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Economy depresses repo business
12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, April 8, 2010
Nationwide, about 1.5 million vehicles are repossessed annually. But the economy has taken a toll.
"We're picking up less cars, and a lot of that is because the dealerships are not selling the cars," said Mark Summs, president of Summs Skip and Collection service in Virginia and president of National Finance Adjusters, a trade association. "The repossession business is based on selling cars and a having a good portion of those loans going bad. So if they're selling a whole lot less, then there's less possibility of it being repossessed."
• Repossessions can occur any time on any day.
• In most cases, no physical force or threats can be used. This includes breaking into a garage.
• A vehicle can usually be repossessed from private property.
• Lenders are not obligated to grant borrowers a grace period
• Like most states – California, Florida and South Carolina are exceptions – Texas does not license recovery agents or regulate the repo industry. Although there are rules regarding the overall towing business, anyone with a working tow truck could hold act as a repo agent.
