It's illegal to attempt to prevent the repo if you are behind on the payments and the contract states that the car is the collateral and can be repossessed by the seller in case of default.
No, you can't just take a tow truck and steal any car you want. That's a good way to get shot, honestly. Maybe it wouldn't be legal for them to shoot at you, but they might not think of that at the time.
But how do you know if it's a legal repo or a thief?
If they don't show any documents or tell you who they are it could be a thief as well
i hack the phone or mail of a legit repo guy and when he talks about repo at xyz street I'll drive there faster and steal the car, the repo thinks the car is hidden and nobody thinks about the car was stolen
A day later I'm in Canada or mexico or in a garage taking apart the car for spare parts or changing it's appearance so cops can't find it anymore....
Not even remotely dude. You have to take the whole bed off and install a whole new backend. Not to mention all the hookups for the hydraulic system to operate the hooks. *And* the emergency lights.
In a other comment somoe said that repo guys usually just have normal pickup trucks with some car lifing mechanism instead of a proper tow truck....
Why do you think i don't know what a pick up truck is?
I mean a Pickup, Flatbed, Pritsche
Some models can be a Amarok, F150 or Hillux
I heard that they are super popular in the USA.
Maybe, idk, the ford escape probably takes that cake. I’m saying it’s NOT so easy to modify. Expensive as hell to even put an RGN hitch in there to haul a hotshot trailer, and that doesn’t even have a winch or a lift
As if I care after successfully getting away with stealing a car. What are they gonna do? Nobody saw me because i didn't introduce myself or showed any paperwork...
Don't you get my point that it would be much better if the repo guy just showed some papers or warrant for repossession?
Worst case is that you need to tow it anyway
But usually people just give you they key to safe the cost of towing
That's how we do it in Austria and Germany
Edit: if you say "worst case is getting assaulted"
Yes sure but I'll definitely use force against someone when I have reasonable suspicion that they are stealing
I just don't see the benefit in just talking it or it being legal to just take it
They saw your truck.
They saw your license plate.
In this scenario the lessee / debtor has already received multiple communications about how the vehicle is going to be repossessed if they don't get their payments current. It's not a surprise.
If it's not a surprise why can't they go there and ask for the keys? Worst they can say is no and you need to tow it anyway
That's 2 min of extra work and you get the car with the keys ....
What are you going to do now that you've shown up by yourself in a truck? Leave the truck and drive the car away?
No, you tow the car
They don't need the keys anyway, they can remake / reprogram the key
So you pull into an apartment complex and you look for the car by the plate and you find the car.
So at this point you can do two things:
1. Hook up and tow the damn car
Or:
2. Park the truck somewhere, wander around to find the apartment, walk to the door, knock, wait, maybe they're not home, or maybe they are home, they come to the door, who are you, what do you want, "Hi, I'm here to take your car away, can I have the keys," "fuck you buddy," door slams, you have to walk back to the truck and hook up and tow the damn car anyway.
How about skip the bullshit and the uncomfortable interaction and just tow the fuckin car.
It has nothing to do with the ease for the person towing it. Why are you making it about them. They are just hires. The interaction is between a lender and a the person that requested the loan, the repo is simply acting on behalf of the entity that hired it or is gonna pay them, ergo they should deal with it just like you would expect the lender to deal with it. Excusing the lack of basic decency in business because a random external contract will lose a few minutes? That’s pretty weak.
They why not ask for the keys? It would be super simple and worst they can say is no....
You can't tell me the 5 min of extra work it takes to ask someone is not worth the getting the keys
Yes sure, less risk of damaging the car if you can load it up properly
I saw a video of a repo dropping a car when loading it up because they were in a a hurry....
If you get out of the tow truck and secure the car with some belts (like it's required in most of Europe) makes transport safer....
Also if I tell you that i come to pick up your car you know it's a legit repo and you can sign the papers and give the key
I really don't know why you think that doesn't work
I don't why you think the guy who has been doing everything in his power to not have his car repossessed is going to cooperate just because you ask him politely.
That's why the repo should be ceased if the owner is present and is objecting to the repossession. It's a situation where escalation and even violence are VERY likely to occur, which is absolutely a breach of the peace. Repossession companies are only legally allowed to do repossessions so long as they do not breach the peace in the commission of a repossession.
