Car Repo Getting Increasingly Violent

Lily — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 13:04:07 +0000

What would you do if you hear noises outside at 2:30 in the morning and see three men trying to take your car away?

I don’t know what I would do, but what Jim Tanks of Halsell, Alabama did ended up costing him his life: He grabbed a gun, walked out the back door, and confronted the men. The men were not thieves, but rather, repo men trying to take Mr. Tanks’ car away. Shots were fired and Mr. Tanks died with a gunshot wound to the chest.

The repo man, Kenneth Alvin Smith, now faces murder charges. He says he fired in self defense. Mr. Smith works for Ascencion Recovery in Birmingham, AL, where a repo man was shot dead and yet another was wounded in two separate repossession incidents just this year.

Most financially-strapped people start getting behind on their car payment. I am no different. In fact, a tow truck near my car is one of the top ten things a broke person like me is afraid of. In nightmarish imaginings I have always thought repo men take your car in the middle of the day, when you are at work, for full embarrassing effect. Never in my life did I imagine repo men skulking around at 2:30 in the morning to take away someone’s car!

I Have 3 Months Mortgage Payment Due NOW

Lily — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:12:04 +0000

I welcomed the New Year with the thought that January makes it three months that I have not paid my mortgage payment. November’s payment got diverted to pay for car issues. December’s went to pay for utilities. And now January is here.

Instead of waiting for the threatening letter from the mortgage company, I called them. As soon as I had entered my account number, I was immediately transferred to their collectors. Their phone system happily informed me that the call is being recorded and any information obtained will be used to collect money owed.

Once I was connected to a live human I was immediately informed that I owed THREE months’ payment, was I calling to pay all of that today? I was also asked for my current address, phone number and work number. I gave the mortgage rep the first two infos she asked for, but refused to give her the last. “My work place does not allow us to take non-work-related calls,” I said. She was fine with that.

“We need to update your financial information,” she said next.

“Ma’am, I am on my lunch break and I just really need to tell you that I will be paying November’s mortgage but December and January will have to wait. I just don’t have any money.”

Apparently not wanting to jeopardize my employment (or they won’t get paid at all), the rep backed off. She tried to make me commit to a time when I will pay December and January and I refused. She then offered me a five-month payment plan so that I could get my payments current.

I accepted.

Let’s hope this works!

How about you, are you late on your mortgage payments, too? What did you do about it?

Broke In America » debt

Car Repo Getting Increasingly Violent

I Have 3 Months Mortgage Payment Due NOW