Do I Have Any Rights if My Car is Repossessed in Illinois?
For most people, having a car is a necessity, not a luxury. We use our cars for work, to transport our children to school and to run other important errands.
Without a car our already complicated lives become even less manageable. If you fall behind on your car payments, your lender can repossesses its collateral,
leaving you without transportation and sometimes, stuck with making payments. The Car Repossession Laws in Illinois do, however, provide consumers with much needed protections.
Defenses to repossession
Although a creditor may repossess your car after once you default on your loan, there are several defenses that you can use to contest the
repossession, such as:
-
No default - a creditor may initiate repossess without notice if you miss just one payment. However if your lender regularly accepted late payments
in the past, you may contest the repossession if the lender did not give you fair warning
- No collateral – the lender may only repossess a car if it is listed as collateral for the loan
-
Breach of peace –the "repo" man may not take your car over your objection nor can he use violence or make threats against you during the
repossession process. Repo agents may not break into or damage your personal property to get to your car
- Police assistance – Generally, the police may help repossess your car unless there is a court order prohibiting them from doing so
-
Insufficient notice of redemption – Car repossession laws in Illinois require your lender to provide you with a redemption notice within
21 days after your car is repossessed. If the lender fails to provide the notices or provides legally insufficient notice, the repossession may be invalid
If you act quickly, Illinois repo laws can even get your repossessed car or
truck back
—
and at a lower monthly payment. You also have the right to retrieve any personal items that were in the car at the time of repossession. Protect your rights
and
prevent car repossession
. Contact DebtStoppers, Bankruptcy Law Firm for aggressive legal representation.