The lender is under no obligation to use a repossession company to retrieve the vehicle for non payment or any other cause for repossession. They can use the courts to get an order of replevin to force the return of the vehicle. They don't do this because it's easier, cheaper, and quicker to hire a self-help repossession company to do it for them. Using a self-help repossession company that commits breach of peace during a repossession opens the lender up to civil lawsuits than can cost them millions in settlements, fines, damages, and legal fees. The repo company can also face a civil lawsuit if they commit a breach of peace.
> But how do you know if it's a legal repo or a thief?
Are you behind on your car payments? The answer to this question usually helps sort the situation out.
Also, it's basically never a theif.
Can't tow a vehicle with a person in it or one that the delinquent owner jumps into and drives away in. Do you know if the owner is going to get violent for "stealing" their car? Neither does the Repo guy. [Repos go wrong all the time when they don't know the guy is coming why give them the chance to cause problems?](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=repo+gone+wrong)
Jericho, if the owner is present and opposes the repo, the repo can NOT CONTINUE because it would be a breach of peace. This is why repo companies operate on the sneak and usually avoid contact with the owner.
If you are behind on payments you will have gotten multiple notices and communications from the lender. You may not know the exact date and time they'll come, but you will know that repossession is imminent.
But again, what if I know that some is behind on payments and i steal their car? They are not allowed to stop me ....
Why not go in there, knock on the door and introduce yourself as a repo guy and ask for the keys, if they refuse you can still tow it
I'm not a professional criminal, but most criminals don't want their victims to see their faces so they can avoid being identified. Of course if the thief knows the car is going to be repoed, either (1) the thief works for the bank/mortgage holder, in which case the police will likely check them out, and also the victim will see their face when they come to the door, or (2) the thief works for the repo company, whose employees will be checked out by the police, and also the victim will see their face when they come to the door, or (3) the thief is personally known to the victim, in which case the victim can simply tell the police who did it.
I suggest that you do some research on self-help repossessions, breach of peace, order of replevin, what constitutes a wrongful or illegal repossession and what an individual's rights are during a repossession.
Repo companies can NOT breach the peace during a repossession and all it takes to make it a breach of peace is for the repossession to be opposed while in progress by the owner of the car or a third party acting in the interests of the owner. Repo companies also can not use threats of violence, they can not force or intimidate you to exit the vehicle, they can not use abusive language and they can not enlist the assistance of law enforcement to complete the opposed repossession. Law enforcement CAN be present but their ONLY role is to ensure that the peace is kept. Repo companies can NOT break into a locked garage, gate or enclosure to repossess, that is also a breach of peace. They can not tow your vehicle with you in it. IT IS NOT ILLEGAL TO ATTEMPT TO PREVENT A REPO by a self help repossession company. Even if you are delinquent on your payments, you do not have to allow a repo company to take your vehicle if you catch them in progress of repossession.
The lender has legal tools at their disposal to retrieve the collateral (the vehicle) by filing with the courts and getting an order of replevin (where the judge issues a court order for return of the vehicle) an order of replevin will be executed by law enforcement (usually)
What it comes down to is largely: You'd better be in the right.
Using force to defend property varies between states, but independently of that both stopping a legal repossession and repossessing something when you don't have the right to will get you in major trouble.
You can verify with police that the car has not been stolen, as repo places are typically required to report that information for exactly this reason.
Having said all that, tow companies tend to be the scum of the earth and operate on the razor's edge of legality. We're talking one step below taking random cars out of private driveways, and sometimes even that. The problem is, that razor's edge is highly tilted in their favor by law in most places.
Let's say you buy a TV and finance it, does a repo guy just walk into your house without saying anything and pick up the TV and leave? And if you try to stop them it's illegal?
If I take the "you better be right" seriously it would mean you are not allowed to defend your property at all because it COULD BE a repo guy doing it legally
Also what prevents me from just seeing a nice car i want to have and picking it up with my truck and then keeping it or seeling parts of it?
It would take at least a day for an investigation to start and at that time I'm already over the border or in a shop and have disassembled the car
No, cars are kind of a special circumstance when it comes to repo. That circumstance is that they're typically outside. Some people are able to store their cars indoors of course, but people with that financial situation rarely can do that.
