I'm a few months behind on my two daughters' musical instruments rental payments. I honestly forgot to pay. So, today, my wife comes home from a job interview and sees a car sitting in our driveway. When she pulls in, the guy jumps out of the car, hands her a letter stating he's from a CA and demands payment or the musical instruments. He actually wanted to go inside my house to get the instruments. She told him to buzz off! Now, we got no prior notice from the music store that I was even late. Have our rights been violated? A thought a CA cannot come to a person's house to collect on a debt.
Are the instruments used as collateral for the loan? Was that a condition of the loan and in the loan papers? Usually, if it's a secured loan (in this case, secured by the instruments) there will be a clause stating that the collateral can be repossessed if payments are not made on time. Look at the contract first and see what is says. This may be different from a credit card debt.
2 MONTHS??? That is a LITTLE excessive to be in a driveway and ask to come in the house... AND WITH NO NOTICE??? That is just WRONG THEY HAD NO PHONE NUMBER??? Since they were in the DRIVEWAY...they had the ADDRESS...YOU DON'T GET MAIL??? OR THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO SEND A LETTER???
Only if it's not a secured loan. As I said, look at the papers. You may have given them permission to repo at any time. If this is the case, you probably couldn't get them for trespassing, either. When you signed the loan docs, if the instruments were collateral, you may have given implied consent for them (or their agent or assignees, which would be the CA) to enter your property to seize the collateral. The most important thing you need to do right now is READ EVERY WORD OF WHAT YOU SIGNED.
If you are "renting" the items and don't pay they can come and get them. Now if you bought them and are paying them off, that is different.
Again, it depends on whether or not it's a secured loan. When I bought an instrument years ago, it was not just an unsecured loan like a credit card is. THE INSTRUMENT WAS COLLATERAL. The contract read much like an auto loan or a mortgage--don't pay, and we'll come and repossess the instrument. That's why I keep saying that he has to know what he signed. It's very possible that they have every right to do this. But none of us will know until he reads what he signed and lets us know what the note says.
