What should I do? Repo man intentionally tried to damaged vehicle for revenge against a 6th grader(I

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Over the past few months my family has had ALOT of hardship due to the health problems facing our single mother of six. Hours ago, her car was repossessed. Our only car currently; it gets me and my siblings to school every morning 20 minutes away(we don t have access to a bus.) Long story short, the rude repo man got fed up with my 11 year old brothers mouth while he was putting her AWD Honda Pilot on his truck. This man says to my brother "I m going to make sure your mother doesn t get her car back" and my brother says "She will watch us." Then he goes "Not without tires you aren t." He proceeds to drag our car out of the driveway and into the street, AT LEAST 60 feet from where the car originally was. NOTE THAT THE CAR WAS IN PARK WHEN HE DID THIS! I have pictures of the black tire marks that it made in the driveway. After this while parked in the street to finish putting the front two wheels that he dragged it by on the dolly, he proceeded with his taunts against a 6th grader about how his mother "can't afford this car" "he's going to do more to it" and most original "he's going to make sure she doesn't get it back."

NOT ONLY THIS, but when he originally reversed as fast as he could into our driveway to take the car, he almost hit my six year old sister! Right now, we are going to worry about borrowing what she owes to get it out. However, I m very worried that our only vehicle may very well now have transmission damage. My mom has bad credit right now and really the only option we have right now is getting our car back, if the transmission has damage or anything else wrong(he threatened to do more to it) than we won t be able to pay for that kind of repair right now or any repair for that matter. What s the first thing I should do in the morning? I am located in Michigan. PLEASE help me! I don't know if this helps but he did drive a "US DOT" truck and I have a picture of the truck number

I had posted on Yahoo answers this same question and just so everyone knows, this man did not ask for they keys because he didn't need them. With an AWD vehicle all 4 wheels need to be off of the ground regardless when towing.

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Type: Question • Score: 2 • Views: 2,014 • Replies: 12

@Bathtub101,

Bathtub101 wrote:

What should I do?

You need to consult a lawyer. You will probably need to sue for damages. The lawyer can help you understand what you need to do in order to ensure that you present your case as strongly as possible when you are in court.

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You might not need to go so far as get a lawyer - do you have the information of the repo man --- what company he works for and so forth? It is not legal what he did and the company he represents is responsible for his actions.

I would start with where he works and report him with the evidence you have. You can also contact (I would call - you should be able to look up the phone number) the company where your mom has a loan out on the car and report him there. Then let the credit company and/or the repo man's company know there may be damage to your mom's car and how do you go about getting compensation from them to repair it.

Don't give them an option - don't ask for compensation, demand it - politely and respectively (always easier to get what you want when you are polite about it). Say "Fred (or whatever his name is) the repo man, did xyz to my mom's car. It appears there could be damage to the car as a result. This car is needed to transport children to school safely and to go to work so any repair work is needed as soon as possible. Since repo man has intentionally damaged our vehicle, please let us know how and when you are going to compensate us for this damage.

And if that doesn't work (as that would be the fastest and most efficient way of going about it) you can contact a lawyer - many will work for free in a case like yours where there is lack of money. You could do an internet search to try to find one - however, this could take much longer to get the lawyer and to sue. However if you do get a lawyer, all it might take is a call from the lawyer for the company to compensate you.

A good reputable company isn't going to want to be dragged through a lawsuit or even have a bad reputation over something that would cost them a few dollars.

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@Bathtub101,

Here is one spot you can start to see if you can get advice:

https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/states/michigan/homeownership/legalaid

It is on the Housing Department website- but the legal contacts link should be able to help with any legal issues -
At the very least they might be able to direct you better than any of us -- they might be able to advise you over the phone

Good luck --- I feel for you - just because you are having financial issues is no reason to be heartless and mean, there is a right way and a wrong way to handle a situation like this - and this cruel man basically did something about as wrong as you can.

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Sorry you are going thru all this, but really, Forget about it.

