Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: releif from paying a debt

Turning in your car or allowing it to be repossessed will result in a repossession going on your credit report, also the car will be "sold" for a very low price and you will wind up owing much more than if you had sold the car to a private party. You should try to sell the car yourself and pay off the loan that way. Put an ad in your local paper.

Re: releif from paying a debt

The problem is that if they reposses the car, or you turn it in, they will sell it for far less than it is worth, and then they will still sue you for the difference anyway.

First you might see if you can refinance the

car with a different company on terms that you

can afford to pay, such as longer, lower payments.

You may not have time to do this, but you should

first invest in an inexpensive ad (such as

Auto Trader or www.CraigsList.org (click on your

city on the right-hand side) or a penny saver or Thrifty Nickel.

Try to sell the car for a reasonable price. Then, if you get a buyer who wants to buy it, send a WRITTEN letter to the finance company. Send two copies. Send one regular mail and the other certified (because a certified letter can be refused).

Say you have a willing buyer ready to buy the car for $X, will they please assist you in getting the title signed over to the new buyer, and they will take the money directly to pay off the loan.

THEN when they take you to court, you mustDENY

the claim and ask for a trial, and plead as a

defense a "failure to mitigate damages." You

introduce the letter and say you offered to sell

the car for $X, and they refused, and ended up

selling the car for LESS than the amount they

could have gotten by selling the car at fair

market value. So say that you should not have

to pay for their poor business judgment in not

selling the car at fair market value to a willing

buyer ready to pay more than they eventually

sold the car for. If they blundered and sold the

car for too little, you should not be held

responsible for the lower price.