National Corner
LAUREL: Man wanted for endangering vehicle repossession worker
LAUREL — Delaware State Police are searching for a 37-year-old Laurel man wanted in connection to a reckless endangering incident that occurred after a vehicle repossession worker attempted to repossess the man's vehicle this morning.
At 12:30 a.m., troopers responded to a home in the 12000 block of Sycamore Road, in regards to the complaint. They contacted a 29-year-old Blades man who was employed by Complete Auto Recovery and informed he was at the above location repossessing a 2003 Mazda Tribute.
As the victim was in the process of doing the repossession, Percy W. Stultz II came out of the house informing the victim the vehicle did not need to be repossessed. The victim began to load up the vehicle by putting it on the lift of the tow truck and attaching a chain to it when Stultz allegedly got in the vehicle, started it up and then put it in reverse.
The victim informed Stultz to stop because he thought when the vehicle was placed in reverse it would cause the bumper to tear off and damage the vehicle or the chain and/or other objects could have flown back and struck him. Stultz reportedly refused to comply and backed the vehicle off the lift and in doing so, the chain became unhooked.
Stultz then drove off out of the driveway and left the area. As a result of the incident, an arrest warrant has been obtained for one misdemeanor count of second-degree reckless endangering.
Anyone with information about Stultz should contact investigators at 5 at 302-337-1090 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333. Tips may also be forwarded to law enforcement through tip lines maintained by Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or on line at www.tipsubmit.com.
By delmarvanow.com
delmarvanow.com | Full article available here »
Chief:Cops just doing their jobs
SALEM - While performing a standby for a vehicle repossession Wednesday, police said several people protested the incident.
Police were requested by the company which had difficulty tracking down the vehicle and located it during a funeral service at the Arbaugh Pearce Greenisen Funeral Home on East State Street at about 6 p.m. Wednesday.
A service was being held at the time.
Police Chief Robert Floor said officers were requested "to protect the person doing it from harm."
He explained:?"We do that, it is one of our duties. They have the legal right."
Floor said the repossessed vehicle was in the funeral home parking lot and the responding officers said that standing by was "not representative of the police department feelings on the matter."
Apparently some people thought the police were repossessing the vehicle, Floor said and he wanted to correct that impression.
While the circumstances were distasteful, he said, the company had a legal right to do it.
"We were standing by to keep the peace," he said, adding, "we do not repossess vehicles."
By Larry Shields
salemnews.net | Full article available here »
Man shot during vehicle repossession
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - A man was taken to The MED in critical condition after a shooting Monday afternoon at the Peppertree Apartments on Graceland Drive.
Police said the incident started when the apartment complex called Carr's towing to have a car removed from the parking lot.
"The wrecker driver got here, put the vehicle on the wrecker and he was confronted by a male armed with a weapon," Lt. Col. Ray Douglas of the Memphis Police Department said.
That is when an argument erupted. Authorities said one of the two employees inside the tow truck pulled out a gun and shot the owner of the car.
"He came to the driver door to the tow truck, and then the white guy pulled the gun out his case and started shooting. As the black guy was falling to the ground, he shot him two more times," witness Perry Collins said.
Some neighbors said it is not the first time they have had problems with tow truck companies trying to remove their cars.
"It's really pitiful what they're doing, coming and pulling people's cars for nothing. I can't even come and visit my grand baby, I'm afraid they're going to come and tow my stuff," neighbor Teresa Douglas said.
And now many are hoping this shooting will be a wake up call to end the violence.
Action News 5 stopped by the tow truck company. When employees saw us pull up, they ran inside and would not answer questions.
Meanwhile, the man who was shot remains in critical condition.
The two tow truck employees were also transported to the hospital after they complained about having chest pains.
By Jamel Major
wmcstations.com | Full article available here »
For the Repo Man, Business Is Brisk
Since 2007, repossessions in the metropolitan area have risen about 25 percent, according to bank analysts, law enforcement officials and officials in the repo industry, which is also known as collateral recovery and skip tracing.
“Our employees aren’t exactly out buying Lamborghinis or yachts, but yes, we’re up,” said Ron Giordano, a manager of Past Due Recovery. The company’s territory includes New Jersey’s Essex and Hudson Counties, though Mr. Giordano declined to reveal the exact neighborhood of his storage yards for fear that people angry about losing their cars might show up looking for them.
