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Scary 'Self Repo' symptoms day before actual REPO! (w/o any notice of default, even)

f150lightning

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FC sales agreement / finance contract say "We may take the vehicle from you if you default if we do so peacefully and the law allows it. If your vehicle has an electronic tracking device (such as GPS) you agree that we may use it to find the vehicle."

Wondering where is the part that says they may remotely tinker with actual systems, controls and operation on the road while driving for whatever reason or 'error/glitch'; is my Lightning EV covertly a R/D guinea pig?!

In retrospect, truck seemed progressively possessed day before the repo dudes woke me outta bed at 2am banging on doors, windows then demanded my key cuz they're towing my Lightning outta my private driveway one way or another!

Morning prior, first quirk was that charging plug pulled out too easily without even unlocking car. Could swear always had to unlock when I went to pull out prematurely without unlocking. But this time it let me pull out without any resistance.

Then it was that a window wouldnt go down. Brushed it off as a blown fuse I would get to later. Then cruise control stopped showing 'Hands Free'. Then by midday the entire dash screen went DARK except for my Speed (usually round 65-70 on highway), which made driving home that night unsafe cuz I coudnt tell when it was hands-free or not nor rely on lane-keeping and other key features normally on the illuminated dash screen! Scary; unsafe!

At night when I plugged it in was extra tight that I tried to pull out and it just wouldnt come out no matter unlocking. It ended up stuck and I was like it has to stay plugged in all nite anyways; by morning from sunlight warming or whatever it will be loose and slide out!

Anyways the dudes said they would even bring the truck back home to me IF it turns out to be an accounting error at FC. 3am, 5am 7am flew by and I was surprised even at 7am nobody answered at FC; since I'm on west coast it was already 10am there! At 8am PT finally got a rep who transferred me to Reinstatement, where they explained they have no reason why after scheduling 2mos payment Mar 15 to cover a single missed payment, my scheduled payment did NOT process (rep confirmed it was not insufficient funds, which i already know wasnt) gave me the amount I have to wire by either MGexpress or WU.. and to also pay LAPD a $15 repo fee.. both which I completed by 11am then called FC back after faxing proofs of those 2 demands completed.

11am then 12pm the repo co (Paramount Recovery) kept saying they never received the Release from FC, and they don't provide same-day redemption of the vehicle under any circumstances anyway, nor would they schedule an appointment for next day til they actually 'see' FC released the truck on their end; at like 12:01pm though, I was able to make an appointment online by finding their website (DriveParamount.com) and plugging in the last digits of my VIN for next day and was directed to go to COMPTON.

So anyways in the end, i got my vehicle back not within 24hrs but at least within 48hrs and am considering to pay off the balance which is still like near 100K; was 125Kish including taxes etc despite my down being 30K. What irks me most is the dangerous way EV behaved daytime before the repo (instead of just calling; the last conversation or any correspondence i got from FC was Mar 19th email confirmation of my double payment!) and another thing is why did repo guys wait til like 2am to move in like ninjas only to bang on doors windows, hollering loud and demanding key once hooked in my driveway, waking up neighbors on the block anyways..

Now i'm finding the charging plug is loose all the time.. doesn't seem to lock in place like i think it used to once i locked the EV.. so im worried like anyone walking by can just unplug and walk away with the whole charging system if it stays that way! How do Ford even mess with so many controls remotely anyways and when its finally eventually paid off if ever at this rate, can they still do that legally without informed consent?! =/

Ford F-150 Lightning Scary 'Self Repo' symptoms day before actual REPO! (w/o any notice of default, even) march2023
Ford F-150 Lightning Scary 'Self Repo' symptoms day before actual REPO! (w/o any notice of default, even) april2023
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USA EV

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I think someone mentioned that the charge locking mechanism is pretty fragile. Might be broken.
 

Pod

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The one thing I do not like is the charge port, so often DC charger cords seem to weigh it down. I know I’m over obsessing but if that port breaks, u r screwed
 

detansinn

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Ford literally has patents on this including doing nuisance things to make you uncomfortable like disabling the A/C and windows, etc. I don’t think that your charging port was part of that, but other stuff, possibly.

GM invented OnStar to assist with repos, but marketed it as a concierge service. It was groundbreaking as a tool for lenders. You will see more of these systems being utilized as even middle class Americans are now paying more than $1000/mo for their car loans. Real money is involved.

Once a car/truck is targeted for repossession, you have precious little rights. They’re empowered to do whatever it takes to get that car and being polite isn’t necessary to that function. The repo guys will tow away your car in the middle of the night or day. The embarrassment that you face in front of friends and neighbors is practically part of that process.

In this current lending environment, there isn’t much of a grace period. USPS can be erratic when it comes to delivery time, so make your payments electronically. There are stories of vehicles being repo’d with payment being a day late.

With regards to “informed consent”, the bank owns the vehicle. If you’re not holding the title in your hand, they don’t need to get consent for this kind of thing. It is all in that fine print.

Sorry to hear about your experience, but this is very much the world right now.
 
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VTbuckeye

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Your charge port was never locked when using L2 charging. Anyone can unplug it at anytime by pressing the button on top of the handle.
This...L2 does not lock in the lightning . It did not lock in my Chevy products (bolt, volt). It does lock on my Volvo's. As for the other behavior maybe there is something else wrong with the truck? I don't have a problem with Ford knowing where it is, but killing features is not cool. (Not trying to be an a-hole) Also, as I am sure you are aware, it is best to make sure they get their payments on time so that repo is not required and they have no reason to alter the function of your truck.
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