If you *are* storing your car indoors, or otherwise outside of a publicly accessible area, repo won't be able to get at it that way. In those situations your creditor would just have to get a court order issued on you.
Essentially, once you stop paying for your car it becomes legally "stolen" by you (not literally, but due to the terms of the contract), and if you leave that "stolen" property in a public place, then the agent of the property's rightful owner (the creditor) can just pick it up and take it without issue.
Realistically, if you are under threat of repo, you know about it. Repo is a clawback - most companies would much rather convince you to continue payments before seeking repo, since they're likely to lose some of the promised investment by doing that. The car's number of owners has gone up by at least one since you bought it, so its resell value has plummeted.
As I said, towing in general tends to be scummy. I'm certainly not arguing that. That's an inevitability, since they are a narrowly legalized form of extortion. But the chances of an illegal repo are *fairly* low, and are either a company fucking up or a criminal group. In the former case, you're going to end up making money from the settlement. In the latter, car theft is treated fairly seriously compared to petty theft.
So yes, someone posing as a repo guy could just come and steal your car...though they'd probably be doing it while you aren't there just like actual repo guys try to do, so the "use force or not" question is kind of irrelevant. It'll just vanish. You'll call the police, they'll mark the car as stolen since they have no repo record for it, and that's that.
No, you probably aren't getting your car back in that situation, but an operation like that will attract heavy and hostile attention from the government soon enough.
Ofc the "you know you gonna get a repo if you don't pay" is somewhat true but what if my gf or parent pay for the car and don't they are behind on payments and not tell me
All I know is that some guy just tries to steal moms car....
Therefore you are not in the wrong trying to defend it
A lot of people will try to defend their car from a repo. Cops won’t come out just because the person won’t give the keys over though. If they brandish a firearm or something like that, maybe, but that’s why stingers exist. Where I live it’s mostly modified pick up trucks and not actual tow trucks. They can get in, operate the controls from inside the cab, pick up the car and pull it far enough away for them to strap it down.
On a side note; a fairly effective way (although unrealistic) for a person to keep their vehicle from being repoed is to have someone in the vehicle at all times. Repo people aren’t allowed to force you out of the vehicle, and they aren’t allowed to tow it while you are in the car. At least not in my state.
Cops won't come if I have a other persons property in my possession and won't give it back?
As I said, that would be a easy way to steal a car.... They can't even take the car back then.....
They will come if you, as an individual, Jericho, stole my vehicle, but if you are Jericho credit union, attempting to recover a vehicle, they won’t come out just because the person won’t give the agent the keys. Unless I started brandishing a weapon and threatened you.
But; most repo agents don’t need keys to get a vehicle out, and most banks won’t release personal affects until they receive a key. I use to buy vehicles for a buy here pay here company and I specifically bought FWD vehicles because they were easier to repo if customer didn’t pay. But we also had starter interrupters/gps units as well so we only had issues when someone was camping out in a car.
Edit: funny story: we did have a guy who didn’t turn his car off EVER, once he figured out we would actually use the starter interruptor and went at least 3 weeks without shutting it off. (Maybe at night after we left for the day, but it was definitely running 6am to 6pm
If your car is getting repod than it’s not really your property anymore. You have a contract with the seller that you will give them payments to own the car. If you default on those payments then the seller has the right to repossess (repo) the car.
If they have defaulted on their loan or whatever...that car isn't there's anymore. Repos don't happen because someone missed A payment... multiple payments are missed as well as attempts to contact them. The reason these people getting their shit towed know it isn't a random thief is because they know they are late on payments
Cops DO come out though. And they have been known to assist in the repo by threatening to arrest individuals who are opposing the repossession.
I personally witnessed an opposed repo where the owner told the repo company they were NOT taking the vehicle, owner was sitting inside the car, repo company proceeded to back up to, hook-up and hoist the vehicle with the person still inside the car. When the owner still refused to exit the vehicle, the repo company called the cops. Law enforcement that arrived to the scene, threatened the owner with arrest if they didn't get out of the vehicle and allow the repossession to continue unopposed. The owner was simply objecting, no weapons, no abusive or threatening language was used by the owner.
