Four Missouri Title Loan Repossession Laws You Must Know

Is your title loan company in Missouri threatening to repossess your vehicle? Missouri title loan repossession laws restrict how a repossession takes place. Know these laws to ensure you’re not being treated unfairly.

You Have 10 Days Before Late Payments Are Delinquent

Before a title loan company can repossess your vehicle, you must be at least 10 days overdue. If you’re not, try to use those 10 days to make payments and get your account up to date.

You Must Receive a Notice of Default & Right to Cure

Once your payment is more than 10 days late, it does qualify as delinquent. Before the title loan company can repossess your vehicle, however, they must issue a Notice of Default & Right to Cure. If they do not, they are not following Missouri title loan repossession laws. Once you have received the notice, you have 20 days to take care of the default and pay all money that’s due, including any penalties for going into delinquency. Should you pay up your account and end up in delinquency again, the same rule must be followed.

Repossession Sale Must Be Completed Properly

Once you have the Notice of Default & Right to Cure and do not get your account paid up in 20 days, the title loan company can then repossess your vehicle. Before they can sell the vehicle, they must send you a Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property. Once you have this, you have 10 days to pay up the account. If you do not, the company has a legal right to then auction or sell your vehicle. Even when selling your vehicle, Missouri laws require certain steps to be taken. The title loan company needs to advertise the sale and/or contact dealers to see if any of them are interested in buying the car from them. The paperwork recorded during the sale must include the buyer’s name, the amount paid, and the type of sale that took place, such as a person-to-person private sale or a public auction.

You May Be Entitled to Some Cash From the Sale, but You May Also Still Owe

Once the sale is complete, if the vehicle sold for more than you owed on the title loan, you’re entitled to a refund of the excess. The company is legally obligated to return the additional money to you. Alternatively, you may be under obligation to pay any deficit. If the amount of the auction or sale does not cover the entire amount you owed for the title loan, the title loan company can issue a Notice of Sale and Possible Deficiency. If this happens, you must come up with the additional funds to end your financial obligation with the title loan company. Missouri title loan repossession laws do protect you from unfair treatment, but they also do protect the title loan company from being charged with unfair practices. Make sure you know what your obligations are in terms of payment and only sign the paperwork if you know exactly what you must pay and when you must pay it.