# Social Category > General Chat Forum >  Question regarding repossession of a car

## twinscythe12332

Hi Everyone,

I'm not particularly clued up on what happens after a car is repossessed, and a friend is in a spot of trouble...
my friend took out a car loan with the bank, and bought the car she wanted. a while into the payments (I'm guessing around a year or so), she became unemployed and was unable to pay the installment, so the the bank has repossessed her vehicle. 

The bank is now asking for the money to be paid, so they can auction off the vehicle...

Now as far as I have read, there are two avenues that are possible here:
A)she pays off the debt.
B)she gets them to auction off the car, and the amount it sells for gets deducted from what she owes.

The thing that concerned me the most is when she said they wanted her to pay the amount, and also auction the vehicle. this didn't sound right. surely if she pays the amount she owes, she gets her vehicle back...

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## sterne.law@gmail.com

Correct, if she pays the arrears then the contract is up to date and she should get the car back.

Once the car is sold, there may be a balance, she can either arrange to pay that off or say to hell with it and have teh judgement sit on her credit rating.

Not clear if the car has been taken already, which would mean the process is well under way. Or have they send letter telling what tehy paln to do?

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twinscythe12332 (25-Mar-10)

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## twinscythe12332

The car has been taken already. The bank sent through a letter saying that they will take her to court if she does not pay the amount due on the vehicle.
The thing that surprised me the most was when she said they wanted the money BEFORE they auction the car... I may as well read the letter myself and see if there isn't a little muddle in logic going on.

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## desA

Which bank (loan-shark) did she use?

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## Scarlet

> Which bank (loan-shark) did she use?


ABSA and they called her, they didnt send her a letter about the auction

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## Dave A

:Confused:  I would have thought they would need a judgement and writ of execution before they could repossess the car...

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## sterne.law@gmail.com

> I would have thought they would need a judgement and writ of execution before they could repossess the car...


mmmm :Confused: perhaps she has moved or the postal address is different from the original finance document. maybe twin should get the letter and soe mor einfo, something doe snot quite add up

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## desA

ABSA are thugs of the first order. Their procedures leave an incredible amount to be desired. They are often a law solely to themselves & incredibly incompetent to boot.

Tell your friend to walk away & not turn back - don't pay them another bean, since they've already taken the vehicle. If they press her further, which they will, get her to ask them for a copy of all the original paperwork in their possession. She could end up finding they've lost the original contract. If not, she could have her attorney scrutinise it & check their procedures of re-possessing the vehicle.

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## FaizalH

> Correct, if she pays the arrears then the contract is up to date and she should get the car back.
> 
> Once the car is sold, there may be a balance, she can either arrange to pay that off or say to hell with it and have teh judgement sit on her credit rating.
> 
> Not clear if the car has been taken already, which would mean the process is well under way. Or have they send letter telling what tehy paln to do?


I have a similar problem, I am 2 mnths in arrears, No final Demand notice has been issued, agreements with debt collecting law firm was put in place, next day repo guy pitches at my gate at 5am demanding the car and insists he has a court order. What does an official court order look like as I wouldnt know the diff. What is my rights. Do I give him the car. then he threatens me for not giving him the car and says the sheriff is on his way and I will be in contemt.

I contact the bank again, the legal dep head insists that I must pay the full outstanding amount + the legal costs before she cancels the Tracers instructions.

Pls, pls advise

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## sterne.law@gmail.com

Well the bank has answered your question: "tell the tracer." hence your tracer is merely looking for you.
if there was a court order the bank can't stop or cancel it, just like that.
A court order has an official decree like stamp.

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## tec0

If I am not mistaken you are given 30 working days to appeal before the bank can do anything with the car? "That is after they took it" I stand to be corrected on this but most of the time the people are not aware of the procedures thus they don’t take action to protect themselves.

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## hydel

Can someone advise me please. Was retrenched 2 years ago but started new job this month. Am behind with 2 vehicle installments. Handed over to debt collector who phoned me and said I have four days to pay half of arrears, otherwise bank is sending someone to collect car. If I understand correctly, when they do that they must have an official court order with them to do this. Is that correct and what can I do since I can only pay by 15/05 and not in 4 days time. Please help!!

