Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Michigan

You should have contacted a lawyer prior to paying the bank and retrieving your property, as you would have had more leverage and negotiating power if, in fact, they did not comply with the Michigan Court Rules regarding service of process of any lawsuit, correspondence, notices, etc., to you re: the trailer and their repossession attempts. Do you know if a lawsuit was filed, or did they just send the repo company after a few months of no payments?

Did your wife file bankruptcy recently and/or while this activity was going on? If so, this bank violated the automatic bankruptcy stay, as creditors cannot take action against a debtor while a bankruptcy is pending, unless they have permission of the court. Since you were both on the loan, they would have had to hold off.

I presume your wife did not "reaffirm" the debt on the trailer, so that after the bankruptcy only you were on the loan? Did you ever sign new loan documents? There might not be a valid agreement in place, which can work for or against you.

It definitely sounds like they acted inappropriately, but one doesn't know for sure until they make telephone calls, start investigating, get documents, etc.

With regard to your claims against the repo company for damages, you likely signed off on any claims against them when you retrieved your property. If not, your claim for damages is against them, and not the bank. Also, you don't know for sure if it was the repo company or not - your trailer could have been stored somewhere else. That's what the repo company will say, but they'd have to prove it.

There are several issues that are intertwined here that can be better analyzed after learning all of the facts and reviewing all documentation that you have at this point. If you'd like to retain me to either review everything and provide you with an opinion, and/or to pursue an action against the lender (if they violated any consumer laws re: collection actions, wrongful repo, etc), or the repo company (for your damages, etc), then please feel free to contact me to discuss the legal fees, general process, etc.

Think about how much money you are really out, because you were behind in payments, and since you were in the loan originally, you should have known whether or not payments were being made. What does your wife have to say about all of this?? Are you two residing at the same place? Your question sounds like you have different addresses and that the lender had a duty/obligation to send you billing notices to an address different than your wife.

The bank may not have done anything wrong - your contract will explain the repo process, etc. and that you will be charged for all costs, etc. Some of your claims may not be viable anymore and if I'm reading your question right, you were only out of pocket $755.00? Remember, you made the decision to retrieve the property and pay the fee, so it may be difficult to go back on this and attempt to make a claim.

Thank you.