[tjohnson]

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

After a period of unexpected financial difficulty, I was 2 months late on my vehicle loan payment. I made a payment on a Friday, bringing my account to one month delinquent. The following Monday, I was awoken by the sound of a repo man preparing to remove my vehicle which was parked in front of my home.

I immediately went outside and addressed the man who insisted that I provide him with my keys for the vehicle. I vehemently refused and instructed him to not remove the vehicle, indicated that a payment on the account had just been made and that I would contact the company and that I would contact him later after speaking with the lien holder. He insisted that he couldn't wait. I continued to protest, but he towed the vehicle away anyway.

All this commotion awoke my neighbors as it was at 6am. I have witness to the events described above.

Does this constitute breech of peace?

Additionally, despite my contact with the lien holding company, and my ability to raise all but $200 of the amount they were requested to return the vehicle, they would not accept a partial payment with guarantee of balance payment nor would they negotiate on the amount due. Although, at time of repossession, I only owed them $375, they were demanding $1500.

After their refusal to work with me, I was left no option other than to let them auction the vehicle. However, I did not receive any notice regarding date, time or place of the auction.

After auctioning the vehicle, which was one year old and in excellent condtion and within allowable mileage, they contacted me and demanded $10,000.

Do I have any recourse in regard to this debt?

Thanks in advance for any assistance or guidance that can be provided in this matter.

[LawResearcherMissy]

In the state of Michigan, you have 15 days from the date of repossession to redeem the car. The lienholder is not required to accept a partial payment to reinstate your loan.

According to this site, the company is required to follow the notice and sale provisions to be entitled to the deficiency. Since you were not notified, you may well be able to fight this. Get a lawyer.

[lwpat]

They are required to follow the notice and other requirements of Article 9 of the UCC. Since they did not follow the law, you can probably get out of owing them anything but you will need an attorney which will probably run in the neighborhood of 2,000. Since few people challenge them, many companies simply ignore Art. 9.