The company is receiving up to 50 orders a day, which is triple the number of a year ago, said Mr. Giordano, who has worked in the business for 12 years. To meet the increased demand, his staff has added employees, he said, and increased the fleet to seven tow trucks from five.
Even though the drivers of these high-tech trucks can stealthily hook vehicles without getting out of their cabs, confrontations do occur. One man whose 2005 Lexus sport-utility vehicle was being repossessed recently crushed its windshield with a baseball bat, Mr. Giordano said.
“It’s real emotional to some people,” he said.
In past downturns, cars have made up the bulk of what repo men picked up, and during this go-around, by wide margins, that trend has held, repossession officials said; indeed, 80 percent of Past Due’s repossessions are vehicles, Mr. Giordano said.
But boats, which historically have been purchased by people who kept up their payments, are now being recovered, too, said Brad Ferguson, co-owner of Northeast Marine Liquidation, in Stonington, Conn.
This year, his business, which focuses exclusively on watercraft, from Maryland to Maine, will seize about 250 boats, up from 200 last year, Mr. Ferguson said. It is the largest spike in 16 years for Mr. Ferguson, who has added three employees to handle the increase.
Banks can pay up to $2,000 for each boat repossessed, especially if it is more than 30 feet long and requires fuel and a captain to move, and there are outstanding marina fees, Mr. Ferguson said. Cars, meanwhile, command about $400, though more if they are, say, partly buried in a fit of rebellion in someone’s backyard, industry officials said.
But banks typically want to avoid repossessions, as the cars are usually worth less than what is owed, said Carol Kaplan, a spokeswoman for the American Bankers Association, a trade group for commercial banks.
The costs of repo men and the paperwork to transfer ownership of the vehicle are additional disincentives, she added.
“Nobody gains but the repo guy,” Ms. Kaplan said.
But auto repossessions show no signs of flagging. In 2007, 2.15 out of every 1,000 cars with outstanding indirect auto loans — which are the kind offered by dealers and which make up 90 percent of all auto loans — were repossessed each month, according to the bankers association. That is up from 1.82 cars per 1,000 outstanding loans in 2006.
“And until the jobs picture improves, we will not see consumer delinquencies improve,” said James Chessen, chief economist with the association.
Banks, then, are being more flexible about repayment schedules, letting buyers postpone payments for a few months without penalty and lowering interest rates on their loans, he said.
But banks’ efforts do not seem to be stemming the repossession tide yet, said Michael Gouldsbury, owner of East End Asset Management, in Center Moriches in Suffolk County.
In fact, buyers seem more resigned about losing their cars than ever. Voluntary surrenders, when people willingly hand over the keys, now account for 45 percent of all of Mr. Gouldsbury’s repossessions, compared with 30 percent last year.
Plus, the number of cars that are ultimately redeemed — when owners pay their past-due payments plus fees to get their vehicles back — has sharply decreased; three years ago, owners redeemed about 45 percent of their cars, versus 15 percent today, Mr. Gouldsbury said.
“People are realizing that there’s no light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
The recent increase in work notwithstanding, many repo men and women complain that it is getting tougher to do their job.
High fuel costs are taking a toll, especially when tracking down one vehicle may require a dozen trips, they said.
Burnout is high, too, as worries about safety win out, said Robert McCrie, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan. Since 1986, about 25 of his students have worked as repo men after graduating, though many lasted only a few years, he said.
“They had a feeling that one day their luck might run out in the event they can’t outrun this hostile delinquent debtor,” Mr. McCrie said.
Plus, in today’s market, competitors — often inexperienced — are flooding the field, industry veterans say. Thrusting relative amateurs into a potentially dangerous line of work often presents problems in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, where the industry is unregulated, they said.
The law says that cars can be repossessed only if there is no breach of peace, like breaking into a garage. To make sure newcomers operate within the law, some police departments are encouraging repo men to share more information.
In New York, where repossessions are supposed to be reported in person at the local precinct after the fact, the Village of Westbury and the City of White Plains are asking repo men to tell them before any seizure. The rationale is to cut down on unnecessary emergency calls to people’s homes, in the event the owner reports the car stolen, officials said.
“It helps with the appropriate use of resources,” said Capt. Frank Cariello, a spokesman for the Yonkers Police Department, which since 2004 has requested that repo men check in by radio before hauling cars away.
“It saves some time and increases safety of everybody involved,” he said.
