Can they come on private property and repossess your motorcycle?

Answer 1

AnswerYES, a self help repossession is NOT trespassing.

More Information:

In South Carolina, a self-help reposession is considered "legalized stealking" under the law SIMPLY because someone has a business license. That's ALL that keeps them out of jail. The few laws governing self-help reposessions are willyfully flaunted however.

1)A title loan company must send you a copy of the right to cure letter certified mail and give you 20 days to pay up. They argue that the copy of a right-to-cure at the time of loan closure is sufficient. Alot of law enforcement are ignorant of the law and do not intervene. HOWEVER, most magistrates, if contacted in time, will declare it an improper and illegal action WITHOUT a return receipt from a certified letter. It quite frankly ticks the judge off becaue the lender was too trifling to spend the 5 bux or less to have a certified letter delivered.

2)As far as coming on your property. They can BUT MUST call local law enforcement first to let the authorities know the repo man is "working the area". If they don't, then if caught, they can be arrested for Grand Theft Auto.

3) If you catch a repo man about ready to jerk your out of your yard, you tell him to stop., Inform them this will NOT be a peaceful repossession and call the sherriff/cops/highway patrol. Even if he/she has the car in the air, if it's still on your property, YOU CAN hold them at gun point until the authorities arrive. Be forewarned, most Repo Men/Women carry small 22 revolvers nickamed Repo Man Guns. If he/she gets to the street, it's too late. If you shoot into or even at the tow truck, it's a felony in about all states if in the street.

If and when the law arrives, he/she will inform the repo person (if still on your property) to leave your car alone and to leave the property under order of no trespass. However, law enforcements tells (refer to item two above) the repo rep that he/she COULD be legally SHOT by owner oif car under South Carolina law if law enforecement wasn't notified.

4)If you lock your vehicle behind a fence, they cannot break-and-enter. The lienholder must file for a legal repo with the local courts and have law enforcement serve and confiscate the vehicle.

5)They cannot disturb your property or move another vehicle to get the one in question. Unfortunatley, it's done all-the-time.

6)Reposessions are prohibited on most state property. At the local mental handicapped facility in Laurens, SC, some repo men have been caught by the state police and prosecuted BUT continue to flaunt the law

If your car gets repossed, RUN, don't walk to the local magistrate and have him/her issue a restraining order prohibiting the sale of property until a hearing. Make sure you can prove the certified letter was never sent

Bring all papers showing how much you've already paid vs the principle borrowed. Some magistrats, so PO'ed with the title loan sharks, are ordering the return of the vehicle/title by lienholder simply because the poor borrower has already paid double or triple the initial loan prior to reposession

Make sure you have a complete list ready of any AND ALL personal possessions in car. Lienholderrs are supposed to allow YOU, yourself to retrieve articles but some of the really crooked ones here in South Carolina are sending you a carepackaged of stuff THEY removed, often with valuables missing.

So the answer is, if more people, facing self-help reposessions would 1)Be aware of their rights 2)Took action to force their legislatures to BAN self-help repossessions outright, then noone need get "hurt" in the process. Until that time however, use what means "necessary" to force the lienholder to court including the proper exercise of the 2nd Amendment.

Answer 2

Depends on who is coming on to your private property. Unless they're cops or have a permit of some sort, they cannot go on to your property. Until they have show their proof of reason of repossession to a court or judge, they may not legally take your motorcycle. I agree. Someone in your property without a court order is not right. Yes, they can. At least in some situations. There are limits on what can and cannot be done when recovering a vehicle (motorcycle or other) and they are covered by state laws or local ordinances. It is unfortunate for all parties when a vehicle has to be recovered for whatever reason, but the "owner" of the vehicle, which is often the finance company, has options when a loan on a vehicle isn't kept current. Sometimes they have no choice but to take the vehicle back. Recall that the vehicle is the collateral for the loan, and the financing entity has no other recourse to recover its investment than to recover the vehicle. You might consider that it is patently unfair to invoke "private property" rights on individuals who wish to recover a vehicle you haven't made payments on. And they don't come and get a vehicle you missed one payment on.

A good rule of thumb in this and similar situations is to put yourself in the shoes of the the other party. Think this through without the bias of personal experience and see if it makes sense. What would you want to do if it was your money that paid for the vehicle and the buyer didn't bother to make several payments? It is possible to stave off repossession, but it takes a strong person to phone a finance company and make attempts to work with them to avoid the loss of a vehicle.

Answer 3

In general, yes, provided that there is no "breach of the peace", which means that you cannot break into a locked garage or cause any damage to property.