Do’s And Don’ts Of Dealing With The Repo Man! | Oswalt Law Group (2024)

FAQs

Can Repo Man fight you? ›

By law, repo men are not allowed to issue threats or utilize force. While it may be tempting to prod him/her into losing their cool, there may be other consequences later in your case.

Due to the law, repossession companies are limited in what they can and cannot do during a repossession. For example, they are not allowed to be a risk to the consumer in any way. This means that they cannot use violence, physical force, or threats when attempting to repossess a vehicle.

Can a repo man move another car to get yours? No, a repossession agent may not do that. But, if the repossession company can't access your car because it is hidden, blocked, or locked up, your lender goes to court to get a replevin. Replevin is a court order compelling the collection of the vehicle.

The best way to prevent repossession is to catch up on the payments, if possible. You can reinstate your loan — and stop the repossession — by paying all the missed payments, plus any late fees and unpaid interest.

Saying something as simple as “you may not take the car” generally suffices under laws for vehicle repos as an “unequivocal protest” and will require the repo man to stop the repo process.

It's important to keep in mind that the repo man will likely not give up on repossessing your car. We're talking about a trained professional whose livelihood depends on getting their hands on your vehicle. So they are not going to be easy to avoid.

There are a few methods they use to locate delinquent cars, including tracking devices, public records, databases and sometimes even good old-fashioned detective work. Many times, lenders will install GPS tracking devices in vehicles to help repossession agents quickly recover delinquent automobiles.

A repo man (a person hired by the creditor to take the asset subject to repossession) can come onto your property anytime but cannot enter your house without permission. Property can be repossessed by the creditor or by a person hired by the creditor as long as the process does not involve a breach of the peace.

They Can't Breach the Peace

Breaking into a locked gate to repo your vehicle. Threatening to use or using physical force on anybody. Threatening to damage or damaging real or personal property.

Repo companies and the repo man heavily rely on sophisticated technology to track vehicles. License plate recognition (LPR) systems, equipped with cameras and database access, scan license plates on public roads, parking lots, and other locations.

Can a repo man come at night? ›

Repossessions can occur at any time of day or night — while at the supermarket, taking the kids to school, at a relative's home for holiday dinner, or while asleep. Even if a borrower anticipates a repossession may occur, it never happens at a good time.

He can't do that. For one, he's trespassing. Two, he's interfering with your right to freely use your property.

Creditors are allowed to engage in self-help to repossess cars, but that freedom isn't without limits. If a creditor risks "breaching the peace," it isn't allowed to repossess the vehicle. So, the repo agent can't use, or threaten to use, force or violence.

If the recovery company can't find your car, they contact the lender and let them know they are unsuccessful. Next, your lender is likely to take legal action. Your auto lender can take you to court and get an order that forces you to return the car.

You could successfully hide your car for a short period of time in order to make up one or more missed payments and avoid repossession. But if you deliberately hide your car from the repo man with no intention of paying off debt in order to prevent repossession, you could get yourself into some major legal trouble.