Vehicle repossessed, payments current, discharge in Feb

[naturistman]

Hello All,

I have a call in to my attorney, but in the meantime, wonder if any of you have thoughts on this.

I filed Chapter 7 in mid November and had my 341 meeting on Dec 23. My discharge came thru in late Feb.

My auto loan was included in the filing. I continued to make payments and the loan is completely up to date (never late, never missed a payment). During the bankruptcy proceedings I reported that I would reaffirm the loan. However when I saw the actual document, I decided against signing it, because it included verbiage that "I could afford to make payments". Since I was unemployed, and had been for over 2 years, I couldn't in good conscience make such a statement. However I did continue to make the payments short term.

Anyway, today (4/6) the repo guy showed up. I resisted at first, but ultimately just let him take the vehicle. I figured "it's just a vehicle", and I don't' want to risk legal issues by refusing to obey a legal repossession order.

Here's the thing. The vehicle has a KBB pvt party value of something like $12K now, at least. I owe just over $7K on it. Plus I had a stereo and some other custom equipment installed.

So if they keep it, I lose that equity and my personal property. That seems like theft (on the creditor's part).

So if I agree to sign a reaffirmation paper now, will I get the vehicle back? and if I don't, will I get some compensation for the difference between what they can sell it for (presumably wholesale value) and what I owe?

Thanks ... <arrrgh, another hassle to deal with, when I thought this was all done>...

[BobMango]

First, you can't sign a reaffirmation now. That must be filed with the court prior to your discharge.

Secondly, you are entitled to the balance above and beyond what you owe on the vehicle after it is sold. Whether they will get a price that provides equity back to you is another matter. This is what the bankruptcy specialist at my credit union explained to me, I didn't really worry about it since my reaffirmation really worked in my favor.

What state/district are you in? You might want to contact your lender to see if they really intended to repossess. I wonder if it was an old order that didn't get pulled.

[c24h44o22]

What finance company was your auto loan with?

[justbroke]

Reads like FMC strikes again. Most people don't realize that you are indeed subject to repossession if you don't sign the reaffirmation.