Rights of lienholder on secured loan?

Question

I am an employee of a very small used car dealership, and we also finance cars ourselves. One of our customers is in default of the loan (stopped paying) and we got a letter from the Missouri (we are in Iowa) DOT saying she registered the vehicle there. We have no address, no contact information, and unsure of our legal rights. Can we report the vehicle stolen? The title is in her name but we are listed as lienholder. She isnt even 1/3 way through her payments yet.

Thank you, any websites, sources, or suggestions would be helpful.

Answer 1

If she titled the car in Missouri, her address should be on the title. Call the Missouri Department of Motor Vehicles (or whatever they call it) and tell them what is going on. Tell them that you wish to dispute the transfer of the title from an Iowa title to a Missouri title due to breach of contract, fraud and non-payment. They should be able to walk you through the Missouri laws concerning repos & contracts. If they don't help, call the state police, they should be able to walk you through your rights.

I'm sure your contracts state that you have the right to repo the car for non-payment. You can run her credit report again and see if she has started a new job, both her new address and her job address should be there, then hire a licensed Missouri repo man to hunt her little butt down.

Answer 2

MO knows that you are the lien holder which is why they sent you the letter. The other posters have given excellent answers regarding the next steps; however, for the future....

Even though you are a small dealer, I would start installing GPS devices which prevent the vehicle from starting when payments are not made in a timely manner. Becuase the person cannot move or start the car - the GPS device will help the repo man find the car and take it away. There are too many desperate people who are willing to hide in order to avoid paying their obligations. Of course, I would never buy a car under such conditions - but ask yourselves if this is worth it....

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BPW/is_4_15/ai_n6126380

Answer 3

No, you cannot report it stolen! The fact that you were notified that it was registered in MO means that she is probably NOT attempting to hide the fact that you are the lienholder and illegaly convert the security interest.

You should contact the MO DPS and get the address where the vehicle was registered from them. As a secured party, you have the right to that information. Then contact a local repo agent or skip tracer to locate the individual and (hopefully) the vehicle and proceed with the normal reposession process.