Legal advice for car repossession in Texas? We are thinking of filing a lawsuit and need help.?

Question

Here's the breakdown of events:

Lost a job in March that led to deficit in our home income. We were 90 days behind on a vehicle lease loan with Fifth Third Bank - we had been calling them for months trying to work something out, and they were completely unforgiving. They finally said they were coming out to repossess our car.

This past Friday: Called Fifth Third Bank and said that we could make a 2/3rds payment on what was past due on our car. They said it needed to be the full 90 days. We said we could do something over the weekend and pay on Monday. The customer service rep said we had until Monday and she noted out account.

Sunday at 6am: Our car is involuntary repossessed while we slept. Called the police later in the morning to find our car had been taken to a local repossession lot. When we called the lot, they said that Fifth Third hadn't informed them that we had until Monday. They said we needed to call Fifth Third on Monday morning to discuss.

Monday at 7am: We called Fifth Third. The rep says that she sees the note on our account, but that doesn't matter. She said someone should have explained the risks to us, and they could repo our car anytime, no matter what we were told. We made the payment via Western Union for our car. We are told that once the paperwork is sent to the repossession lot, our car will be released to us. We are told this will at least take a day. We call the repossession lot at the end of the day to see if paperwork has been received, and it has not.

Tuesday: We call the repossession lot to see if the paperwork has been received, and it has not. We call Fifth Third, and they tell us to call back on Wednesday. They said these things take time.

Wednesday (TODAY): We call the repo lot. They tell us our car has been transferred to the auction lot. They tell us our car will be up for auction on Monday. After some argument, we find out that Fifth Third places a 72 hour hold on cars repossessed, and that we'll have to pay all these fees incurred for the time. Fifth Third still has not sent them (or US) ANY paperwork regarding this matter. We've only found out all this information by calling these places trying to piece this together.

TONIGHT: We are told by the repo lot that they will not sell our car because we have a confirmation number for our payment. However, we'll still be responsible for all the fees.

My question is - WE PAID ON MONDAY. WE WERE TOLD WE COULD HAVE UNTIL MONDAY TO PAY. And the note saying that is on our account. Do we have a legal case? I know we defaulted on the loan, and that is our fault, but don't we have some rights here? Shouldn't what the representative told us on Friday hold some weight as a verbal contract or agreement with us?

Please help. I believe we'll be contacting a lawyer in the morning, but we're just feeling helpless. Thank you for anyone who takes the time to read this and offer advice.

Answer 1

The customer service clerk didn't do any checking before she told you it would be noted. The repo paperwork was already sent out. Sorry, but a decent attorney will tell you up front that you won't win in court. You need to pay the fees or they will sell the car at auction and you will be responsible for the balance of whatever amount is owed and what the sale price is.

Answer 2

Sorry but you are at fault.  Check the loan papers you signed.  Pay up or lose the car.  

Answer 3

No, I don't think so.  Usually, the finance company's rights to repossess your car are spelled out in your written agreement.  That agreement probably also says that the agreement cannot be modified except in writing.

Pull the agreement out and read it.  Be sure to take it to any lawyer you go to see.  But I'm pretty certain that you will find that they acted completely within the written contract and anything they say to you otherwise doesn't mean a thing.

Answer 4

Prove the loan officer said you have until Monday (records and notes can and do get lost) .

Did you make a note on the Western Union Money order about the 2/3s payment due Monday ?

You may argue to get your storage fees removed or covered by the bank. especially if it was taken without due authorization or before the agreed upon due date , again prove that.

The first duty of the loan officer is to the bank. and nothing says they must tell you the truth in the process of gathering your money..

Answer 5

.   That business about them moving your car from one lot to another makes me mad.  They do that on purpose so you have to pay for another day.  That is why everyone hates them.  

You should have driven the car to Fifth Third on the day after you missed your first payment.  Then you would be the "angel" in this story.  You drove for quite a while and didn't pay.  A phone call that you can pay 2/3rds is not very convincing.  It sounds like a "stall tactic" to a banker.  Don't do that in the future.  It never works.

Answer 6

There is a very good chance that the order to repo was already processed by the time the rep made that agreement.

That being said, it does not matter.   You defaulted on the loan, and although you eventually did come through with the money the bank had to go to the trouble of repossessing your car to get it. If every time they needed a payment they had to take your car they would not be in business very long.

Read what you signed, you are responsible in all cases for any fees associated with your breach of contract.

Answer 7

well it is similar to a house, u have to pay all fees and fines incurred from the repo and the storage fees and the other nickels and dimes they get you with before the auction. it is called curing your debt.

i had the same experience with my auto loan over a half of a payment i was given permission to pay, and then they told me that i couldnot have gotten that agreement because it wasnt fdar enough behind in payments and that it was too bad.

the thing to remember is these are collection agents, regardless of how nice they seem.  it is their job to collect as much money from you as they can