About Kathleen Eads Expertise Having spent almost a decade with a Commercial Collection agency, Kathleen
can answer questions related to collections~calls, motivating debtors to pay,
skip-tracing. She now works for National Skip Trace Network (NSTN), providing
premier technological Directory Assistance to the collections (www.nstn.net)
industry via the internet.
Experience
Past/Present clients Travelers Insurance, Nationwide Insurance, CNA Insurance, USF & G, Liberty Mutual, ACS, Asst Acceptance, Pinnacle, Penncro, Superior Asset Mgmt, PRM, Collins Financial, CBE Group
Question I was late 1 payment on my car and the auto loan I have made threats. It was not under my control the reason it was late, my check bounced due to someone getting into my checking account. When I tried to explain this to the loan company, they told me I better give them a credit card # or another checking account to give them their payments. (realize this is the first time this has ever happened, I am never late, and I had the note for almost a year!) What is the law on credit collections regarding a car note. How far late can you before they are allowed to take aggresive action on repossession? How many months can ask a car loan company to postpone payments or put the payments at the end of a note?
Any help appreciated.
Thanks
Answer Diane,
To my knowledge, there is no "standard" in the industry for how late you can be. Each contract is written different and would completely depend on how the auto loan drafted the note up.
Most reputable auto finance shops (FORD,GMAC ETC)are willing to work with you, once you explain the situation. Keep in mind, however, late is late, and their job is to get the payments caught up. They ordnarily work with people who are consistently late, and probably lose sight of the fact that some consumers have legititmate reasons for what has happened. Given your history of "on time" payments, I would contact them again, ask for a supervisor and try to explain to find out what your options are. Keep the communications open, and eventually, they should see your intent.
