With the economy souring for countless households, whether it’s from rising interest rates, inflation, loss of income, etc. comes a rising rate of car repossessions. While we’ve covered the increasing phenomena in the US, many readers might not be aware it’s a problem in other countries, including South Africa.
California authorities are looking for a Corvette with a weird license plate.
We ran across this report from South African news site Springs Advertiser which talks about repossessions increasing there. Apparently, people are complaining to the government about repo agents’ practices when they grab the car.
That article details out the rights of banks and consumers, hopefully to smooth out disagreements and dispel misconceptions on what’s legal and not. Here in the US those laws vary from state to state, so we’d advise you to consult with your attorney or perhaps state officials who supervise vehicle repossession agencies to get the details.
Most likely no state allows you to shoot a repo agent simply because they’re taking a car you haven’t been paying for. Even if it were considered theft, something many have tried to argue unsuccessfully, most states don’t allow for shooting someone simply over stealing an item, even one that’s expensive.
If you do find yourself in the unfortunate circumstance where you legitimately can’t pay for your car or make arrangements with the bank, don’t try getting aggressive with repo agents. Just remember they’re working stiffs doing their job, they’re not the devil and they’re certainly not out to get you.
Different jurisdictions will have their own laws about how a vehicle can be repossessed, what happens if someone is inside it, etc. But we’ve seen plenty of people try fighting repo agents once their ride is hooked up to the tow truck and that doesn’t seem to end well ever.
Budget wisely, try meeting your top obligations before those slip, and if you can’t keep up with your car payment figure out another way of getting around before your ride suddenly disappears.
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