Disabled Vet Blames DRN for Repeated Wrongful Repossessions

Houston, TX – March 24, 2025 – A disabled Houston veteran has had his car wrongfully repossessed nearly seven times in the past year and a half. Anxious and sleepless, he dreads every loud noise outside his window for fear Camaro will get taken again. The cause, his veteran plates and, DRN he claims.

The following is a verbatim report from a story by KHOU-11 News:

A disabled Houston U.S. Army veteran says he has been living with constant anxiety after his car was mistakenly repossessed about seven times in the past year and a half.

Julian Barabin said he does not like leaving his car parked anywhere for too long because he is not sure if it will still be there when he returns.

“They just keep coming, coming, coming, they won’t stop,” Barabin said. “Lack of sleep. Restless, on edge. Every time I hear a loud noise I wake up. I sleep with the curtain open. That’s kind of hard to do when you’re looking to get some rest.” Disabled Vet Blames DRN for Repeated Wrongful Repossessions

Barabain said his 2019 black Chevy Camaro keeps getting towed by repo drivers taking his car by mistake.

“The other morning, they came about 2:30,” he said. “I’ve seen them at 4:00, 5:00, middle of the day.”

He said it happened most recently on Thursday.

“I call the police every time it’s happened,” he said.

The mix-up appears to be related to Barabin’s disabled veteran license plates which allow him to take toll roads for free and park in handicapped spots.

The government-issued plates can be transferred to the owner’s future vehicles, he said, and are included with the car’s registration.

“These plates have been on five other vehicles,” Barabin said.

But when Barabin said he traded in his previous 2016 black Chevy Camaro for the 2019 model, the database used by repo drivers and finance companies never made the change.

The digital recognition network database tracks the movement of vehicles through the use of automatic license plate readers.

Barabin said when his trade-in was sold, and the new owner missed the payments, the 2016 Camaro was put on the repo list, but the new owner’s license plates were never changed in the system.

Disabled Vet Blames DRN for Repeated Wrongful Repossessions KHOU 11 News stopped by NJC Asset Repo, which sent one of its trucks to repossess the wanted 2016 Camaro on one occasion.

A manager told us their driver made a mistake taking the 2019 Camaro and should have checked the VIN first. When the driver learned he had taken the wrong car, the manager said he returned it and was later fired for the mistake.

She told KHOU 11 News that the only way to fix the problem was to call the DRN database and tell them to make the change. We called and were told a manager would call back.

Source: KHOU 11