In the middle of the night between June 6 and June 7, 2018, says the complaint for this class action, a company repossessed the vehicle of Israel and Marcia Bernal. This, it says, was illegal under both the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Wisconsin Consumer Protection Act (WCA).
The class for this action is all natural persons in Wisconsin who defaulted on a loan serviced by Consumer Portfolio Services, where the amount financed was less than $25,000 and the loan was secured by a vehicle for personal, family, or household purposes, who had their vehicles repossessed by CPS without being sent a notice of a right to cure/take possession, between June 12, 2016 and June 12, 2018.
Plaintiffs Israel and Marcia Bernal bought a 2004 Kia Sorrento with a loan from Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc. (CPS). The loan was secured by the vehicle itself. Under Wisconsin law, CPS is a debt collector and the loan was a consumer credit transaction. Unfortunately, the complaint says the Bernals defaulted on the agreement.
On October 13, 2017, the complaint says, CPS sent the couple a Billing Notice, which is attached to the complaint as Exhibit A. The Notice shows a principal balance of $9,433.50, a regular monthly payment of $293.73, and a past due amount of $631.19.
On or about November 4, CPS sent the couple another Billing Notice, attached to the complaint as Exhibit B. In this Notice, the principal balance and monthly payment amounts are the same, but the past due amount is $924.92.
After this, the complaint says, the couple received no other documents from CPS or anyone else about the loan. In June 2018, CPS engaged Statewide Recovery Specialists, LLC (SRS) to repossess the vehicle, which they did overnight between June 6 and 7. According to the complaint, this repossession violated both the FDCPA and the WCA.
The complaint claims, “Wisconsin law generally prohibits creditors from engaging in self-help repossession without the creditor following a specific, multi-step statutory notice procedure or first obtaining a judgment of replevin.” It says that the creditor must first give customers a notice of their right to cure the default, and forbids the acceleration of the credit transaction or the recovery of collateral until after the right to cure the default has expired.
Merchants who want to repossess collateral must obtain its voluntary surrender, obtain a judgment of replevin, show that the collateral has been abandoned, or provide a Notice of Intent to Repossess Collateral described by Wisconsin law. The complaint claims that CPS fulfilled none of these requirements and that therefore they are not entitled to keep the vehicle.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Consumer Portfolio Services Vehicle Repossession and Wisconsin Law Complaint
June 12, 2018
In the middle of the night between June 6 and June 7, 2018, says the complaint for this class action, a company repossessed the vehicle of Israel and Marcia Bernal. This, it says, was illegal under both the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Wisconsin Consumer Protection Act (WCA) because the company had not fulfilled all the requirements of Wisconsin law.
consumer_portfolio_services_fdcpa_complaint.pdfCase Event History
Consumer Portfolio Services Vehicle Repossession and Wisconsin Law Complaint
June 12, 2018
In the middle of the night between June 6 and June 7, 2018, says the complaint for this class action, a company repossessed the vehicle of Israel and Marcia Bernal. This, it says, was illegal under both the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Wisconsin Consumer Protection Act (WCA) because the company had not fulfilled all the requirements of Wisconsin law.
consumer_portfolio_services_fdcpa_complaint.pdf