It's not your mother's car. The issue is now between the tow truck driver and the dealership/bank who owns it. They have the car back - in the shape it's in - so let it go.

Your mother should try to get funds together to get another car, preferably one that will not have a payment. Ask the community for help: local catholic church has St. Vincent de Paul, or a local outreach center , or other charities that provide cars. (Volunteers of Amercia is one who helps out.)

Try to explain to your brother that you understand he is angry, but the tow truck driver didn't deserve the harassment. He was only doing his job. He got angry and acted stupid, but will probably get in trouble with his employer for damaging the car.

Again, I am sorry you kids are in the middle of all this. Is there family or another adult who can help out at this time?

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@Bathtub101,

Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry your family is suffering hardship... being a single Mother is the pits, and trying to find support hard. Everything feels a million takes more difficult, and nothing seems to ever go right sometimes.

I hate bullies, and this jackass is definitely one. A grown man arguing the toss with a youngster? No excuses, no matter how verbal your brother was, he's still supposed to be an adult! What's the matter with the idiot! Oh of course, I get it. He's probably too thick and uneducated to do anything other than bully people to make up for his inadequacies, peasant....😡.....

If you can, why don't you try contacting his company? If that's not plausible how about letting the police know what happened, and showing them the pictures and details you have?

That sort of cruelty to vulnerable people is thoroughly unacceptable, and he needs to be dealt with in a way that will make him think twice about picking on people.

Not much help I'm afraid, but I do hope someone comes along with better advice soon.

Wishing you and your family better times ahead. 💖

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@PUNKEY,

PUNKEY wrote:

It's not your mother's car. The issue is now between the tow truck driver and the dealership/bank who owns it. They have the car back - in the shape it's in - so let it go.

That's an interesting point. I've no experience with repossessions so I never thought of that angle. Is there a way to still get the car back after it was repossessed (by making the late payments or something)? Or is the car lost for good at this point?

The repo guy was taunting them about making sure they wouldn't get it back. That implies that there is a mechanism for getting it back. Although just because the repo guy said it doesn't mean it is true.

Even if the car is now the property of the bank, the bank may not realize the cause of the damage. Some sort of complaints to the bank about damage to the car may not gain compensation to the family if the bank is now the owner, but it might lead to the bank taking action against the cruel repo guy.

If there is a mechanism for getting the car back, perhaps they can ask the bank to deduct the damage done to the car from whatever debt is owed, again possibly leading to the bank taking action against the repo guy.)

1 Reply

@oralloy,

Apparently you can get a car back after repo:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/the-bank-repossessed-car-how-much-time-i-back.html

1 Reply

@jespah,

That's interesting. In that case they might still want to consult a lawyer.

I suppose hiring a lawyer might be daunting to someone behind on their car payments. Aren't there some sort of legal aid services for impoverished people?

1 Reply

@oralloy,

Should be Legal Services in most states (of course the OP might be from outside the US). Either free or sliding scale, but a lot of that work is done by third year law students or folks who are seriously overworked.

1 Reply

@jespah,

jespah wrote:

of course the OP might be from outside the US

I think they said Michigan. Unfortunately I have no Michigan-specific information on such aid. But maybe I can Google it.

Found this:
http://michiganlegalhelp.org/organizations-courts/find-lawyer

I presume that the damage to the car would be a small claims case. But knowing nothing about small claims cases, my instinct would still be to consult a lawyer first if I was going to file such a case.

1 Reply

@oralloy,

You're right; it's Michigan (I should've scrolled up. Ewps).

Small claims, people can generally handle it themselves but it does still take time and a single mother with 6 kids might be working a lot. Perhaps one of the older children could handle this? I mean someone 18 or older, not the 6th grader of course.

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It takes about 3 months to have a car repossed if its a bank or credit union loan, but if its off a lot, theyll pick it up within a month.

I doubt if she will be given a loan now.

Best to move on and get another car.

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What should I do? Repo man intentionally tried to damaged vehicle for revenge against a 6th grader(I

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