We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›
The Royal Bank of Canada reportedly repossessed a Vancouver man’s 2006 Subaru WRX STi unlawfully before returning the car without an apology.
Tage Kendall, the 29-year-old miner whose car was taken, told CBC that the story began in June when a Surrey-based collection company alerted him with the threat of repossession via facebook. Suspicious of the message, he told the company that he was the registered owner, and had proof of purchase.
“It’s paid for and it’s mine,” Kendall reportedly told the company.
While working across the country, Kendall received a call from the manager of the building in which he lived, who told him a repossession company was demanding to be let into the underground garage to take his vehicle away. The company got its wish, and after taking Kendall’s car, it reportedly told him that it intended to auction the Subaru within 21 days. Kendall said he took time off from work to fly home across Canada to fight the “unlawful” seizure in court.
When Kendall came knocking, the repo company revealed its client to be the RBC, which hired the company as a response to an purportedly defaulted car loan, on which he was an alleged co-signer. Kendall, however, denied having any accounts or loans with any branch of the RBC, and claims that the vehicle is fully paid-off, with no liens on its ownership. Reportedly, Kendall went to the RBC for paperwork to verify the bank’s claim, but the RBC had no paperwork to show him to support its allegation that Kendall co-signed a defaulted loan.
The RBC returned his car to him on July 11, sans explanation, only including a letter stating it had no further business with the car, and offered no apology.
Kendall lawyered up, and on Sept. 26, filed a lawsuit against the RBC for damages exceeding $35,000 Canadian dollars ($27,000) due to wages lost recovering his car, a missing car cover, and his alleged mistreatment by the company.
“I was in utter disbelief and felt completely blindsided,” Kendall told CBC, to whom he described his WRX STi as his “most prized possession. l worked extremely hard to acquire it since they are rare vehicles.”
His court documents claim that “RBC negligently failed to verify […] the owner of the Subaru before they took collection action against the Claimant and was in breach of their statutory or common law requirement to verify the ownership of collateral for their loans.” The RBC has not yet filed a defense.
“We sincerely regret the frustration and inconvenience Mr. Kendall has experienced,” an RBC spokesperson stated to The Drive. “Due to an error, a lien was registered to the incorrect vehicle. As soon as we became aware of this error, we worked with Mr. Kendall to have his car returned to him. We are continuing to work with Mr. Kendall to fully resolve this issue and ensure he isn’t impacted any further by the error.”
The Drive also reached out to Kendall for additional comment, and we will update when we receive his response.
