Car Repossession

Hello Ada, 

First, we thank you for reaching us! We were more than happy to look for the best answers for your question.

It depends on how lenient or professional your creditor is. Some banks are professional and considerate, in that they give you reasonable time to be notified before taking on any action like sending a sheriff or a repossessor to take your car. 

To answer your question, when you have been notified that your payments have defaulted, in other words, when your account has become delinquent, you should be served a notice of repossession and you will have 21 days to act on it. 

Whether you make the missed payments or you contact the bank for another restructuring of your payment plan should be done at this stage.

If you are unable to express your intentions of taking actions towards your car payments, another reminder will be issued to you after the first 14 days of the 21 days that you were told you could take action. 

If no communication or action had been made on your end after the 14 days, repossession will be conducted by a registered repossessor. They will send your car to the bank.

Your car may be returned to you if: You make a full payment to what is owed OR if you could find a second-hand buyer to buy the car and assume the remaining balance. You will be given another notice when the creditor receives your car.

If no further action was taken by you or your creditor, the car will be sold at an auction after the 21 days.

Please be aware of your legal rights if the sheriff or repossessor had committed some act of breach of peace or public disturbance in the event that they are collecting the car. Contact your lawyer or local police. We hope these tips have proven helpful. Thank you so much and all the best!