I LEASED a vehicle in July 2001 and they repo'd it around July of last year. It was involuntary, came in the middle of the night and took it. I was behind about 3 payments when it happened, and I knew it was coming, but I didn't receive any notification from the OC (letters, etc). We were tight for money so my husband and I decided it was my car to go. It was a lease so we didn't have a way to sell it. I realize now that was a bad choice. I've been contacted by the attorney trying to collect the deficiency ($4,600) by letter demanding payment. They've filed judgement with my local city and I'm now in default (received that notice yesterday). I'm not sure what to do about the money due, and I'm thinking about BK. What I want to know is do I have any rights as far as not having to pay, possibly avoiding garnishment of my wages, or they took my vehicle illegally? I never received any breakdown of their sale after repo, just a letter from the atty stating I owe $4,600. How do I clear this up? If my wages get garnished, I'll lose my job. I'm a contraced worker for the OC, and if they get paperwork on this I'm fired. Can someone please tell me what I should do? I appreciate any help you can offer!
Were you served? If you were not served, then you may have a chance at having the judgment vacated, I believe.
Frm what you say I'm assuming they already got the judgement. If so that's too bad since repo laws are very strict. They have so many days to contact you after the repo and tell you about the sale of the car, the amount of the deficiency. They are usually even required to let you pay the past due amountwithin a certain amount of time to get the car back. These would have all been good defenses for you in court. NOw that there is a judgement there is really not a whole lot you can do besides paying it or filing BK. Have the contacted you about payment arrangements. I don't know if that is an option, but I would get a 2nd or 3rd job to pay it if possible. BK for only $4-5000 would really be sad. Kim
They served my babysitter who answered the door. That was right before Christmas. Yesterday I got a default judgement (sent regular mail). Nothing I received ever said I had a court date. So all efforts now should be to work out payment arrangements outside of court or BK? It's too late to try and counter-sue? I'm not even sure the amount is correct, since I never received a letter about my 21 days to pay up and claim my vehicle or a detailed letter of the sale and the balance I still owe. So I'm stuck paying this amount that I'm not even sure is real? No other options?
You really can't dispute the balance now, as they already have a judgement. If you really want to fight them concerning improper service/repo, you'll probably need a lawyer to review the judgement. What state are you in? In some states it is more difficult to garnish wages than in others. Keep an eye on your bank accounts. In some states they can levy them.
I reviewed the court papers, and it says I have 21 days to contact the court for an appeal. I called to find out details of how to file, and she said after I file the appeal I would most likely get a court date. Would this be a good thing? I thought if I could go to court then I could present my case of not receiving proper notice, paperwork, detailed explanation of my deficiency they say I owe. I have contacted 2 attorneys this afternoon and I'm waiting for return calls so I can explain my situation. Do you think I'm going to need one, or will I be able to fight this on my own (if I appeal and go to court)? I'm in Michigan, can they garnish my wages easily and freeze my bank account?
It is against the law to fire an employee upon receipt of a garnishment order from the court. You could file a suit for wrongful termination and the court could get them for contempt. IF you do appeal (and I feel you should) make certain you bring this concern of being fired if ganisheed to the judges attention. You would then have this as "evidence" that you put the court on notice should a wrongful termination suit be in your future. If you have a good work record they would have a hard time proving they fired you with just cause. From here on out be the model employee if you aren't already. I hope it never comes to that but if they try to fire you the law is on your side and you can burn their butts royally. I hope everything works out well and I wish you the best.
I'm in Michigan also.. I found this http://www.lawhelp.org you can enter your county or zip and look under consumer they go thru the garnishment process. Easy to read too. Quick question.. if they served your babysitter, did they tell you? Like.. "hey you got this letter today.." We just talked about this the other day at lunch with the big K-Mart downfall in the paper everyday one of the top executives failed to appear in court even after being served by get this.. the server throws the summons on the ground at this feet at the NJ airport because he refused to take it in his hand. The Court concerned this being served. Keep us informed what your lawyers say.
Thank you for all the gread advice you guys. I got ahold of the lawyer early this evening, and he had three options for me. 1) Hire them to file motions to dismiss the default and start from the beginning with the creditor's attorney. He said it would cost $1500-$2500 in attorney fees alone, and that's not including any amount for a settlement, if it came to that. 2) Go myself and file a petition for reaonable payment arrangements with the creditor. Once it's listed in court for the payment amount, the creditor can't come after me anymore. If I do that, he said I could be paying for quite a few years, once interest keeps compounding. 3) File CH7. Since I already have more than 7 items from '95-current charged off or in collection along with credit card debt all totalling $10,000 (with the repo), plus $10,000 to an attorney that I have yet to start paying. He said this will give me a fresh start and clear up my not-in-great-shape credit so I could one day be back on my feet. This was (of course) the cheapest way to go. My husband is having issues with the CH7. Personally, I've been thinking of it for a month or so now, weighing the pros and cons of filing. I've lived with such bad credit for over 5 years now that it's almost commonplace for me, so I think 2 or 3 years of a CH7 to deal with would not be a problem. At least with the CH7 there would be a fresh start for me. If I keep hanging on to these old debts on my CR like I have for years and years, I'll never get out from underneath them. And it's only a matter of time before the other attorney I owe files a judgement, or one of the other credit cards from years back. Our family is struggling now to pay the household bills, I certainly can't tackle extra to pay off old debts. That's why I've been burying my head in the sand, so to speak, hoping they'd disappear for awhile. Not so. This time I have to deal with them once and for all. Let me know what you guys think. Right now I have to choose the best of three bad options.