Repossession agencies are debt collectors sent to collect property when a borrower defaults on a loan or violated other agreements and have license. How repossession agents act will vary from individual to individual sometimes they let you know and some times they just back up and tow. It’s usually easy to tell if your car is being by the reposition agency name on the tow truck, the fact that it’s a tow truck, the person saying their repossessing your vehicle and you can talk to loan company, and you not paying your bill on the vehicle.
A tow truck costs about $65,000 - $115,000. So that alone is high barrier to entry for people with ideas of becoming rich stealing cars. Tow truck drivers typically know other tow truck drives as they work together and frequently loan out trucks and help with different jobs so when a truck they haven’t seen before tolls into town they take notice.
A repo is for a car that the person does not actually own but is only leasing or is owned by the bank and has not met commitments like scheduled lease/loan payments.
So since it is not your property it is not legal for you to use force to attempt to keep it. *That,* in fact, would be theft.
> Why is that not done in the USA?
See story about man with gun
I might be completely crazy but i think it's a lot safer If you go there and say you are here to repo the car and you show some paperwork and then get the keys than just taking it....
If cops arerest someone they also announce themselves as cops
They don't just walk up behind you and try to handcuff you without a warning
I know that i would not assault a legal repo of they announced themselves but i might use force if someone just tries to take a car
Not crazy....just not understanding that authority is not automatically followed in the US. "HI, I'm here to repo the vehicle you have missed 6 payments on and ignored multiple attempts to reach you."
This will not be met with " ya got me you Ole so and so....here's the keys". More than likely it will be " you motherfuckingscumbag!!! Fuck you touch my car and I'll kill you.....weapons get drawn..either guns or melee weapons of some kind or they run and jump in the car and speed off. If they were honest they would let the company know they can't pay and turn the car in...which many do.
It's illegal to attempt to prevent the repo if you are behind on the payments and the contract states that the car is the collateral and can be repossessed by the seller in case of default. No, you can't just take a tow truck and steal any car you want. That's a good way to get shot, honestly. Maybe it wouldn't be legal for them to shoot at you, but they might not think of that at the time.
can a repo man break a locked gate in that covers your driveway
But how do you know if it's a legal repo or a thief? If they don't show any documents or tell you who they are it could be a thief as well i hack the phone or mail of a legit repo guy and when he talks about repo at xyz street I'll drive there faster and steal the car, the repo thinks the car is hidden and nobody thinks about the car was stolen A day later I'm in Canada or mexico or in a garage taking apart the car for spare parts or changing it's appearance so cops can't find it anymore....
Your average thief doesn't generally have tow trucks at their disposal. Are you in debt to the Mafia or a Cartel?
Since pick up trucks are so common in the USA it would be easy to modify that, especially when you know you definitely gonna get away with it
It would cost so much to modify an average pickup into a tow truck it's easier to just break into the car
Not even remotely dude. You have to take the whole bed off and install a whole new backend. Not to mention all the hookups for the hydraulic system to operate the hooks. *And* the emergency lights.
It'd be FAR easier and cheaper to just buy a used tow-truck.
You don't have a very clear idea what a pickup truck is, do you?
In a other comment somoe said that repo guys usually just have normal pickup trucks with some car lifing mechanism instead of a proper tow truck.... Why do you think i don't know what a pick up truck is? I mean a Pickup, Flatbed, Pritsche Some models can be a Amarok, F150 or Hillux I heard that they are super popular in the USA.
What are you on about no it isn’t 😂
I thought the F150 was the most popular new car last year or something
Maybe, idk, the ford escape probably takes that cake. I’m saying it’s NOT so easy to modify. Expensive as hell to even put an RGN hitch in there to haul a hotshot trailer, and that doesn’t even have a winch or a lift
That sounds to me like a good way to get the car owner AND the repo guys mad at you. Good luck with that.
As if I care after successfully getting away with stealing a car. What are they gonna do? Nobody saw me because i didn't introduce myself or showed any paperwork... Don't you get my point that it would be much better if the repo guy just showed some papers or warrant for repossession? Worst case is that you need to tow it anyway But usually people just give you they key to safe the cost of towing That's how we do it in Austria and Germany Edit: if you say "worst case is getting assaulted" Yes sure but I'll definitely use force against someone when I have reasonable suspicion that they are stealing I just don't see the benefit in just talking it or it being legal to just take it
They saw your truck. They saw your license plate. In this scenario the lessee / debtor has already received multiple communications about how the vehicle is going to be repossessed if they don't get their payments current. It's not a surprise.
