Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)

Okay in 2000 I co-signed on a car with my ex.  We traded in my car for this car.  A week later we broke up and he had to take the new car because it was too expensive for me.  So I went and got a used cheaper truck and we went our separate ways.  I kept in contact with him to make sure he was paying since my name was still on the account.  Finally I started asking him to refinance it so that I could get my name off the account.  Well, I’m not sure if he ever asked, but he told me that they wouldn’t do it.  Then he moved and switched numbers and I lost contact with him in 2002.  Okay so April 1, 2005 after I thought he had it all paid off and my name was off the account I received my first collections call.  This is the first I had heard about it and the car had been repossessed in November of 2004.  I was never notified about any delinquency or that it was going to be repossessed and I had called the lender and gave them my address whenever I broke up with my ex.  They sold it in an auction and the amount they were trying to collect from me is 4600.  I asked why the weren’t contacting my ex and they said he was under the Patriotic act because he was now in the Marines and they couldn’t call him or collect from him.

Okay there are a couple of things weird with this.

When we bought this car it was on a walk away balloon program.  So at the end of 4 years we could either pay or refinance the left over amount.  We also had the option of trading the car in for a new one or we could just give the car back.  I don’t have copies of the contracts and I can not get ahold of my ex to send them and collections will only send me one page of the contract.  I asked for the notes on the account and they mailed them to me.  My ex tried many times to have it refinanced and they wouldn’t because the car had expired tags (he was in the marines and had the car in storage).  He then said he would give the car back.  The company states in the notes that it was a volunteer surrender, but yet I have repossession on my credit.

Also by the notes in the account the payment amount had changed which means he would of resigned a contract without me present.  Which, I think takes me off the account unless someone forged my name.

What should I do????

Tabatha

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Hi Tabatha,

Here is the Patriot Act.  It’s 342 pages long.  It’s no surprise to me that the collection agency would suggest that your ex is “under the Patriot act because he was now in the Marines and they couldn’t call him or collect from him”.  The collection agency cites the Patriot Act, but we’ll discuss the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. 

Wait a second.  I don’t want to give up on the Patriot Act so easy.  The Patriot Act’s objective is to: “deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes.”  In the interest of fact checking, I did review the Patriot Act and while I have already decided to name this article “Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)”, I must admit it was a close call between the following:

Debt Collector Terrorist

Junk Debt Buyer Suspicious Activities

Clandestine Collection Agency Counterintelligence

OK, now that the NSA is recording the Broken Credit Blog’s activities [we’re only clowing around NSA! Really!], let’s get serious about the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).  SCRA § 532. “Protection under installment contracts for purchase or lease” [Sec. 302] reads:

(a) Protection upon breach of contract

(1) Protection after entering military service

After a servicemember enters military service, a contract by the servicemember for–
   (A) the purchase of real or personal property (including a motor vehicle); or
   (B) the lease or bailment of such property,

may not be rescinded or terminated for a breach of terms of the contract occurring before or during that person’s military service, nor may the property be repossessed for such breach without a court order.

The war began March 20, 2003 and the SCRA was updated in December 19, 2003.  The car was repossessed in November 2004 as a result of:

My ex tried many times to have it refinanced and they wouldn’t because the car had expired tags (he was in the marines and had the car in storage).  He then said he would give the car back.  The company states in the notes that it was a volunteer surrender, but yet I have repossession on my credit.

SCRA § 517. “Waiver of rights pursuant to written agreement” [Sec. 107] notes, in part:

“In the case of a waiver that permits an action described in subsection (b), the waiver is effective only if made pursuant to a written agreement of the parties that is executed during or after the servicemember’s period of military service. The written agreement shall specify the legal instrument to which the waiver applies and, if the servicemember is not a party to that instrument, the servicemember concerned.”

So, it seems to me the creditor would have had to obtain a signed written agreement permitting the repossession or they would have had to obtain a court order.  “The company states in the notes that it was a voluntary surrender”, you write.  I’d be more interested in seeing that signed written agreement. 

By the way, many of the provisions in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act apply to cosigners as well.  I’m certainly not saying that this is the end-all solution to your problem, although it is a starting point and you’ll have to do more investigation in how it might apply to your situation. 

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul

This author is not an attorney and this information should not be considered legal advice.  Please consult an attorney for legal advice.

(source= usdoj.gov/crt/military/scratext.htm)