Anyone with a pulse knows that the economy is just simply crazy. One minute you have a stable job of 20 years and the next thing you know you’re jobless. With layoffs increasing and credit decreasing many ordinary people are finding that they just can’t make the payments on their vehicles, even if it’s as little as $200 a month. Because of this, repossessions in Dallas-Fort Worth are climbing at an alarming rate. Even the car loan companies can’t keep up with the pace. According to an article in The San Antonio News, there are more repossessions now than they have been in the past 20 years.

A repo man quoted in the article says that there are so many repossessions that he is now repossessing vehicles that are as much as four months behind in payments. Just a few years ago, being behind one or two months could get your car repossessed. But those delinquent car owners aren’t giving up their repossessed property quietly, many become violent. That’s a big mistake when facing repossession. Although Texas law gives property owners the right to use force to protect their property, those carrying out repossession are protected from violence. The best action a car owner can take when facing repossession is to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy as soon as they know that they are unable to make payments. Don’t delay and don’t wait until after your vehicle has been repossessed to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, by then it’s probably too late.

In the state of Texas your vehicle can be repossessed without notice; but repossession agents cannot "breach the peace" while conducting the repossession.  What this means is that under Texas law while the repossessing the vehicle, the repossession agent cannot:

• forcibly remove you from your vehicle
• stop you on the street or highway
• enter a closed garage
• break into your house
• create a disturbance such as a fight or other altercation
• threaten any of the above actions
• pretend to be a law enforcement officer

If any of these actions occur while the repossession agent is conducting the repossession you should immediately report the incident to the police and contact a Dallas- Fort Worth attorney.

Examples of "breach of the peace:"

If a repossession employee comes to your home while you are in your car and drags you out of your vehicle this is considered a breach of the peace.

If the repossession agent comes to your home at 2:00 am, bangs on your door and hurls profanity at you, this is considered a breach of the peace.

If a repossession agent breaks into your gated apartment complex and repossesses your vehicle, this also is considered a breach of the peace.

Under the Texas laws, a creditor with a lien upon personal property may repossess the collateral if the debtor defaults. The creditor need not give any notice of the repossession before they repossess the collateral nor get a court order before repossessing collateral. They can use self help or having a recovery agent do it for them.

A creditor cannot repossess if the repossession involves a breach of the peace - breaking in or taking it by force. What exactly constitutes a "breach of the peace" depends on the facts of each case.

After repossession, the collateral is taken to a storage lot or auction house, where it’s stored for a period of time. The repossessed collateral must be sold in a commercially reasonable manner. The debtor will be given reasonable notice of the date, time and place of the sale. If you do not redeem the collateral by paying the full amount of the debt, plus all expenses of repossession, the collateral will be sold by auction. The proceeds will be used to adjust your debt. You still owe the difference between what you owed on the loan, and what the collateral was auctioned for. The creditor can then file a civil lawsuit against you for this unpaid balance.