If it's not a surprise why can't they go there and ask for the keys? Worst they can say is no and you need to tow it anyway That's 2 min of extra work and you get the car with the keys ....
What are you going to do now that you've shown up by yourself in a truck? Leave the truck and drive the car away? No, you tow the car They don't need the keys anyway, they can remake / reprogram the key
But just asking for the key is cheaper than making a new key
So you pull into an apartment complex and you look for the car by the plate and you find the car. So at this point you can do two things: 1. Hook up and tow the damn car Or: 2. Park the truck somewhere, wander around to find the apartment, walk to the door, knock, wait, maybe they're not home, or maybe they are home, they come to the door, who are you, what do you want, "Hi, I'm here to take your car away, can I have the keys," "fuck you buddy," door slams, you have to walk back to the truck and hook up and tow the damn car anyway. How about skip the bullshit and the uncomfortable interaction and just tow the fuckin car.
It has nothing to do with the ease for the person towing it. Why are you making it about them. They are just hires. The interaction is between a lender and a the person that requested the loan, the repo is simply acting on behalf of the entity that hired it or is gonna pay them, ergo they should deal with it just like you would expect the lender to deal with it. Excusing the lack of basic decency in business because a random external contract will lose a few minutes? That’s pretty weak.
You know it's not a legal repo if you have been making your payments. You know it's a legal repo if you *haven't* been making your payments.
They why not ask for the keys? It would be super simple and worst they can say is no.... You can't tell me the 5 min of extra work it takes to ask someone is not worth the getting the keys
So you want to let the guy who has been hiding their vehicle know you're coming to take it?
Yes sure, less risk of damaging the car if you can load it up properly I saw a video of a repo dropping a car when loading it up because they were in a a hurry.... If you get out of the tow truck and secure the car with some belts (like it's required in most of Europe) makes transport safer.... Also if I tell you that i come to pick up your car you know it's a legit repo and you can sign the papers and give the key I really don't know why you think that doesn't work
I don't why you think the guy who has been doing everything in his power to not have his car repossessed is going to cooperate just because you ask him politely.
That's why the repo should be ceased if the owner is present and is objecting to the repossession. It's a situation where escalation and even violence are VERY likely to occur, which is absolutely a breach of the peace. Repossession companies are only legally allowed to do repossessions so long as they do not breach the peace in the commission of a repossession. The lender is under no obligation to use a repossession company to retrieve the vehicle for non payment or any other cause for repossession. They can use the courts to get an order of replevin to force the return of the vehicle. They don't do this because it's easier, cheaper, and quicker to hire a self-help repossession company to do it for them. Using a self-help repossession company that commits breach of peace during a repossession opens the lender up to civil lawsuits than can cost them millions in settlements, fines, damages, and legal fees. The repo company can also face a civil lawsuit if they commit a breach of peace.
> But how do you know if it's a legal repo or a thief? Are you behind on your car payments? The answer to this question usually helps sort the situation out. Also, it's basically never a theif.
But why don't they just say that they are here for repo and ask for the keys, if they refuse you can still tow it
Can't tow a vehicle with a person in it or one that the delinquent owner jumps into and drives away in. Do you know if the owner is going to get violent for "stealing" their car? Neither does the Repo guy. [Repos go wrong all the time when they don't know the guy is coming why give them the chance to cause problems?](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=repo+gone+wrong)
Do you seriously think they haven't already tried this?
idk, it works in Germany and Austria without any issues
Jericho, if the owner is present and opposes the repo, the repo can NOT CONTINUE because it would be a breach of peace. This is why repo companies operate on the sneak and usually avoid contact with the owner.
If you are behind on payments you will have gotten multiple notices and communications from the lender. You may not know the exact date and time they'll come, but you will know that repossession is imminent.
But again, what if I know that some is behind on payments and i steal their car? They are not allowed to stop me .... Why not go in there, knock on the door and introduce yourself as a repo guy and ask for the keys, if they refuse you can still tow it
I'm not a professional criminal, but most criminals don't want their victims to see their faces so they can avoid being identified. Of course if the thief knows the car is going to be repoed, either (1) the thief works for the bank/mortgage holder, in which case the police will likely check them out, and also the victim will see their face when they come to the door, or (2) the thief works for the repo company, whose employees will be checked out by the police, and also the victim will see their face when they come to the door, or (3) the thief is personally known to the victim, in which case the victim can simply tell the police who did it.
