How to Dispute a Vehicle Repossession

For whatever reason, if someone repossesses your vehicle, you need to know how to get it back sooner than later. The following steps point you in the direction that you need to find—loopholes that can help you get your car back—or at least buy you some time to get your finances in order.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Record every detail of your contact with the creditor. Legally, a creditor can only contact you at reasonable times, so if he shows up at your door or calls your home at 3:00 a.m., he is not following law and he may forfeit the repossession account.
2. File for bankruptcy. If you do this before repossession, you are legally entitled to have the car returned. Additionally, if you file for bankruptcy after the repossession takes place, but before it is re-sold, a court may order return of the vehicle to you.
3. Catch the repossession representative in an infraction. He or she must follow certain rules on behalf the repossession company, which if broken, can leave them in a big mess and possibly even help your case. Listed here are a few of the rules: They may not take your car from a locked garage, nor can they damage any of your property (including the car) in the process of seizing it. They may not touch you or threaten to harm or arrest you or anyone in your party. They must leave your property when you ask them to. They also may not force you to pull over while driving. If you experience any of these rules broken, call the police and report it.
4. File a dispute for each violation that the repossession employee makes. Record specific dates and times of violations in your dispute report and explain why the company must return your vehicle. Read and understand your state's laws. Every state's details vary slightly, so what holds true in Iowa may not be the case in Ohio.
5. Attend the auto auction if the creditor informs you that the car is going to be auctioned. They are legally required to inform you of this. If the car sells for more than you owe on it, the creditor must pay you the difference. This doesn't happen very often, but it doesn't hurt to try.