Vehicle Repossessed - Personal Belongings Are Gone

[cuppacoffee84]

My question involves an auto loan or repossession in the State of: Florida

I had my vehicle reposessed about 1 week ago. I was able to reinstate the loan and pay the arrearages and was able to retrieve my vehicle yesterday from an auto auction facility. When my vehicle was returned to me, I noticed that it had been completely detailed and cleaned inside. I had to get the floormats from the back of the vehicle and put them where they belonged but noticed that the passenger floormat was missing. I went back inside the facility and asked the rep. about possibly finding it in the detail area of the facility. I was told that everything that was present, was exactly how they received it. Not true...I then got to look at the copy of the condition report pictures and saw the floormat and other articles in the pic. The rep. called the back and got the answer that everything had been thrown away. Then I was told that the original repo company was actually responsible for collecting my belongings, not them. Before I left the facility I called the repo company and was told that the actual person who repo'd my vehicle said that I told him I didn't want anything from the vehicle. NOT TRUE. I found the statute (FL) 679.611 that states the property must be gatered and a notice is sent to the debtor that I can collect it within 30 days. The fact is, the repo guy left everything in the vehicle and it was transported to the auction and everything was disposed of (or stolen) like the factory floormat and other items. What can I do to be comoensated for these articles? no one wants to speak to me from the bank. I call and leave messages and no one calls back or I get transferred to some erronous line that just rings and rings or I get put on hold for 20 minutes! who can I call for action?

[aardvarc]

For action, you can first have an attorney draft a demand letter, asking the repo company for return of the items or compensation. If that fails you file a lawsuit against the repo company, detailing your damages and asking the court to order that you be compensated for your loss (and court costs if you remember to ask for such).

[Who'sThatGuy]

Your problem lies with the repo company, not the auction. When a vehicle is repossessed the repossession company is to take all valuable belongings out of the vehicle and securely store them.

What a repo company would take out of a vehicle for storage:

laptop - clothes - sneakers - eye glasses - CD/DVD's - change/U.S. currency ( this is usually pocketed by the person doing the inventory) and anything of slight value

What a repo company will not take out of a vehicle:

pens/pencils - rags - Windex - wax - paperwork - jewel case (empty cd cases) - and anything of no value or a value of a few dollars

Anything that is left in the vehicle stays in the vehicle till it is delivered to the auction. Once at the auction it will be sent to RECON, this is where the car gets cleaned inside and out so it could be sold to a car dealer.

However, lets get to the bottom of your floor mat. The auction will only clean your mat and put them in the trunk, it's almost impossible for them to lose one mat, as once the mat is cleaned it is placed in the trunk to dry.

The repo company has no use for your mat and they wouldn't have taken it out of the car and added it to inventory because it's an OEM part.

What I think happen to your mat is the repo driver or the transport driver ( a different company from the repo company) that took your car to the auction used the mat to kneel on so he wouldn't get his cloths dirty when getting your car ready for transport and left it in the road.

Your chances of recovering your mat is slim to none.

You should check with the repo company for any valuable items that were left in the vehicle and see if there still secured in there possession.

[cuppacoffee84]

Thanks for your replies. To 'whosthatguy' I don't think I mentioned that when the rep. at the auction realized that in fact I was right, the mat was gone and all my belongings, she got the coindition report pictures out and we took a look. In fact ALL the mats were there and so were my belongings so the mat was lost in the recon line. I finsally got to talk with the repo company and they are willing to compensate me for my belongings, they say anyway.... I told them that ultimately it is the bank's responsiblity and I will go back to them if I cannot get resolution but they do not want that evidently, they are going to take it out of the repo driver's paycheck. Thats what they say anyway.... we will see.

[cuppacoffee84]

Well the floormat saga continues. Why would I possibly think that anything would be easy with this cluster ****. I called the contracted repo. company who hired the sub-contractor repo guy as instructed. I was asked to do this today so that I could make an appointment to deliver my inventory list and pick up a check. I was told that 'they' whoever(being the bank, the contrator and the sub) discussed this issue yesterday afternoon and that they want to give me $50. Sorry doesn't even covcer the cost of my work decal and a replacement tag registration, not to mention everything else such as floormats, cell phone charger, umbrella, etc. Is this something they can do according to the law? and if I took them to small claims court, just who would I be sueing? the bank or the repo. driver or the repo. contractor? I constructed a list of items that are gone with either quotes from the web or just knowing how much I paid for a particular item. If you total everything up it is twice what they said they are willing to pay? Yes, I suppose we must be playing the " I dare you" game. Evidently they think that because I had a repo. that I would not 'dare' to pursue this. Actually, if I can prove the law to be on my side in this particular situation, I would not have a problem taking them to court. Anyoine have some good advice on how I should pursue this now? Thanks in advance.....

[Who'sThatGuy]

What is "work decal and a replacement tag registration"?

is the tag registration part of a DMV decal or paperwork?

[cuppacoffee84]

work decal is something I must have in my windshield that allows me to park. I have to pay $300/yr to have one. The tag registration is part of the DMV. You must present this slip if you are pulled over. It shows that the vehicle is attached to the license tag you have on the vehicle.

[Who'sThatGuy]

How many months did you have left on each before you needed to renew them and what is the cost for registration?

If you only had, say 2 months before you needed to buy a new decal for work then they would have to prorate the decal. The decal breaks down to $25.00 a month. So they would be responsible for $50 towards the decal. The same would apply to the DMV registration.

Figure out what the prorating would be for the two and ask for that to be added onto the $50.00 that they offered for the items that were lost.

Or what the cost would be to replace the decal and reg for the remainder of time left on both.

[That Guy]

If you total everything up it is twice what they said they are willing to pay?

So they're willing to give you $50 and you're looking for $100... Is the $50 difference really worth the hassle, headache and time spent on a lawsuit?

I know, I know... "It's the principle"...

They washed, detailed and cleaned your car out... That ought to be worth something!

[cuppacoffee84]

To That Guy~ yes, they washed my vehicle but they also stripped everything down to the label where I originally purchased it. They even threw away components that actually belonged with the car. I also got this detailing (BTW-that I never asked for) done 145 mi. away froim my house! I could have done the same thing for much cheaper and it really didn't need it anyway but you are right, it's the principle. And yes, it is a law that they must offer my belongings back to me OR compensate me for my loss. Ironically enough, today they called me several times at work and I was finally able to get back to them. They said that they would pay whqtever I wanted within reason. So I detailed a list of items that were gone with back-up documentation of the current price and it actually added up to three times what they originally offered. They took the actual repo. guy out of the equation and I dealt with the contractor. This was after I called the bank and threatened a small claims court case. I only did that because I really need to replace this stuff and they are legally responsible for compensating me for it. Just as I am accountable for paying for the vehicle, they should be accountable for losing all my personal belongings. My personal feeling is that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing in a reposession. To me, it is like a big machine that just rolls and until they see green bills and a human face to stop it, they won't. Not gloating about this because I do not have the check in hand but they have emailed me now with assurance that the check went out Fed-ex today. This whole situation should have never happened if I had done what I was supposed to do but in turn, I did everything they asked of me and they should do the same when it comes to them making the mistake.