Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California
Legal Repossession of a Vehicle
My sister purchased a vehicle from a car lot. She made all of her payments on time, and have all of her receipts for monies paid to them. They lost one of her payments, making her car note past due. She went to the car lot to clear it up, and they did find the payment but they reposessed the car anyway. Saying she was now six days past due on the current payment and they can legally repossess the car if she is even one day late. They blocker her car in with other cars, and called the police to make her give them the keys back. They had no paperwork of any kind showing that they were legally repossessing the car. They refused to give back her down payment, and said they were going to report it as a reposession on her credit report. They then said she was tresspassing, and ordered her off the lot! She now has no car, no money, and a repossession on her credit. Was this a legal repossession, and what rights does she have?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Legal Repossession of a Vehicle
The question is whether she has a canceled check, or receipt.
I also assume from reading the facts, that the confrontation with employees of the "car lot" was a lot more confrontational than you indicate.
She should retain an attorney to write a demand letter, if she has the aforementioned proof. If she is successful, wonderful! If not, Small Claims Court is the answer.
If she can't prove she made the payment, the repossession would be legal.
She can also write a 100 word statement to each of the three credit bureaus explaining the repossession, and why it should not be on her credit report.
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