and your family do not deserve to struggle due to an illegal repossession. Our legal team can demonstrate how a creditor violated Missouri repossession laws and seek fair compensation for what you endured.
How a Missouri Wrongful Repossession Lawyer With Our Team Can Help
Repossession laws in Missouri grant you the right to take legal recourse in the case of wrongful repossession. Still, it can be difficult to handle a case on your own, especially on top of what you’re currently going through. Being without a vehicle is a big enough problem. While you make arrangements to cope, our Missouri wrongful repossession team can handle the creditor.
Our firm can:
- Investigate the repossession to determine if a breach of the peace occurred
- Gather evidence of illegal repossession, such as a failure to provide a Notice of Default and Right to Cure
- Pursue fair compensation for you
If we take on your case, we can handle all the associated paperwork so that you can focus on your career and family. We will never leave you in the dark, either. We will contact you with regular updates and make ourselves available to answer any questions.
How You Can Help With Your Case
There are ways you can help your wrongful repossession attorney build your case. Gather as much information as possible, including your car payment history and any notices you received from your creditor. Keep a log of your interactions with repossession agents, as their behavior may have constituted a breach of the peace.
Car Repossession Laws in Missouri
Missouri repossession laws include a variety of procedures creditors and repo companies have to follow. For example, before repossessing a vehicle, creditors must send a Notice of Default and Right to Cure after ten or more days the loan defaults, according to RSMo § 301.215.
Creditors also only have 20 days to procure the vehicle. If the person pays their balance but defaults again, the ten-day grace period renews, and the creditors must send a second Notice of Default and Right to Cure.
Other laws regarding repossession in Missouri also apply.
Breach of the Peace Is Unlawful During Repossession in Missouri
Even after creditors have sent a Notice of Default and Right to Cure and are within their rights to repossess a vehicle, they must follow certain laws during the process. Creditors and repo companies cannot breach the peace while repossessing a vehicle in Missouri.
The following actions would constitute a breach of the peace and render a repossession unlawful:
- Damaging personal property, such as a garage or items inside the vehicle
- Breaking into locked or secured areas of the property
- Enlisting the police without a court order
- Engaging in assault or battery during the repossession, including towing a vehicle with someone inside
- Misrepresenting their identity, which is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
- Making verbal threats
- Yelling, making excessive noise, and disturbing the surrounding community
- Ignoring an owner’s request to leave the premises
If a repo company engaged in any of the following behaviors, it conducted a wrongful repossession in Missouri.
Sometimes, a repo company will try to avoid confrontation by coming to a property at night and trying to repossess a car. Even if you discover they breached the peace in any way while you were unaware, you can still work to hold them accountable. Our Missouri wrongful repossession attorneys will help.
Other Ways a Repo Company Can Act Illegally
Once the creditor has repossessed your car, they must still follow Missouri repossession laws. For example, many creditors will attempt to auction off the vehicle to recoup their investment. They must provide you with a Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property and give you at least ten days to pay off your debt to keep the vehicle.
After the creditor sells your vehicle, they must also send you a Notice of Sale and Explanation of Deficiency. This document is a record of the sale and will include any difference between what the repossessed vehicle sold for and your remaining loan balance.
Let Our Missouri Illegal Repossession Attorneys Help
No one expects to wake up one morning and find their car repossessed. Even if you’ve missed payments, you have rights, and creditors and repossession companies must follow certain laws.
We can take a creditor to court if necessary. Begin your free consultation by calling Sue the Collector at 877-BAD-REPO. Our attorneys can explain your rights and what a case for wrongful repossession entails.
