Maryland Repo: What Now

crakars1 · #1 01-26-2009, 08:16 PM

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

So our car was repoed in Nov. Sold a couple weeks ago, for 1/3 of what was owed. So now we get a letter in the mailbox today ( that was supposed to be certified but was left in the box; we didn't sign for it) that said we owed 17k. We need to contact them in 5 days to pay. We obviously don't have that, if we did, we would still have the car. So, what happens next? Seriously, this has never happened to me before, my brother yes, and he has always just walked away and never paid anything on what was owed.

Back to me: Do we contact and see if they will accept payments? Right now we can only afford $25-50 a month ( yes seriously). Do they have the right to refuse that and demand more? Do we ignore them ( not the best I know) and see where it goes from here? The loan was taken out online with a company in California if that makes any difference. Can they get a judgement and sieze a bank account ( which has 3 whole dollars in it at the moment)? Or in Maryland are the laws different? I have been on the phone all day trying to get answers, no one seems to know.

Thanks ALL!

OhMy · #2 01-26-2009, 08:58 PM

Quoting crakars1

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

So our car was repoed in Nov. Sold a couple weeks ago, for 1/3 of what was owed. So now we get a letter in the mailbox today ( that was supposed to be certified but was left in the box; we didn't sign for it) that said we owed 17k. We need to contact them in 5 days to pay. We obviously don't have that, if we did, we would still have the car. So, what happens next? Seriously, this has never happened to me before, my brother yes, and he has always just walked away and never paid anything on what was owed.

Back to me: Do we contact and see if they will accept payments? Right now we can only afford $25-50 a month ( yes seriously). Do they have the right to refuse that and demand more? Do we ignore them ( not the best I know) and see where it goes from here? The loan was taken out online with a company in California if that makes any difference. Can they get a judgement and sieze a bank account ( which has 3 whole dollars in it at the moment)? Or in Maryland are the laws different? I have been on the phone all day trying to get answers, no one seems to know.

Thanks ALL!

Your brother is wrong.

When a car is repoed and re sold it is common for it to sell for .25 cents on the dollar. You are responsible for the balance of the loan plus all costs, fees, repo fees, storage fees etc.

They will take you to court and get a judgment against you. These are pretty much open and shut cases. They then can attatch to your bank accounts, garnish your paycheck etc. This applies in every state in the USA.

crakars1 · #3 01-27-2009, 07:45 AM

I know I have to pay, but how quick is the whole process? If I try to set up a payment plan, will they actually work with us, or will they want more then we can afford? I never had wage garnish and all this going on, so I don't know how this works. I actually thought in MD that only the state ( like child support) could garnish wages and seize banks accounts. I thought that if you got a judgement against you where you owed money on a car loan like this, you would then have to contact the company/bank and set up a payment plan. I contacted Maryland Division of Financial Regulation ( they handle repossessions) , to get more info, and of course haven't heard anything back yet. With 4 kids and 1 income, I don't want to "ignore" it, I WANT to take care of it, but I also need to be able to feed and diaper kids.

OhMy · #4 01-27-2009, 08:55 AM

Quoting crakars1

I know I have to pay, but how quick is the whole process? If I try to set up a payment plan, will they actually work with us, or will they want more then we can afford? I never had wage garnish and all this going on, so I don't know how this works. I actually thought in MD that only the state ( like child support) could garnish wages and seize banks accounts. I thought that if you got a judgement against you where you owed money on a car loan like this, you would then have to contact the company/bank and set up a payment plan. I contacted Maryland Division of Financial Regulation ( they handle repossessions) , to get more info, and of course haven't heard anything back yet. With 4 kids and 1 income, I don't want to "ignore" it, I WANT to take care of it, but I also need to be able to feed and diaper kids.

Thre is no law that they have to accept a payment plan.

You may want to consider talking to a bankruptcy attorney. This site can put you in touch with one in your area.

In a chapter 7, this debt can be discharged and you would owe nothing. Only a bankruptcy attorney can tell you if that is the best way for you to go.

crakars1 · #5 01-27-2009, 07:45 PM

Just a follow up. We called. they said they would take half the amount owed, but we would have to pay it off in 12 months which is impossible. They accepted $75 a month, with us being able to settle at any time for about half of what is owed, with all that is paid in counting towards that. Good in most ways. Thanks for your time in responding.