Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Arkansas
Auto Repossession Deficiency Seems Suspicious
I had a car repo'd in early 2004, after purchasing it brand new in June 2003. I came home very late one night, and woke up the next morning to find it gone. Contacted the finance company who told me where it had been taken and I collected my belongings. That was it. I never heard from them again until about 9 months later, when they called to offer me a settlement on the deficiency balance and I began crying and they hung up. Fast forward to April of this year, and I did a bit of research, tried to challenge the amount they claim I owe. They sent me some paperwork, including one page of my original contract with my signature, as well as two different sheets accounting for the ''total charges due'' though neither balance was the same, nor did the charges match up from page to page. I never received any letters from them following the repo, and I'm thinking that it was done illegally. They sold it about 15 days after the repossession, in the state of Tennessee. I haven't yet found any info pertaining to whether or not it was required to be sold in this state. Please help!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Auto Repossession Deficiency Seems Suspicious
Your matter is, in general, governed by Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Under its provisions, a secured creditor must generally give you a pre-disposition notice and an accounting for deficiency calculation. In addition, the vehicle must be sold in a commercially reasonable manner. Most finance companies of any size do this right; smaller lenders sometimes don't. Failure to comply with the UCC provisions may, I repeat, may, permit you to reduce or eliminate any deficiency claim they have against you. Your facts simply do not provide enough information to determine any violations. Moreover, additional factors may mitigate against your claim. You can only determine these issues by speaking with an attorney experienced in consumer debtor/creditor relations one on one.
Practically speaking, you are probably dealing with a debt collector. You have no obligation to speak to debt collectors and, despite some outrageous things they may tell you, neither the debt collector nor the finance company can force you to pay unless or until they get a judgment against you in court, which requires a lawsuit to be filed against you. If you are sued (meaning you have received a summons and a complaint), you should contact a lawyer immediately to preserve your rights.
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