By C. J. HUGHES
nytimes.com | Full article available here »
State candidates take on pay-day loans
If the county annex was packed with voters for the Ottawa candidates forum, it also was packed with legislative candidates.
Because 10 legislative candidates in five representative and senatorial districts showed up, forum organizers divided them in two groups of five candidates each and had two legislative forums Tuesday, splitting it so each races’ opponents were split into different groups, with mostly incumbents in one group and mostly challengers in the other.
For such a large field, the largest unanimity came from their willingness to impose limits on high-interest, short-term loans called pay-day loans and title loans.
The candidates all deplored the ruinous interest charged to vulnerable customers for pay-day loans and particularly title loans, in which the person getting a loan signs over their vehicle’s title as collateral.
John Coen, R-Wellsville, candidate for Kansas House District 10, noted that one of his employees, who had gotten a title loan and missed a payment, had his vehicle repossessed while it was parked at Coen’s dairy while the employee was milking Coen’s cows. The employee had no way to get home or get back to work, he said.
“I either had to pay off that loan or have him not being able to come to work,” Coen said. “It was a business expense I hadn’t planned on.”
Probably the most nuanced answer came from Rep. Bill Feuerborn, D-Garnett, who took part in a special committee hearing this summer on pay day and title loans.
“The pay day loans are bad; the title loans are terrible,” he said.
One hearing was packed by people from Sedgwick County who testified against limits against pay day loan companies, he said.
“Everyone was against it even though they were the people who use them,” Feuerborn said. “They said that they can’t get loans any other way.”
The best answer might be to encourage banks to loosen up their rules for small emergency loans and provide competition to pay-day loan companies, he said.
“I think that we could put them out of business if you did it that way,” he said.
In state legislative races, Sen. Pat Apple, R-Louisburg, is being challenged by Andrew Rickel, D-Garnett, in the 12th Senate District. Sen. Derek Schmidt, R-Independence and who represents southwestern Franklin County, is unopposed.
In area state representative races, Democratic incumbent Feuerborn is being challenged by Cara Polsley, Ottawa Republican, in the 5th House District, which includes southern Ottawa and much of southern Franklin County.
In the 10th House District, which includes northern Ottawa and northern Franklin County including Wellsville, Coen and Tony Brown, D-Baldwin City, are seeking the seat being vacated by Tom Holland.
In the 5th District covering southwestern Franklin County, Republican incumbent Bill Otto, LeRoy, is being challenged by Democrat Jon Dunbar, Colony.
In the 59th District, covering western Franklin County, Democrat Jim Irey, Melvern, and Will Prescott, R-Osage City, are vying for the seat vacated by Joe Humerickhouse.
On other issues:
• Cutting personal property taxes on vehicles, especially for senior citizens.
Polsley said she would support such a tax cut.
However, Feuerborn, her opponent, said it would be unlikely that legislators would approve such a cut.
Such reductions would hit hardest at counties and cities, which depend on property tax levies and would force them to raise taxes somewhere else.
Prescott said that in addition to counties and cities losing money from such reductions, it would be difficult for counties to track who should be getting the exemptions.
Irey said such reductions would force counties to raise taxes elsewhere or cut services.
• Coal-fired power plants in western Kansas, which dominated last year’s session and could likely overshadow the next.
Most legislators expressed support for the coal plants or said they would vote for it.
Brown was one of the few expressing skepticism about the plan.
Brown said that Sebelius had offered a compromise that would have allowed the building of one plant, with most of the energy to be sold in Kansas.
The state also needs to do more to encourage wind, solar and other alternative forms of power, he said.
Feuerborn said the legislature should have been dealing with health care instead of letting the coal plants dominate the session. However, he said he voted to approve the power plants and voted to override Sebelius’ veto.
The utilities followed all the rules and met the pertinent standards but at the last minute, Rod Bremby, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, rejected the permits for the plants, Feuerborn said.
• How to cut state budgets, if necessary.
Otto aid the number of state buildings and the size of state government operations based in Topeka have proliferated over the years.
“We’re economic development for the city of Topeka,” he said.
Dunbar said Sebelius’ review of state spending has created a lean government.
Many state agencies pad their budgets and legislators should look for that extra money built into budgets, Coen said.
Brown said he’s concerned about overenthusiastic granting of tax credits to various businesses and industries.
