What Can a Repossession Agent Do to You?

If you are one of those people that has been targeted by a repossession agent due to delinquency on your car note, it is important to realize that there are limits to what the repo man can and cannot do – and since they try to trick you into giving up your vehicle, your best weapon is information.

They are not, for example, allowed to enter property that is secured with a chain or a lock. They are also not allowed to break a chain or a lock in order to gain possession of property. However, if your property is not tied down or secured, they are allowed to seize it – for example, they are allowed to enter an unlocked, open garage to seize a vehicle.

They are also not allowed to force you to relocate your vehicle, with or without police assistance. However, they will frequently try and trick you into doing so.

Repo men are also not allowed to use force, or even the threat of force, in order to convince you to surrender your property. This would be breaking the law, and repo men are not allowed to break the law. If you feel that this rule is being broken, you should threaten to call the repo man’s employer and file a complaint. This rule extends to any form of violence or any action that could potentially pose a threat to you, the repo man or to bystanders, such as attempting to forcibly pull you over as you are driving.

One important thing to note is that if you are in the car, the repo man is not allowed to move it, the reason for this ostensibly being that moving the vehicle would pose harm to you. So if you are sitting in the car and refuse to get out, the repo man would not be able to legally seize control of the vehicle.

Another interesting thing to note is that if there is a chance of him being attacked by an animal (such as a guard dog) if he enters your property, he is not allowed to enter; nor is he allowed to neutralize the animal. Car repo men use deception to trick their “clients”; it is only fair, then, for you to resort to trickery to avoid being taken advantage of. To learn more about your rights when dealing with RA’s visit the repo cars guide for more information.

Tags | animal car, best weapon, breaking the law, bystanders, car repo, delinquency, guard dog, open garage, police assistance, possession, repo man, repo men, violence