Credit Acceptance Repo Process & Repossession Policy Explained
Short Answer
Some US states allow the return of property to the lender if the client misses at least one payment. In a narrower range of states, a longer period is required before the property is returned, and sometimes it may also be necessary to send the customer written notice of the return. You can read about the policy of repayment in the credit sphere in this article.
Credit Acceptance Repossession Policy
According to customer support managers at credit institutions, in most cases, loans initiate the process of returning property to the seller's possession from the first payment the customer missed, but the car loan lender's policy on returning the car to the seller's possession must comply with the laws of each US state.
In the first case, the process of returning the property to the lender usually takes about ten days after the written notice of the return of the property to the client is issued (this is the case in several states). In another case, in some states, a bank customer is given more time to make an overdue payment (approximately 20-21 days) after receiving notification of the debt.
The Credit Acceptance FAQ page states that clients cannot change the payment dates after signing the agreement, and in such cases, it is impossible to provide preferential treatment for making payments on the loan. The property return rate for auto loans in 2015 was about 35% (statistics for 2016-2020 are in closed access)
Legal Issues
Customer complaints against Credit Acceptance consist mainly of dissatisfaction with the behavior of the refund agents (in particular, harassment on their part); In some of these cases, the court initiated proceedings. Also, two federal agencies and several state governments have begun their investigation into Credit Acceptance.
Credit Acceptance can also sue the client after repossession to recover the cost of the loan by withholding wages. Loan Acceptance in New York City alone filed over 17,000 lawsuits for wage garnishment after refunding customers' cars (2010-2017)
Addition. American Credit Acceptance is not the same corporation as Credit Acceptance. Check out our relevant research work if you want to see more specifications about American Credit Acceptance's return policy.
Recovering a Car After a Credit Acceptance Repossession
When we asked Credit Acceptance for returning the auto to customers after the repossession, the support service representatives could not answer us anything. At the same time, Credit Acceptance clients told us that in order to get their cars back into possession, they had to pay the loan in full, as well as all the necessary fees.