ARLINGTON, Va.—Following the Department of Justice's (DOJ) $3-million settlement with Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), NAFCU's Brandy Bruyere has offered a reminder to credit unions on what they need to know regarding SCRA specifically related to vehicle repossession.
"The SCRA was enacted to lighten financial burdens on servicemembers and provide temporary protections against the enforcement of certain civil liabilities while that servicemember is on active duty," said Bruyere, NAFCU's vice president of regulatory compliance.
Bruyere explained that under the SCRA, credit unions are required to obtain a court order to repossess the vehicle of an SCRA-covered borrower if the borrower made a deposit or payment before entering military service.
"Unlike the 6% interest rate cap, servicemembers are not required to provide notice or actively seek out protection from repossession in writing," she added. "Rather, it is the credit union's responsibility to know the borrower's status prior to repossessing a car."
The Remedies
Bruyere noted that in cases where the DOJ has found SCRA violations, remedies were sought in the form of:
- Civil money penalties
- Monetary restitution for impacted borrowers in some cases
- Training or retraining of staff
- Updates of corrections to policies and procedures to prevent future violations