Repossession is not something anyone would wish even his worst enemy but the truth is, people face repossession because they defaulted in paying their car loans.
When a borrower fails to pay his car loan as agreed by the contract he signed when he purchased the car, the lender will kick off the repossession process to recover the car.
However, during the repossession process, people tend to hide their cars from the repo man to deter him from towing the car back to the lender. The question is, is this a good idea? What are the legal consequences? Can I go to jail for hiding my car from a repo man?
Depending on the repossession laws of your state of residence, you are not likely to go to jail for hiding your car from the repo man except when you refuse to release the car after the lender has gotten a court order, you may be held in contempt of the court and could go to jail for that.
Can I Go to Jail for Hiding My Car from a Repo Man?
You are not likely to go to jail for hiding your car from a repo man except when it’s obvious that you’re trying to reap where you did not sow.
The truth is that people do this all the time. They believe that hiding the car will deter the repo man from towing the car back to the lender without knowing the consequences of their actions.
When you intentionally hide your car from a repo man, it will delay the repossession process as the repo man continues searching for the car. If he fails to get the car, he will report back to the lender who can make use of replevin to get the car back from you.
This is to say that, no matter how hard you try to hide the car from a repo man, as long as the repossession process has started, the lender must surely get the car from you and you may end up paying whatever fees they spent in the process.
Factors that Determine Going to Jail for Hiding from Repo Man
Here are the factors that determine whether you will go to jail for hiding your car from the repo man:
1. Repossession Laws of Your State
The repossession laws of your state of residence play a lot of roles in whether you will be going to jail for hiding your car from the repo man or not.
Of course, the laws in the United States are similar but some States takes more matter seriously than others.
If for example, your state of residence does not tolerate hiding cars from repo men and stated jail terms for it, then, you could to jail for it.
The best thing to do is to get familiar with the repossession laws of your state and know what they say before hiding your car from a repo man.
2. Contempt of the Court
During repossession, the repo man will be the one in search of the car to tow it to the lender, when the repo man fails to find the car because you hide it so well, he will report back to your lender.
Your lender may proceed to get a court order which will mandate you to release the car. If you however fail to release the car after receiving the court order, you will be held responsible for contempt of court, this may however result in jail terms. Again, the laws of your state have a lot to play here as well.
3. Trying to Scam the Financial Institution
You could go to jail for hiding your car from a repo man if your intention is to scam the lender. Why would you hide a car you’ve not fully paid for?
Not giving the lender access to the car after you have failed to fulfill what you signed in the contract is a bridge of contract and could mean that you’re trying to scam the lender.
Why hide the car when you can easily contact your lender and explain it to them? As much as car repossession is concerned, most lenders don’t really like it. You could contact them, telling them your financial challenges, and you both can draw up a plan on what to do afterward. This is much better than hiding the car from them.
4. The Value of the Car
Imagine defaulting on a car payment worth $250,000 and hiding the car from the repo man. If it is you, won’t you get the person arrested? If the value of the car is high and far below what you have paid so far, hiding the car from the repo man could land you in jail.
5. Your Financial Situation
If your financial situation is too bad with no hope of paying for the car, hiding the car could land you in jail. You don’t expect your loan company to smile at you when you borrow a car worth $250,000 and go broke, yet, prevent them from accessing the car. It’s not possible. It could land you in jail.
6. What the Contract Says
Depending on what you signed on the loan contract when purchasing the car, you may be jailed for purposely hiding the car from the repo man.
Whenever you sign a contract, it binds all the signatories to the contract, so if the contract specifically states jail for purposely hiding the car from the repo man, then you could be jailed.
You can purposely hide the car from the repo man in your friend’s garage and argue not to hide the car. Even the judge won’t believe you because it’s quite obvious, especially when it’s a valuable car.
Legal Consequences of Hiding Your Car from Repo Man
Here are the legal consequences of hiding your car from the repo man:
- Breach of Contract: When you decide to get a car on a loan, you sign a legally binding contract that mandates you to pay a certain amount to the lender monthly, depending on the agreement. However, if you fail to make the payment and go ahead to hide the car from the lender, you’ve gone against what you signed in the contract.
- You be sued: If you continue to play hide and seek with your lender, if they feel they can’t take it anymore, they can sue you for damages to the car. They can claim that your actions caused them huge financial losses, etc. If they win, you may end up paying more than you should have paid for in the first place.
- The Lender May Use Replevin: If the lender decides to make use of replevin to get the car from you, you will end up spending more than you should. All the fees, including court fees, storage fees, etc., will be on your head.
- Negative Impact on Your Credit Score: You don’t want to do anything that can affect your credit score negatively. That’s what vehicle repossession can do. Attempting to hide the car from the lender will make the matter worse.
Conclusion
You cannot go to jail for hiding your car from a repo man, however, depending on what the laws of your state of residence say about repossessions, and failure to return the car even when the court has ordered you to do so, you may find yourself in jail for hiding the car.
It can however be considered contempt of the court and theft. You don’t have the right to hide a car you’ve not finished making payment for.
Nonetheless, if you’re facing repossession, contact a lawyer and seek legal advice, the lawyer will explain all you need to know. You can also contact your loan company and discuss an alternative with them. It is much better than hiding the car and causing more financial problems for yourself.
