TWO Malaysian women recently found themselves without cars after their cars were allegedly repossessed without their knowledge.
The first victim was 33-year-old Siti Adawiah Ismail who fell behind on making her loan payments on her Nissan Almera between January and March as she suffered an anxiety disorder.
As per NST, Siti mentioned she already paid more than RM60,000 for the car, which she purchased for RM65,000.
“When I parked my car and sent my father to a health clinic in Taman Seri Rampai, Wangsa Maju, on March 15, two men approached me by the side of the road.”
“They showed me what they claimed was a repossession order from the bank and told me they were repossessing the car because I had not made the monthly payments for three months.”
Siti admitted that she gave in as she was at fault for not paying the loan. She was then requested to pay the costs associated with bank processing, repossession, etc., but was unable to do so because of financial difficulties.
Consequently, her brother, who served as her guarantor, was required to personally pay the remaining RM3,742.70 in August.
A month after the car was repossessed, she was shocked to learn that her car had already been sold to someone else in April.
“When I asked the bank for an explanation, they said I was late in payment; I did not receive any notice or information about the car being auctioned.”
Following a visit to the Road Transport Department (JPJ), it was determined that the vehicle’s registration was registered under a different name.
She also found it strange that she kept receiving notices to renew the car’s insurance even though she was no longer its owner.
But that’s not all—many more people were in a similar predicament to Siti Adawiah’s, making this a persistent issue in the age of rising inflation.
The second victim was Hamshe who purchased a Mercedes Benz from a used car company in Kuala Lumpur. The 26-year-old paid a deposit of RM93,000.
However, after being unable to pay the loan for two months, she requested a payment deferral from a financial agency. Unfortunately, her request was denied.
During the negotiation, Hamshe was offered a deal— to return the car and get a cashback of RM10,000. She refused and to make matters worse, The agent demanded she pay the outstanding loan and various other costs, amounting to RM20,000.
Hamshe said she tried to negotiate but was not entertained before being informed that her car had been auctioned off.