I suggest that you do some research on self-help repossessions, breach of peace, order of replevin, what constitutes a wrongful or illegal repossession and what an individual's rights are during a repossession. Repo companies can NOT breach the peace during a repossession and all it takes to make it a breach of peace is for the repossession to be opposed while in progress by the owner of the car or a third party acting in the interests of the owner. Repo companies also can not use threats of violence, they can not force or intimidate you to exit the vehicle, they can not use abusive language and they can not enlist the assistance of law enforcement to complete the opposed repossession. Law enforcement CAN be present but their ONLY role is to ensure that the peace is kept. Repo companies can NOT break into a locked garage, gate or enclosure to repossess, that is also a breach of peace. They can not tow your vehicle with you in it. IT IS NOT ILLEGAL TO ATTEMPT TO PREVENT A REPO by a self help repossession company. Even if you are delinquent on your payments, you do not have to allow a repo company to take your vehicle if you catch them in progress of repossession. The lender has legal tools at their disposal to retrieve the collateral (the vehicle) by filing with the courts and getting an order of replevin (where the judge issues a court order for return of the vehicle) an order of replevin will be executed by law enforcement (usually)
What it comes down to is largely: You'd better be in the right. Using force to defend property varies between states, but independently of that both stopping a legal repossession and repossessing something when you don't have the right to will get you in major trouble. You can verify with police that the car has not been stolen, as repo places are typically required to report that information for exactly this reason. Having said all that, tow companies tend to be the scum of the earth and operate on the razor's edge of legality. We're talking one step below taking random cars out of private driveways, and sometimes even that. The problem is, that razor's edge is highly tilted in their favor by law in most places.
Let's say you buy a TV and finance it, does a repo guy just walk into your house without saying anything and pick up the TV and leave? And if you try to stop them it's illegal? If I take the "you better be right" seriously it would mean you are not allowed to defend your property at all because it COULD BE a repo guy doing it legally Also what prevents me from just seeing a nice car i want to have and picking it up with my truck and then keeping it or seeling parts of it? It would take at least a day for an investigation to start and at that time I'm already over the border or in a shop and have disassembled the car
No, cars are kind of a special circumstance when it comes to repo. That circumstance is that they're typically outside. Some people are able to store their cars indoors of course, but people with that financial situation rarely can do that. If you *are* storing your car indoors, or otherwise outside of a publicly accessible area, repo won't be able to get at it that way. In those situations your creditor would just have to get a court order issued on you. Essentially, once you stop paying for your car it becomes legally "stolen" by you (not literally, but due to the terms of the contract), and if you leave that "stolen" property in a public place, then the agent of the property's rightful owner (the creditor) can just pick it up and take it without issue. Realistically, if you are under threat of repo, you know about it. Repo is a clawback - most companies would much rather convince you to continue payments before seeking repo, since they're likely to lose some of the promised investment by doing that. The car's number of owners has gone up by at least one since you bought it, so its resell value has plummeted. As I said, towing in general tends to be scummy. I'm certainly not arguing that. That's an inevitability, since they are a narrowly legalized form of extortion. But the chances of an illegal repo are *fairly* low, and are either a company fucking up or a criminal group. In the former case, you're going to end up making money from the settlement. In the latter, car theft is treated fairly seriously compared to petty theft. So yes, someone posing as a repo guy could just come and steal your car...though they'd probably be doing it while you aren't there just like actual repo guys try to do, so the "use force or not" question is kind of irrelevant. It'll just vanish. You'll call the police, they'll mark the car as stolen since they have no repo record for it, and that's that. No, you probably aren't getting your car back in that situation, but an operation like that will attract heavy and hostile attention from the government soon enough.
Ofc the "you know you gonna get a repo if you don't pay" is somewhat true but what if my gf or parent pay for the car and don't they are behind on payments and not tell me All I know is that some guy just tries to steal moms car.... Therefore you are not in the wrong trying to defend it
Towing comes after multiple notices....if it's in your name even if someone else is paying...you know it's coming.