By CLEON RICKEL
The Ottawa Herald | Full article available here »
Gloomy outlook for auto sales in California
CNW Research, the Bandon, Ore.-based company that tracks the auto industry nationwide, has released a gloomy overview of the current state of motor vehicle buying and selling in California.
CNW said its research shows that auto loan delinquency rates are up 28 percent compared with 2007, vehicle repossessions have climbed nearly 15 percent in the same period, the number of Californians who say they intend to buy a new vehicle has dropped below the national average for the first time since 1984 and less than 14 percent of Golden State residents "are capable, able or even slightly willing to make a new-vehicle acquisition," down from more than 30 percent a decade ago.
CNW's study noted that a 30 percent year-to-date new-car sales decline statewide, compared with 2007, has created a situation where "profits are scarce and the land under the business is often worth more than the business. The decision many stores owners are considering is if remaining a dealer is worth the effort."
CNW also speculated that California's current slump might prompt automakers and dealership groups to direct their sales/marketing efforts in other Western states.
"For automakers, heavy reliance on California as a high-volume sales state is ending," CNW said in its Retail Automotive Summary . "While still representing strong volumes that can't be ignored, the need to succeed in the Golden State is diminishing."
By Mark Glover
The Sacromento Bee | Full article available here »
2008 Auto Repo Rate Highest Ever, Repo Men Now Worried About Their Jobs
Vehicle repossessions are expected to rise 15% this year from 2007 due to the continuing economic meltdown, says an executive vice president of customer strategies at ADESA Inc., a vehicle auction company, in Automotive News today. So why are repo men complaining? Apparently banks and lenders are facing so many delinquent loans that they're far more willing than usual to renegotiate the terms of a contact or tolerate missed payments than they used to be. Since lenders like GMAC and Ford Credit lose an average of more than $10,000 on a repossession, they have a strong incentive to avoid the repo man — and apparently they're doing just that.
Newer, more expensive vehicles are making up a larger share of the repossession business this year also, adding to the loss incurred when a loan goes bad. Full-size SUVs and luxury vehicles are more common than ever on repo lots according to the report, with many of those vehicles coming from folks who had excellent credit.
Recent cutbacks in the number of loans granted and the discontinuation of leasing by many lenders are expected to cause more lean times ahead for repo men — even during the worst economic downturn in recent history. Guess it's true that no one's safe.
By Andrew Stoy
jalopnik.com | Full article available here »
New Hampshire sees increase in repossessions, but also in leniency
Cars are disappearing from Southern New Hampshire driveways because people can't make their loan payments. But the number of repossessions isn't alarming — yet.
The number of local repossessions has increased slowly over the past two years, but so has some banks' leniency in allowing late payments, experts said.
It might sound too good to be true, but state Banking Department spokesman Dick Arcand said banks need payments coming in to support their cash flow — even if they're late.
Nationwide, banks aren't being as forgiving. Car repossessions exceeded 1.5 million last year — a 10 percent increase over 2006, according to Thomas Webb, chief economist for the country's largest auto auctioneer, Mannheim.
He predicted repossessions would jump 10 percent again this year. But locally, car dealers and repossessors said they aren't seeing as significant an increase.
Husson Motors in Salem finances car loans, but banks hold the loans, employee Kerry Mens said. The bank contacts her with a list of repossessions so she can cancel the warranty on those cars.
The repossession list used to come every other month and have just one or two cars on it, Mens said. Now there are usually three repossessions and the report sometimes comes monthly, she said.
Husson Motors is a small company with 80 cars on the lot. But American Lenders Service Co. in Nashua, which repossesses vehicles throughout this area, has seen a more dramatic increase — it's up to 40 repossessions a month, General Manager Mike Doucette said.
"What we are getting now are more toys, the all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles, a lot of larger pickup trucks," he said.
Repossessions on defaulted car loans started increasing a year and a half ago, Doucette said. He used to do 20 repossessions a week, but now that number has grown to 30 or 40, he said.
The Plaistow Police Department marked a tremendous increase in reported repossessions during the same time period, according to Deputy Chief Kathleen Jones. Under state law, repossessors have to report to police within two hours of repossessing a car.
There have been seven repossessions in Plaistow so far this year, and there were eight at this time last year, Jones said. But over the same time period in 2006, she said there was just one repossession reported.
Jones said she foresees that number jumping again soon.
"I anticipate probably if we check this again in five, six months, we would probably find more," she said. "It's just another face of the economic times."
