2 Women In KL Claim Their Cars Were Auctioned Off Without Their Knowledge
Both of them collectively lost about RM150,000.
By Sadho Ram — 24 Oct 2023, 12:46 PM — Updated 11 months ago
Two women in Kuala Lumpur are at a loss after their cars were allegedly repossessed without their knowledge.
Despite losing their cars, both of them still have to pay off the remainder of their bank loans.
Siti Adawiah Ismail, aged 33, and Hamshe, aged 26, are two victims who share similar stories of uncertainty, anxiety, and the elusive nature of car repossessions in Malaysia, Harian Metro reported.
Siti Adawiah's nightmare began when she fell behind on her Nissan Almera car loan payments.
She said her struggle with anxiety made it difficult for her to fulfil her financial obligations, leading to her failure to pay her monthly loan from January to March this year.
Siti Adawiah bought the car for RM65,000. She has already paid more than RM60,000, with a remaining balance of around RM5,000.
On 15 March this year, while taking her father to a health clinic in Taman Seri Rampai, Wangsa Maju, she was approached by two men who, to her shock, wanted to repossess her car.
They told her that they were going to repossess the car because she was falling behind on her loan. They even showed a letter, purportedly from the bank, authorising their action.
"I admit my mistake in failing to make the payments, so I had to comply," Siti Adawiah said during a press conference at the Malaysian Islamic Consumer Association (PPIM) office yesterday, 23 October.
She was subsequently ordered to pay the repossession fee, bank management costs, and other expenses.
Siti Adawiah's brother, who acted as her guarantor, stepped in to pay the remaining balance of the loan. To their horror, they discovered that her car had been sold to another individual in April.
"I didn't receive any notification about the car being auctioned off. When I asked the bank for an explanation, they claimed I was late in paying," she shared.
She also said she kept receiving notices to renew the car's insurance even though she was no longer its owner.
"I am puzzled because the car is no longer mine, even though I had paid the entire loan," she lamented.
Meanwhile, Hamshe's ordeal mirrors Siti Adawiah's distressing experience
The 26-year-old had purchased a Mercedes Benz from a used car company in Kuala Lumpur, paying a deposit of RM93,000. However, after failing to pay her instalments for two months, she requested a payment deferral from a financial agency. Her request was declined.
Instead, the agency said she could return the car for RM10,000 cashback.
She refused the offer, asserting that she had already paid RM93,000 for the vehicle. Her decision led to a repossessor taking her car on 25 September, reported the Malay daily.
What followed left Hamshe in shock.
The agent demanded she pay the outstanding loan and various other costs, amounting to RM20,000.
Despite Hamshe's attempts to negotiate with the involved parties to clarify the terms of her car purchase as per the initial agreement, her efforts were in vain. She was later informed that her car had been auctioned off.
