Removing a Repossession

It doesn’t take much imagination to know that having a vehicle repossessed is a nightmare. Actually living through creditors driving away with your ride is even worse. You’re not only stuck begging for a lift to the grocery store, but the creditors then turn around and make you pay the difference between the amount they received for the vehicle for at auction, and its actually worth: a loss at the best of times! But that’s not the end of the matter. On top of looking at a huge bill and losing your car, most lenders contact the credit bureaus to report the repossession; in that case, it will stay you’re your record for a full 7 years.

The effects of a repossession stretch far into the future. Your overall credit score is lowered and you may have difficulty finding financing for a new car (or worse yet, a new home). Fortunately, there’s a bit of light ahead when this happens to you. It is possible to remove a repossession from your credit report! Though few people realize it, repossessions are removed from reports constantly. Negotiations with creditors and formal credit report disputes may improve the status of the repossession, or wipe the slate clean entirely,

Creditors are often willing to work directly with you to negotiate amendment, or better yet removal, of the repossession. If you agree to pay off the remaining debt, your creditor may be willing to erase the black mark, or at the very least note that it has been "paid in full."

There are also cases where a "repo" has been reported incorrectly on your credit report. In those instances, you can dispute it directly with the credit bureau itself. It falls on the creditor to prove the repossession exists; if they fail to do so, it must be removed from your report. The burden of proof rests with them.

The first step to starting over is improving or removing the repossession on your report. Certainly, it’s a necessary course if you want to get another car loan. Even more important, however, is to learn from your original mistakes. Repeating them, rather than evaluating and learning from them, will only lead you towards the same trouble all over again.

To avoid financial hardships, you should: a) live below your means, and b) carefully judge your expenses so you don’t take on more payments than you can afford. People across the country find themselves caught in a trap of their own devising, paying high amounts every month and then discovering they have no funds for emergencies. In turn, they put off payment on bill X or bill Y; here comes the repo-man again! To save yourself from this trap, make a budget and stick to it. Decide ahead of time what you can pay and what you can’t in order to keep yourself and your family safe.