But some banks aren't repossessing cars because they, too, are suffering with the economy.
Jerry Little, president of the New Hampshire Bankers Association, said everyone is struggling with debt. Rather than repossess, some New Hampshire banks are trying to establish workable payment schedules, he said.
"It behooves them to work with people than to take back more product," he said. "There are a lot of used cars and new cars out there ... losses are generally going to be higher with repossession."
Doucette is finding that the case. Once his company has picked up a repossessed vehicle, he holds it until the lender decides what to do with it. Under state law, the person in default on the loan has 20 days to make payment and get the vehicle back. If they don't, the banks send the vehicles to auction.
But Doucette said banks appear to be giving loan recipients more time to make up the delinquent payments. Vehicles used to be on his lot for the required 20 days, he said, but now they're there for at least a month.
"I do find that the banks are more lenient lately," he said.
By Meghan Carey
The Eagle-Tribune | Full article available here »
Frayser Mom Takes On The Repo Man & Wins
Memphis, TN - Frayser mother of two, Selwyn Askew, spent Friday afternoon fighting tooth and nail to save her ride.
"It's just all a misunderstanding," says Askew. "They moved and I didn't know they moved. And I was trying to pay my car note and I didn't know who to pay it to."
"She called me hysterical," says Askew's brother-in-law, Milton Collins. "I was like, I don't know what to tell you. I tried to find the dealership and I couldn't find them."
Two weeks later, when Askew's payment date passed, the repo man came calling.
A representative for the dealership that sold Askew her car tells Eyewitness News, "On the contract, it says we can come get the car any day after you fail to make your payment. If you're late we can come get it. We don't have to wait. We can come get it. Point blank. It's in the contract."
Here's what happened to Askew. She showed up at Getwell Motors at 1636 Getwell, where she bought the car, to make her monthly payment. They only take cash, no credit cards or cashier's checks, so on the 5th of every month, she drops off her car note in person. But this month, the dealership was closed. Shut down. Locked up. With no sign indicating where the business had relocated to or how customers could reach them. Call the old phone number and you get a recorded message with no forwarding number.
We tracked the dealership down on Friday, October 24, 2008. Getwell Motors on Getwell in Southeast Memphis is now Mid-South Global and Auto Sales & Rental on Winchester in South Memphis.
The manager handling Selwyn Askew's case, declined to give Eyewitness News his name, but said both sides are to blame in this car repossession.
"She tried to get in touch with us," he says, "we tried to get in touch with her. I guess it was bad communication."
With the key to her car in her hand, Askew ran up to her Oldsmobile Cutlass and shouted, "I got my baby back! I got my baby back!"
The manager says other customers facing repo should come in and talk to Global's representatives. He also says they won't charge Askew the full repo fee they paid to the tow truck company.
As she drove off in her car, Askew leaned out the window and said, "Thank you, Eyewitness News."
Mid-South Global Auto Sales and Rental is located at 1780 Winchester. The owner's name, according to Better Business Bureau records, is Amadou S. Bah. The phone number for the business is listed as: 396-8181.
By Joyce Peterson
Eyewitness News | Full article available here »
Vehicle repossession on the rise
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Tough economic times are tightening budgets for Oklahomans, but many are also losing their assets, like their cars, because they can't afford to pay their bills.
"It's like we're out there to get them and they have a bad attitude about them, but you feel sorry for them and you wish you can do something about it, but you can't," Curtis Compton said.
Compton owns Aggressive Recovery, a repossession business looking for cars folks failed to pay for. His crew of repo-men is recovering about 400 vehicles a month, which is double from a year ago.
Every recovery is a driving force behind their business, but also a sign of a struggling economy that shows how many can't afford to pay their car loans.
"You can't help but feel sympathy and or empathy for a lot of people," Compton said.
Repo-man Jesse Grieb is spending most of his time on the road in and around the metro, hooking and towing vehicles of Oklahoma drivers who don't pay up.
Even after a few years on the job, it's still a constant challenge.
"They didn't give us too bad of a hard time, but we're able to get there, get it hooked before things got crazy," Grieb said.
It's a tough task that Grieb said affects everyone in all walks of life.
"Every day, it's surgeons, doctors, big companies, lease vehicles, not just the guys on the south side but guys on the north side too," Grieb said.
By Jacqueline Sit
news9.com | Full article available here »
