Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Illinois

Got a car financed through the dealer. I'm required to pay every 2 weeks on Thursday. One day I paid 2 days late and they sent at least 7-10 texts as well as called 1/2 my reference list. Last week because of the missed 2-week pymt they sent me a text that they reported my car as stolen. He finally admitted that he was lying, but he stated that a stolen order was "on his desk"??? Every 2 weeks if I don't pay exactly on Thursday, he is literally calling me a thousand times and texting me even more. Can I take any recourse for harassment and lying about reporting my car stolen??? Additionally, they sent me a wage assignment dated 6/1 for the missed pymt. It states that my employer won't get a copy for 20 days, but they sent it anyway? Legal??


Asked on 6/09/12, 2:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Alex Arezina Alexander I. Arezina, Attorney at Law

This sounds like a Buy Here Pay Here loan, either directly through the car dealership or a separate but related company. Unfortunately, the laws that protect consumers from debt collectors, such as the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and its Illinois state law equivalent, tend to carve out creditors that collect on their own behalf, i.e. in-house collections. That said, the behavior you describe is excessive and there could be a remedy for an unfair practice under the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act. Additionally, there may be a way to assert pressure on your dealer to cease these aggressive tactics by looking at other aspects of your finance transaction, i.e. TILA, FCRA, etc. I hope this helps.

As for the Illinois Wage Assignment Act, there are pretty strict guidelines on dates, how to serve the notice, etc. I have copied the law below. It sounds like there may have been a breach.

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2057&ChapterID=57

If you want to discuss this further, feel free to email me at [email protected].

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Answered on 8/16/12, 5:44 am


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