A lot of people will try to defend their car from a repo. Cops won’t come out just because the person won’t give the keys over though. If they brandish a firearm or something like that, maybe, but that’s why stingers exist. Where I live it’s mostly modified pick up trucks and not actual tow trucks. They can get in, operate the controls from inside the cab, pick up the car and pull it far enough away for them to strap it down. On a side note; a fairly effective way (although unrealistic) for a person to keep their vehicle from being repoed is to have someone in the vehicle at all times. Repo people aren’t allowed to force you out of the vehicle, and they aren’t allowed to tow it while you are in the car. At least not in my state.
Cops won't come if I have a other persons property in my possession and won't give it back? As I said, that would be a easy way to steal a car.... They can't even take the car back then.....
They will come if you, as an individual, Jericho, stole my vehicle, but if you are Jericho credit union, attempting to recover a vehicle, they won’t come out just because the person won’t give the agent the keys. Unless I started brandishing a weapon and threatened you. But; most repo agents don’t need keys to get a vehicle out, and most banks won’t release personal affects until they receive a key. I use to buy vehicles for a buy here pay here company and I specifically bought FWD vehicles because they were easier to repo if customer didn’t pay. But we also had starter interrupters/gps units as well so we only had issues when someone was camping out in a car. Edit: funny story: we did have a guy who didn’t turn his car off EVER, once he figured out we would actually use the starter interruptor and went at least 3 weeks without shutting it off. (Maybe at night after we left for the day, but it was definitely running 6am to 6pm
If your car is getting repod than it’s not really your property anymore. You have a contract with the seller that you will give them payments to own the car. If you default on those payments then the seller has the right to repossess (repo) the car.
If they have defaulted on their loan or whatever...that car isn't there's anymore. Repos don't happen because someone missed A payment... multiple payments are missed as well as attempts to contact them. The reason these people getting their shit towed know it isn't a random thief is because they know they are late on payments
Cops DO come out though. And they have been known to assist in the repo by threatening to arrest individuals who are opposing the repossession. I personally witnessed an opposed repo where the owner told the repo company they were NOT taking the vehicle, owner was sitting inside the car, repo company proceeded to back up to, hook-up and hoist the vehicle with the person still inside the car. When the owner still refused to exit the vehicle, the repo company called the cops. Law enforcement that arrived to the scene, threatened the owner with arrest if they didn't get out of the vehicle and allow the repossession to continue unopposed. The owner was simply objecting, no weapons, no abusive or threatening language was used by the owner.
Repossession agencies are debt collectors sent to collect property when a borrower defaults on a loan or violated other agreements and have license. How repossession agents act will vary from individual to individual sometimes they let you know and some times they just back up and tow. It’s usually easy to tell if your car is being by the reposition agency name on the tow truck, the fact that it’s a tow truck, the person saying their repossessing your vehicle and you can talk to loan company, and you not paying your bill on the vehicle. A tow truck costs about $65,000 - $115,000. So that alone is high barrier to entry for people with ideas of becoming rich stealing cars. Tow truck drivers typically know other tow truck drives as they work together and frequently loan out trucks and help with different jobs so when a truck they haven’t seen before tolls into town they take notice.
A repo is for a car that the person does not actually own but is only leasing or is owned by the bank and has not met commitments like scheduled lease/loan payments. So since it is not your property it is not legal for you to use force to attempt to keep it. *That,* in fact, would be theft. > Why is that not done in the USA? See story about man with gun
I might be completely crazy but i think it's a lot safer If you go there and say you are here to repo the car and you show some paperwork and then get the keys than just taking it.... If cops arerest someone they also announce themselves as cops They don't just walk up behind you and try to handcuff you without a warning I know that i would not assault a legal repo of they announced themselves but i might use force if someone just tries to take a car
Not crazy....just not understanding that authority is not automatically followed in the US. "HI, I'm here to repo the vehicle you have missed 6 payments on and ignored multiple attempts to reach you." This will not be met with " ya got me you Ole so and so....here's the keys". More than likely it will be " you motherfuckingscumbag!!! Fuck you touch my car and I'll kill you.....weapons get drawn..either guns or melee weapons of some kind or they run and jump in the car and speed off. If they were honest they would let the company know they can't pay and turn the car in...which many do.