Judge Roy Bean wrote:I'm sure their business plan has at least one answer for every question that comes to mind, but the single biggest flaw is the idea that the notification of the location of a license plate has anything to do with the ability of a repo operator to go get the alleged collateral/property.
The vast majority of people who are in that kind of trouble on their car loan don't have the resources to hide the vehicle other than to put it in a locked garage, and that is simply a temporary situation. In most jurisdictions, a reposcam operation can pounce anywhere and any time without regard to the circumstances. They will often work in conjunction with an abusive tote-the-note lender who victimizes the ignorant.
This has led to some seriously unfortunate situations, including children in repo'd vehicles and questionable handling of personal property, not to mention abusive charges for towing and storage.
I'd love to see the insurance policy that indemnifies the parties for a typo (or deliberate prank) that results in the tow of a vehicle for no legitimate cause.
Hmmm . . . let me guess. There isn't one.
There's a great Texas Court of Appeals -- El Paso case, that was, I think, appealed and affirmed by the Texas Supreme Court. The legal principle established is that repo agents are engaged in an inherently dangerous activity. Where there are inherently dangerous acts being performed, the person performing is -- as a matter of law -- never considered an independent contractor. Therefore, the normal law of principal-agent applies, and the acts of the agent create liability for the bank, lender, etc., for which the agent is acting.
The case involved a pregnant woman who hopped into "her" TransAm as it was being towed away by a repo guy; she locked the doors, and would not get out, so he took off thru the streets of "Old El Paso" [see Marty Robbins], with her in the car, swinging at the end of the tow boom. He pulled into the impound lot, dropped off the car, and left, locking the gate, and leaving her in the car. He then "let out the dogs." She spent some time trapped in the car in the El Paso heat until rescued. The lawsuit was duly filed, but, of course, the repo driver was alleged to be an "independent contractor," and he was judgment proof. The Bank was not.