I bought a car in georgia, moved to florida, registered it, the bank knows where it is, it is unfortunately going to be repo'd (voluntarily) they are threatining me with jail time because the vehicle is now out of state. How the @$%^ can they do that?
2006-08-15 11:54:06 · 8 answers · asked by Carl G 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Other - Cars & Transportation
Transporting stolen property is a crime you can go to jail for, but unless you defrauded them when you got the loan, this isn't likely. Even if you signed a contract saying you wouldn't take it out of state, all you are guilty of is breach of contract, not theft.
Bill collectors will tell you anything they want to to scare you. If they want to repo it, make them come and get it. BTW, a voluntary repo doesn't look any better on your credit than an involuntary.
2006-08-15 11:59:51 · answer #1 · answered by Catspaw 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read the fine print on your loan paperwork. Many have rules that you can't take the vehicle out of state without telling them first.
If you are leasing the vehicle, you almost certainly can not take it out of state (unless on vacation for a short period of time.)
If you delayed in letting the bank know where you were, they might think you were trying to evade them, and they have good reason to threaten jail time, especially because you weren't making payments.
By the way, there's no such thing as "voluntary" repo. If it was voluntary, you'd sell the vehicle and pay off the loan.
2006-08-15 19:01:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, what you have described is a civil dispute, not a criminal issue. You did not "steal" the car, you just failed to fulfil the obligations of your credit/loan agreement. In order this sort of situation to rise to the level of a "crime", there would have to be some sort of criminal intent (i.e. you established the loan with false information, or with the intent to not pay any money, etc). Being unable to pay a debt or beaching a contract does not land you in jail.
Be aware that your loan company can (and will) go after you for the cost of repossessing the car over state lines (which is expensive). They may request that the court attach/garnish your wages or other assets, and they will certainly file a negative credit rating against you.
2006-08-15 19:12:48 · answer #3 · answered by sdatary 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
like you said.. you bought the car.... and moved to florida... if you just moved. show them the proof, and go to Florida DMV and fix it.
shouldn't be a problem.
here it is:
""I just moved to my new state. How soon do I need to register my vehicle and how do I do it?
Soon after you get settled in, you will need to register your car through your new state's agency authorized to register vehicles. To find out when and how you go about registering your vehicle, use our easy-to-understand guide about car registration in your state. While you are at it, you can also read our New To Your State guides to all 50 states. ""
http://www.dmv.org/help/questions/32/
2006-08-15 19:12:19 · answer #4 · answered by OrionCheung 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they can make a case that you deliberately moved the car out of state to avoid payments, they might claim it has been stolen. If you had intended to voluntaruly have it reposessed, they would say that you could have done that before moving it out of state.
It might be a stretch for them, but if they were mad enough at you, they might make it stick.
2006-08-15 19:06:49 · answer #5 · answered by Vince M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no,it will just damage your credit and you will get alot of letters from the car lot, but you will not go to jail
2006-08-15 19:02:22 · answer #6 · answered by dena t 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually taking something that is not yours out of state, they pretty much have good reason to.
2006-08-15 18:59:45 · answer #7 · answered by Silverstang 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they can not. they are trying to put fear into you so you will bring the car to them instead of paying someone to pick it up.
2006-08-15 18:59:45 · answer #8 · answered by norwood 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