Your Rights Against a Repo Man in Illinois

In Illinois, repossession law protects the consumer, the creditor and the hired hand doing the repossessing, otherwise known as a repo man. While it may seem like the creditor has the upper hand when it comes to your property, you should keep in mind that your rights as an Illinois resident are also protected by law, particularly if the repossession was illegally obtained.

Reasons for Repo

Illinois law stipulates that your personal property can only be taken if a creditor has a security interest, which is a legally-binding, pre-arranged contractual agreement between you, the debtor, and the creditor. If there was no security interest, the creditor needs to obtain a court judgment before repossessing your personal property. A repossession is considered illegal in Illinois if the repo man takes any property that was not in default at the time of retrieval.

Personal Items Left in Vehicles

Whether its your purse, wallet or CD collection, the personal items left in your vehicle are not part of a creditor's repossession. If a repo man takes them, Illinois law states that the creditor must return the personal items at your first written request, or the creditor will be charged with theft.

Breach of Peace

In Illinois, a repo man must retrieve your property in a manner that doesn't violate the breach of peace, a legal term that applies to the civil temperature of a situation. In other words, the repo man cannot take the vehicle against your will, harass you or your household members, break into a locked garage, or otherwise upset the natural peace. However, the breach of peace law also applies to the debtor in the situation; you can politely ask the repo man to leave, but you cannot lock your car in a garage or otherwise cause a scene. Illinois law also protects consumers who do not want repo men inside their homes. If a repo man comes to your door, you or any of your household members can legally ask him to leave under penalty of illegal entry.

Post-repossession Laws

If your vehicle was repossessed in Illinois but you have paid at least 30 percent of the vehicle's total sale price, which includes any down payment, trade-in value and total monthly payments thus far, the creditor has three days to inform you of his intent to sell. Once you have been notified by the creditor, you have 21 days to redeem your property by paying the overdue amount in full and any other repossession fees. Two loopholes do exist with this 30 percent rule: if a credit union repossessed your vehicle, you do not need to pay the repossession charges, and consumers can only take advantage of the 30-day rule once during the lifetime of the vehicle contract. For all other non-vehicle property, the debtor has a right to retrieve his property back at any time, but he must satisfy both the overdue balance and the repossession charges before the creditor decides to sell.