Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 11/11/2008

Question
QUESTION: I had a secured deft which was a car.  I filed and was discharged.  now after discharge I get a letter saying I have to give the car back.  It was marked as excempt and they did not show up to court to dispute or to talk about re-afirming the loan (which I would have done.  During that time they contacted me many times and said they were taking the car back..........I payed over half of the loan off and god knows how much money they made in interest(26%) I need the car to go to work and school what can I do?

ANSWER: I'm guess that the creditor is either Ford Motor Credit or Chrysler.  They are the only two who do this.  Unfortunately, if you did not timely enter into a reaffirmation agreement, they can treat the bankruptcy filing as a default and repossess your vehicle (your attorney should have explained this to you).  There's really nothing you can do at this point unless they are willing to negotiate something.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Sir thank you fo your time!  I did ask to reaffirm the load and the trustee was ther to help with the details.  like I said they did not show up for court to do this.  The trustee asked me to send him a copy of the title and he would take care of it.  The company's name is JD BUY RIDER! and they made so much money on me its not funny.  What can I do?.........thank you again

Answer
My answer has not changed.  First of all the Trustee has nothing to do with doing a reaffirmation agreement.  A reaffirmation agreement was either signed and filed with the court prior to discharge, or it wasn't.  It has nothing to do with asking for it.  I've never heard of JD Buy Rider, but most creditors--other than Ford and Chrysler--are happy just to continue receiving the regular monthly payments on the vehicle.  However, as I said, the law is what it is, and they do have a right to repossess (under applicable state law) if you did not enter into a reaffirmation agreement.