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Pennsylvania repossession law. Illegal Repossessions.
What is a repo man allowed to do? Are the police allowed to help repossess your car?
Disputes with Auto Lenders.
If you have a dispute with your auto lender, unfortunately, the lender has the upper hand. When your lender accuses you of being in default on the loan, the lender can seek to repossess your car by self-help. You may not be in default or have a defense to the default, but the lender is allowed to repossess your car without having to go to court and prove you did anything wrong or give you an opportunity to defend yourself.
As a borrower, you do not have the same right of self-help against the lender. If you think the lender did something wrong, withholding payment is not recommended. The lender will declare your loan in default and may then repossess your car. Instead of withholding payments, a borrower needs to file a legal action against the lender to seek relief for lender errors or misconduct.
No Advance Notice of Repossession.
The lender does not have to give you advance notice of their decision to repossess your vehicle, and probably won’t. In fact, the lender may tell you they are not going to repossess your car even if they decide to repossess it. The lender does not want you to hide the vehicle. In Pennsylvania, it is possible this type of misrepresentation is illegal. Loan agreements typically give lenders the right to repossess a car immediately after a default, and a default can occur upon missing a single payment. Some lenders may have a policy to wait before repossessing a car, but they do not have to. Other lenders might have a policy to repossess cars immediately.
Getting a Car Back After Repossession.
If your car is repossessed, you have the legal right in Pennsylvania to redeem the vehicle by paying off the entire balance due on the loan. Many lenders may allow a borrower to reinstate a loan by paying the amount in arrears (which usually includes late fees and repossession costs) or by making some other arrangement, but a lender does not have to allow a borrower to reinstate a loan if the loan agreement does not require it.
Notice After Repossession.
A lender is required to give the borrower written notice of the repossession with instructions on how to find out what the borrower has to pay to redeem or reinstate the loan. The lender needs to tell the borrower where the car is located and how to get back personal property from the vehicle. Sometimes, borrowers have sued lenders over the lender’s failure to give proper notification.
After a car is repossessed, the lender will likely sell it at a wholesale auction. If the lender does not get enough money from the sale to cover the balance due on the loan, the borrower will owe the balance. If you are in default on a loan, and want to give up the vehicle, provided you can stave off a repossession, it might be a good idea to try to bargain that you’ll allow the repossession on the condition the lender agrees to accept the car in full satisfaction of the debt, without holding you liable for a deficiency.
Repo Man Cannot Breach The Peace
A lender can repossess a car by self-help as long as the repo man does not commit a breach of the peace. This means a repo man cannot use or threaten to use force against the owner. A car owner has no obligation to obey a repossessor. A car owner does not have to obey a repo man’s command to get out of a vehicle, move away from a vehicle, or hand over the keys for a vehicle. In fact, a car owner has a right to resist a repo man by remaining in the car, blocking the repo man’s path to the car, or driving away. A car owner has the right to verbally protest a repossession and should. In some circumstances, a repo man may breach the peace simply by ignoring the owner’s verbal protest. A repo man generally has the right to enter an open driveway even on private property, but may commit a breach of the peace if they enter a fenced in driveway or garage or refuse to leave private property when told.
After committing any breach of the peace, the repo man loses the right to repossess the vehicle. If they continue the repossession and manage to take the car, the repossession may be illegal, and the owner may be able to sue for damages. The owner’s opposition to the repossession has to come before the repo man has control of the car.
The Police are Not Allowed to Help.
If a repo man threatens to call the police, a car owner should not worry. The police are prohibited from assisting in a self-help repossession. Since there is no court order in a self-help repossession, the police are not allowed to get involved other than to keep the peace. The police cannot order a car owner out of their vehicle, to relinquish possession of their vehicle, or to hand over the keys. If the police assist the repo man, the police may be violating the owner’s civil rights, and the car owner may be able to sue the police for damages. If you can, get the names of any police officers who appear at a repossession and start assisting the repo man.