Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Re: automobile repossession

It can be. First, you have to understand that when a creditor seeks to recover its collateral under a loan, this is a contract arrangement between you and the creditor. Your failure to surrender the car when they declare that you are in default and that they are entitled to repossess the car is a breach of contract. Its not illegal at that point, in the sense that you are not going to jail.

Where this crosses the line, however, is a bit further down the road. After successfully dodging the repo man for some period of time, the creditor can go seek a court order forcing surrender of the car. Your failure to do so at that point is definitely going to be illegal, and subject you to some unpleasant repercussions. Finally, at any point along the line, if the creditor reports the vehicle as having been stolen, you could face legal issues. Your best bet is to either surrender the car, or work out a deal to keep it before it is repossessed.

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