Can a repo company go into a fenced yard to get an auto?

Answer 1

It depends. Most finance contracts clearly state in them that you give permission to the lender to enter your property to recover collateral. However, a repo company cannot cut a lock, take a gate apart or do any damage whatsoever when entering the fenced yard. If the fenced yard has a gate but it was not locked, the repo company can enter. In Chrysler Credit Corp. v. Koontz, 277 Ill. App. 3d 1078, 661 N.E.2d 1171, 214 Ill. Dec. 726 (1996), the Appellate Court of Illinois found that there was no breach of the peace when the debtor ran outside while the creditor was repossessing the car and yelled, "Don't take it," and the creditor continued the repossession of the car. In Clark v. Auto Recovery Bureau Conn., Inc., 889 F. Supp. 543 (D. Conn. 1994), the repossessing team had hooked the plaintiff's car to the tow truck and had started driving away when the plaintiff voiced an objection to the repossession and started moving toward the car. A third person restrained the plaintiff, and the car was successfully repossessed. The court stated: "'Once a repossession agent has gained sufficient dominion over collateral to control it, the repossession has been completed.'" 889 F. Supp. at 547 (quoting James v. Ford Motor Co., 842 F. Supp. 1202, 1209 (D. Minn. 1994)). In Clark, the car had already been moved from its parking spot when the plaintiff began objecting to the repossession.