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## hydel

Found the answer on the Ombudsman for Banking services website. You must first be sent a letter from the bank in terms of section 129 of the NCA advising you that you are in arrears and what the options are. A court will not grant judgment against you if the bank cannot show that a letter was sent to you. Further your vehicle can only be repossesed with a court order or with your consent. To save legal costs banks will first try to obtain your consent to repossess the vehicle. If you voluntarily surrender the vehicle a form or agreement for you to sign must be given to you in terms of section 127 (1) (a) to prove that you are surrendering the vehicle voluntarily. When in the bank's possession within 10 days they must send you a letter stating the value for which the vehicle can be sold and you are granted 10 days from receiving the letter to pay the arrears in which case the vehicle must be released back to you.

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Dave A (06-May-12)

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## thuli

Hi 

My husband was retrenched last year and the car was repossessed and it was auctioned. If he finds a job is he owing a bank anything? If he is owing the bank  will the bank be able to  deduct  money from his bank account since they have his banking details without his permission?

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## Dave A

If the banking account is with the same bank as the vehicle finance, it might be a good idea to open a bank account at another bank and using that for future income.

It would also be a good idea to check up your credit record which might contain details of the current status of the vehicle finance account.

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## ruansmith

Hey. I've got some questions too. My car was repossessed on 5 Feb 2013. 

The week that the car was taken I tried to make 2 payments to stop them from taking the car. I was planning to do another 2 payments the next week to bring the car back up to date. The repo guy I was dealing with who took the car back refused payment and collected the car without me being at home even. He would not speak to the the finance lady at work who wanted to make payments, but he told her (and not me) that he is collecting the car the next day. I got a call early morning that someone is at my home fetching my car. My house mate basically handed my car over and can't remember if he signed anything. If the repo guy refused to speak to the finance lady then how come he is too eager to take the car from someone else? Is it even allowed?

Anyway. So I thought that I had 30 days. So I called today to get full outstanding amount with storage costs etc so I can pay as tomorrow is 30 days and the guy tells me that it's 20 working days and that the car has been auctioned. Turns out it is not sold yet when I spoke to his team leader. Waiting now to hear whether its too late or not as there's an auction tomorrow and Saturday.

My confusion lies with the fact that I have received no letters and I have not signed anything after the purchase. I live on a plot and don't receive regular mail and also there is a strike on still at the Post Office. The guy basically says that everybody is treated equally and that me living on plot is not their issue. Do the letters have to be registered and signed for? What if no letters was received? They have my email address, but no emails! If I had known that they were planning to auction the car this week I would have called earlier. Apparently they also only call one time after they have the car back.

What is your thoughts and advice?

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## Darkangelyaya

1. Get a tougher housemate;
2. I'm sorry about your car - can you pay the outstanding money tomorrow? That may be your only hope. NB! Only a sheriff or his official deputy may enforce a court order, sounds like the collector saw you coming.
Good luck!

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## Dave A

Reading Ruan's story, I couldn't help but think some folks in that food chain were not prepared to lose their fee.

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## sterne.law@gmail.com

A brief, very brief outline, of how it is supposed to work.
If you fall into arrears you must be sent a section 129 notice. There are conflciting intepretations of a constitutional judgement regarding delivery of said notice. The conflcit is must consumer actually receive, in his hands, the other is, is teh fact that it got to the post office sufficient. The various regions have followed differnet routes. 
Pursunat thereto summons and teh normal legal routes. The creditor can then get an attahcment of teh vehicle and teh sheriff will arrive.

The other circumstance, which is what I suspect occurred, is the debt collection agency. They hav eno powers to remove your vehicle, or any asset. [A court order is required, and the sheriff is the kind chap who arrives with this order, not the debt collection agency.]
What can happen, is that a creditor may agree to a voluntary surrender, where the debtor hands back the goods, the creditior sells it as soon as possible and for the best price [hmmm]
The key is VOLUNTARY, the collecters however, being well aware, due to the past laws, that many people believe that a car, in particular, can just be taken, get intimidated and bullied, and allow the guy to take it. They of course get the person to sign the voluntary release, normally worded carefully, to make as if they have no choice and it will be good for credit etc, etc

What can you do
You can bring an immediate application for a spoliation order - this will bring about the return of the vehicle.[There are conflciting court pratcices with regard to if the application can be brought ex parte and if it can be on an urgent basis or if the normal procedures must follow]
If an auction is going to happen soon, then you need to bring an urgent application for an interdict to halt the process.
If there was a court order you will have to seek a rescision of judgement

You should contact the bank direct, not collection agencies and try and resolve.
You probably need a lawyer which costs money. Time is against you, so the law soceity may be out.
Depending on your income, you may qualify for probono via some of the NGO's

You still have a remedy if the auction proceeds, but in the interim you would be without a vehicle which is a huge problem.

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anon (15-May-13)

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