a credit question about a truck repo?

Question

Someone has just started calling my husband and I about a collection account that was incurred in March 2004. It was on a truck repossession, amount owed is approx $12k and it was charged off by the bank. The bank never called him or sent him letters about the debt and it is just now that we are getting these calls. The guy gives us his name and he's from NCB management Services Inc and insists that if we don't make payment arrangements he will sue us. He says that even though the account is charged off we still owe the money, but after examing DH's credit report it is listed as charged off with a balance of $0 and does not show up under the collections part of the credit report.

He said that they don't do business by mail. I insisted he mail me something and he told me that "i don't need to tell him how they run their business" I finally got something in the mail. and the statute of limitations on bad debt is 4 years, (march 2008) you think that's why i get the calls now?

when he called last he spoke to me and not my husband and he wanted me to agree to a payment plan and tried to set something up. what he finally mailed me was for us to make "good faith" payments until we can come up with the total balance. i told him i wasn't doing anything until i got something in writing. the first good faith payment was suppossed to be made on 11/30 but i didn't get the letter in the mail until yesterday and he called my husband and said 'why haven't you sent us money yet?' DH told him he would have to speak with me because i handle the finances.

He initailly spoke to me without my husband's knowledge and tried to set up payments before we got anything in the mail. everything just seems really iffy - he wanted my SSN and bank account info so he could take the payment over the phone. i told him i didn't do business that way and he said they don't do business by mail. did speaking with him like that reset the SOL?

Answer 1

Auto finance is what I do for a living and the best advice I can give is to listen to Echo she is correct in all she has said.

Answer 2

I would not recommend sending a full cease & desist letter. If you do the next thing you get from them will probably be a summons.

You are correct in thinking that the collector is probably getting pushy since it sounds like you are nearing the collecting SOL.
A collector is not required to send anything that you verbally request or to stop calling unless you request it in writing.

Repo's void the original contract so the original creditor is reporting it correctly if they are reporting a zero balance on the original loan account.

The repo deficiency falls under the UCC SOL (UCC Article 2 § 2- 725) and is 4 years which starts on the date the repo was sold that created the deficiency balance.

IF the original creditor failed to follow the repo laws then the repo deficiency could become void and legally uncollectible.
(Look up UCC § 9.506 and also your states repo laws)

They need to send all of the required notices before and after the sale. Exactly what notices is dependent on your state laws.
They should allow the right to redeem Type of redemption is dependent on your state laws

They "must" sell the vehicle in a legal and timely manner, generally within 1 or 2 months after the repo.

They "must" send you a deficiency notice after the sale of the vehicle (case law - within 2 years of the sale).

If you had not moved during the repo or since the repo (at least within 2 years) and you have not received the required notices then they do not have a legal right to request the deficiency.
If you had moved during that time and the original creditor was not aware of your new address, it may be possible that they did attempt to send the required notices.

You might click on my profile, click on the last link listed and do some reading on the credit discussion board. Type repo in the search bar and read some of the threads.
When you see the link to the repo letter series, or ask in the credit forum, you might click on that and read it over.
Both the credit discussion board and the site where the repo letter is found are free to use and the repo letter template is also free to use if you wish to use it.

If you have any questions about the letter, feel free to ask about it in the credit forum on the site I've linked.

Answer 3

this is why repos are very very bad, they have that balance owed, extra fees and interest and come after you. Most people think that the bank comes and take you car/truck that is it. Yes with that amount of money they are most likely looking at suing you, however there are lots of variables. Example, your husband has lots of cash, large income, assets. They are looking into this right now. Next time this as;hole calls ask for his companies address and a case number. Go and talk to a attorney right away "with this kind of money" it would be worth 100-500 dollars. You attorney will take the info you got from the NCB management and send some letters. asking them to give a under signed validation of this debt, ask for how the fees and interest is computed and tell this company any contact is only dealt with the attorney. I have heard of many cases where folks get a attorney involved they back off and run scared. If they call the bluff and produce the evidence they most likely will settle for 1/3 of the balance.

Answer 4

Banks often sell their written off accounts to collectors for pennies on the dollar. If something is collected, the collector gets most of the money and the bank gets a little. If this is the case here, the collector is the new creditor on the truck and you will have to deal with him. It may not show up as in collections.....yet but it will. As soon as you talked to the collector and acknowledged the debt, the clock on the statute of limitations reset.

Insist on getting things in writing. The collector must adhere to certain standards and record keeping.

I'd consult an attorney or someone with more extensive knowledge about these situations. It is very possible that the collector will take you to court. He has nothing to lose by doing so and most people will settle for something rather than getting dragged into court.

Answer 5

TaxGurl...This is quite INCORRECT. Simple talking to someone about the debt is NOT resetting the SOL. In fact, unless you commit to a payent plan or make a payment on the account the statute of limitations is still in place.

Edit...He legally cannot talk to you regarding the debt, much less enter into some sort of agreement. That's probably why he wanted you to give your SS#. Write a letter requesting that all communication be in writing. Whether he wants to admit it or not they DO handle business that way, it's the law!

Answer 6

Send him a cease and decist letter explaining that the statute of limitations has already expired and he will more than likely leave you alone. Since they bought this debt for a lot less than what is owed they will usually oblige to the c&d letter.

You are getting calls from them now because they probably just bought the debt from another creditor.