Posted on June 8, 2009 at 12:21 am hi hope someone can help. i have $15000 in credit card debt and have car paymenbts overdue. been receiving calls from debt collectors and they say they can take my car. want the calls to stop too. anyone help?

Posted on June 8, 2009 at 12:29 am Hi there,Your auto lender may take--or repossess--your car if you have been behind on your payments. How long have you been unable to keep up with the monthly payments? Most lenders do so after two months, but there have been cases where certain lenders have started the repossession proceedings even if the car payment's been a month behind.

Posted on June 8, 2009 at 2:29 am As a general rule debt collectors aren't authorized to take your car--or any of your property, for that matter-- UNLESS they have gone to court, sued, and won a judgment against you. Afterwards they can take certain items of property from you. Certain pieces of property are "exempt," and the exemption rules vary from state to state.There are cases that creditors can simply repossess your property, especially if you put your car up for security on the debt--this is what's called turning an unsecured loan to a secured loan. This is called a "security agreement," which means that if you default on your payments, your creditor is entitled to secure property to serve as payment for the unsettled debt. Of course this can only occur only if you have signed that agreement--upon doing so, the creditor has the legal right to confiscate your car when payments are missed.

Posted on June 8, 2009 at 8:54 am The lender who you received your car note from reserves the right to repossess the vehicle if you have defaulted on monthly payments. Typically, as Karess mentioned, they will attempt to repossess after 2-3 payments have been missed. They reserves the right to take the car because the car was used as collateral to secure the debt when the lender gave you the car loan. Now, your credit card lenders would need to execute a judgment to take your vehicle to pay off your credit card debt. As previously stated above, they would first file a lawsuit and then would attempt to secure a judgment against you. At that point in time, if the debt is not resolved, the creditor would move to execute the judgment in the form of a wage garnishment, property lien or bank account levy. The only way to prevent your car note lender from repossessing the vehicle is to contact them and catch up on the payments as soon as possible. It sounds like your credit card accounts are in collections? If so, you may want to fill out a form on DestroyDebt.Com to get matched up with a qualified provider. The only way to ensure that your credit card lenders do not come after your assets is to resolve the debt as soon as possible.

Posted on June 8, 2009 at 10:15 am Great point, Steven. I'd also like to touch on your concern about the collection calls. The next time that you get to speak with a debt collector, you need to ask them the address where you'll be sending your Cease & Desist letter to. Verbal requests to stop the calls aren't enough for them to, well, stop. You need to write them a letter expressing that you wish to be contacted only thru writing.It may take as much as 14 days for you not to hear from the collection company. That gives you ample time to send your letter explaining your situation. Afterwards they will be sending you a confirmation stating that they have received your request, and you'll be sure not to hear from them after that.Of course this doesn't mean that you no longer are responsible for the debt. Nor does it mean that you have automatically gained immunity from judgments or liens on your property.

Posted on June 8, 2009 at 10:30 am how soon can they take my car? is there any way that i can stop them from doing that.....? i feel bad that they have to do this, i need the car for work!

Posted on June 8, 2009 at 10:44 am Unfortunately, creditors do not wait a specific period of time before the automobile can be confiscated. As long as you are in default, the repo men will take the car any time they wish. However there is a short grace period that allows you to make repayments on the loan without the risk of having the automobile repossessed. The lender needs to inform you of this fact; failure to do so can be taken against them, and it may be possible for you to bring them to court because of this fact. If the grace period has passed, it is up to the lender to decide whether to repossess or not.